Healthy Coast Management Plan

The Sunshine Coast is known for its outstanding coastal landscapes. Our coastline contributes significantly to our identity and the enviable lifestyle we enjoy.

The Coast includes our beaches, dunes, headlands, lower estuaries and coastal lagoons from Coolum Beach in the north to Bribie Island in the south. 

To maintain a healthy Coast, we must support its environment, liveability and built asset values. We need to ensure it is resilient to climate change impacts and our community can use it in sustainable ways.  

To do this, Council has developed the Healthy Coast Management Plan. This is a new plan that brings together our coastal strategies, plans and actions to guide how we manage our Coast into the future. The plan outlines how the Coast’s environmental, built assets and sustainable use values are managed, now and into the future. This covers everything from invasive weeds and revegetation activities to placemaking and active transport upgrades in our coastal areas.  

The Healthy Coast Management Plan is structured in two main parts:  

Part 1 - Healthy Coast Context - Outlines the vision and strategic directions for a Healthy Coast and details the key values of the Coast and the challenges that need to be addressed. 

Part 2 - Healthy Coast Management - A reference for understanding the Coast at a local scale by identifying values, pressures, additional information, health, community groups, and forward-looking actions for specific locations. Part 2 is used to inform the development of an annual Healthy Coast implementation program that focuses on coastal operational and capital priorities.  

The plan is also supported by a Coastal Management Information Roadmap that outlines the scope and relevance of international, national, state, and local statutory documents, strategies, plans, and other documentation relevant to coastal management. 

Summarised information on the plan can be viewed on the interactive Healthy Coast Management Plan below. Clicking on a Coast unit in the interactive map will allow you to download a “HCMP management overview” page with key information on the values, pressures, health, knowledge, and management priorities for that Coast Unit. You can also download the Coastal Health Report 2023 findings for that Coast unit. 

Background

In 2017 Council endorsed the Environment and Liveability Strategy (ELS). The strategy provides an integrated framework and sets strategic directions to guide the actions of Council and its partners to ensure a healthy environment and liveable Sunshine Coast to 2041. The strategy outlines a future state for the Coast where ‘our coastal areas are healthy, resilient to climate change impacts and support sustainable use’.  

The Healthy Coast Management Plan furthers this vision and seeks to ensure the Coast is:

• a healthy, functional, and adaptive coastal environment 
•  contributes to the liveability of the Sunshine Coast  
• is enjoyed, cared for, and protected by all who live on or visit the Coast. 

Council adopted the Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategy (CHAS) in May 2021. This strategy helps manage the impacts of coastal hazards on our region. The Coastal Hazard Adaptation strategy is a key transformational action of Council’s ELS. The priority actions from the CHAS are captured in Part 2 of the HCMP. 

The Shoreline Erosion Management Plan (SEMP) is a 10 year action plan that addresses priority erosion issues at specific locations. It recommends preferred shoreline erosion management options that are underpinned by sound science, coastal engineering principles and community values. The priority actions from the SEMP are captured in Part 2 of the HCMP. 

Timeline

Phase 1 - preparing the draft plans 

• October 2023 to mid 2024 
• Outcomes from four key stakeholder workshops and feedback from recent coastal community consultation (over 10,000 responses) used to draft the plans 

Phase 2 - community feedback on the draft plan 

• October 2024 
• Consultation with the broader community on the draft plans 

Phase 3 - review community feedback 

• Late 2024 to early 2025 
• Outcomes from broad community feedback incorporated into the draft plans 

Phase 4 - final plan adopted 

• Council adopted the Healthy Coast Management Plan on 21 May, 2025 

Get Involved 

To ask questions and receive updates on the Healthy Coast Management, please contact us at:  [email protected]