Southern Beaches Coastal Management Program

This involves the placement of large volumes of sand to replace the sand that is lost as it moves along the coastline.

The aim of beach nourishment is to build coastal resilience by providing a buffer between the shoreline and nearby infrastructure. While the sand is there, beach nourishment will ensure our beaches stay sandy for recreational purposes and provide more protection during erosion events.

This option includes both mass nourishment, which involves one initial high-volume campaign and sand top-ups, where smaller amounts are placed at regular intervals to ensure sand volumes remain optimal. The sand for beach nourishment could be sourced from offshore, or smaller volumes from Nobbys Beach, where sand accumulates and is unable to move further north due to the headland and Newcastle Harbour breakwaters.

However, sourcing large volumes of sand can be difficult, and this option can have an impact on local surf breaks.

Can include seawalls and revetments which are hard structures that are built to absorb the energy from swells and protect the land and infrastructure behind these structures.

Seawalls can be made from concrete, large rocks and rock bags, and run in parallel to the coastline or land they're in place to protect. Protection structures can cause 'end effects' where erosion is pushed to the end of the wall, while the area in front of the structure is protected.

This option also 'fixes' the coastline in place, meaning that as sea levels rise there will be reduced beach width available unless additional options are also considered. This option may include the maintenance of existing or construction of new structures. 

This allows the shoreline to naturally recede. This option will generally require the strategic relocation of assets, such as buildings and roads, to enable the coastline to naturally retreat. This option is environmentally friendly and sustainable in the long-term, although it may change the aesthetic of the beach depending on the underlying geology. 

We start with a long-list of all the different best-practice coastal management possibilities commonly employed in Australia and around the world (e.g., artificial reefs, nourishment, retreat, etc.).

Each of these possibilities is then tested against set criteria for its legality, its environmental and social consequence, how much it would cost, and if it would actually fix the problem. If a possibility fails to pass all of that set criteria it is discarded, leaving us with the short-list of strategies we are exploring now.

Building on studies undertaken and plans developed in the past, we engaged coastal specialists Haskoning to undertake a Coastal Processes Review.

This review told us that unprotected areas are at risk sooner than previously thought. The area most at risk is the currently unprotected section of coastline from the Cooks Hill Surf Life Saving Club at Bar Beach, south to the cliffline at Dixon Park. Along this stretch there is no natural cliffline or man-made structure in place. The image below shows the area at risk. For a larger version of this image, view the PDF.

We know that both locals and visitors highly value these beaches. In early 2021 we asked the community to share their views through the Love Our Coast survey.

You told us that you love swimming, relaxing on the sand, walking or running along the coastline, and surfing - as well as a range of other activities shown below (view larger version as PDF).

Your ability to continue these activities for years to come will depend on the frequency and intensity of the weather events we experience, and the implementation of coastal management actions to minimise the risk of damage.

It is these actions that we are investigating closely in Stage 3 of the CMP - "Identify and evaluate options".

Throughout 2025 we will engage with coastal specialists, Government Agencies, and of course the broader community.

Beach Nourishment 

Which involves adding large volumes of sand to replace what’s been lost, creating a buffer between the shoreline and nearby infrastructure. 

• Benefits: Maintains sandy beaches for recreation; adds protection during erosion events. 

• How: One-off high-volume “mass nourishment” plus regular smaller top-ups. 

• Sand sources: Offshore deposits or excess sand from Nobbys Beach. 

• Considerations: Large-scale sourcing can be challenging; may affect local surf breaks; will impact on sand ecology and can impact marine life. 

Protection structures 

Is the building of seawalls or rock revetments to absorb wave energy and protect land behind them. 

• Benefits: Protects infrastructure from damage. 

• How: Construction and maintenance of protection structures.  

• Considerations: Can push erosion to other areas (“end effects”); fixes the coastline in place, which can reduce beach width as sea levels rise; can have an impact on beach width. 

Managed Retreat 

Allowing the shoreline to move landward naturally by relocating infrastructure further inland. 

• Benefits: Environmentally sustainable over the long term. 

• How: Relocation of infrastructure such as buildings, roads, pathways and services further inland to facilitate the natural processes of a beach.  

Considerations: May change the look and feel of some beaches depending on geology. 

• A combination of the above options. 

These options all have their own pros and cons and work differently depending on the location. When it comes to management options for this stretch of coastline, we will assess all of these options to understand which of them are: 

• Feasible - does the option effectively reduce erosion and inundation in this particular location? What are the environmental and social impacts? 

• Viable - do the benefits outweigh the financial cost to ratepayers? 

• Acceptable - does the option meet the community's needs into the future? 

You can learn more about coastal management by watching these short videos with Dr David Wainwright, Coastal Engineer and Conjoint Lecturer at the University of Newcastle.

• Coastal structures (2mins 50secs) such as groynes, breakwalls and seawalls can all impact sand movement.
• Sand nourishment (2mins 38secs) is when you take sand from somewhere else and import it to give you a sandy beach for recreation or to provide more protection during erosion events.
• Sand movement (1min 29 secs) along the NSW Coast is mostly from south to north with both natural and artifical obstacles affecting the movement of sand.

Want to know more? Our glossary explains many of the key principles and terms used when talking about coastal management.

We’re continuing to refine these options. In the coming months, we’ll share more detail and ask for your feedback on whether you think they’re suitable ways to manage our coastline. 

By learning about these choices now, you’ll be ready to help shape the future of our beaches when consultation opens.