Potential activities in CoastRI align with three major categories:
- Observing coastal processes
- Cross-sector modelling and prediction
- Data identification, management, and integration
The program of work is intended to include marine, estuarine, terrestrial, subsurface, modelling and analytical elements culminating in a step-change in our understanding of coastal conditions and support risk management strategies.
CoastRI is being established through a two-stage process. Stage 1 included initial infrastructure and modelling investments and supported national consultation to inform the scope of the broader program of work. In June 2026 CoastRI Stage 2 was awarded $58 million in Australian Government investment to build on Stage 1 investments while expanding and strengthening nationally coordinated coastal monitoring and integration.
Stage 1
Stage 1 included a number of elements which were funded in the 2023 NCRIS funding round including:
A nationwide consultation process to explore research, stakeholder, and end-user coastal data needs, impact pathways, First Nations co-design program partners, program governance and synthesis, and co-investment opportunities. The consultation is managed by IMOS, with engagement from all participating NCRIS capabilities. The consultation process is ongoing and will involve stakeholders across the entire coastal observation value chain. In addition to the analysis of end-user needs, scientific meetings will be held to explore how the identified needs can be met and how benefits can be created at regional and national scales.
A suite of initial, multi-year investments (2023-2027) to establish the initiative and demonstrate the scope and intent of CoastRI, as well as to help leverage and attract capability and co-investment. These investments include observing, data collection, data management, and modelling activities that are known gaps identified from previous consultation.
Stage 1 Activities
Encompasses a 2-year pilot program aimed at assessing the viability of establishing a coastal ocean modelling commons in partnership with the University of New South Wales (UNSW). The program also focuses on enhancing Australian ice sheet modelling capacities, with the ultimate aim of integrating ice sheets into the ACCESS framework.
IMOS is establishing observing capability to monitor coastal waves and estuarine water quality to improve understanding of processes and conditions directly related to inundation and other coastal risks. These observing platforms will provide baseline data to understand conditions and trends in key coastal areas.
The TERN-enabled OzSET network of 289 portable mechanical leveling devices benchmarks and measures the relative elevation change of wetland sediments at 31 site locations in 5 Australian states and territories. Additionally, with AuScope’s drones, TERN plans to examine how integration of remote sensing combined with LiDAR can provide meaningful information about wetland vegetation characteristic in conjunction with Surface Elevation Table measures.
Learn more about the Drones Collaborative Research Platform (CRP)
This project comprises the Trusted Environmental Data and Information Supply Chains program, focusing on the necessary infrastructure for environmental prediction, trusted data spaces, and models, and data sharing between sectors. It also includes the Modelling, Analytics and Decision Support program, focusing on supporting data and modelling platforms for research and decision making, the Machine Observation program designed to provide national facilitates for data storage, data synthesis activities, and processing pipelines, and the Governance of Indigenous Data program, enhancing the capability and capacity of facilities for the development of learning partnerships for governance of indigenous data and processes.
AURIN will contribute curated data, training, expertise, and understanding relevant to urban coastal assets to allow modelling of the risk and impact of coastal inundation from storm surge and sea-level rise. This includes access to AURIN’s current repository of curated coastal population and demographic data, derived data, and historical data to allow time series analysis. Acquiring access to currently unavailable and hard-to-get urban infrastructure data assets, such as subterranean utilities, is a key priority for AURIN and its users. Data pertaining to the urban environment is critical to understanding the economic and human well-being impacts of coastal inundation.
Drone and fixed monitoring infrastructure will provide a vital bridge between satellite, ground and marine characterisation for the nation. The infrastructure will capture information with emerging scientific-grade, remote sensing instruments (hyperspectral, terrestrial and bathymetric LiDAR, thermal, photogrammetry). The fixed camera/LiDAR stations offer continuous coverage at strategic locations of national priority, while drone deployments enable flexibility for high-resolution and rapid-response surveying. It opens new avenues for change detection and monitoring, over sites of strategic interest, validation sites, areas impacted by extreme events and inundation, or locations of key coastal management interventions. There are innovative citizen science and outreach components, providing complimentary, low-cost observations and critical community engagement.
Stage 2
CoastRI Stage 2 investment
In May 2026, CoastRI received $58 million in Australian Government investment to strengthen Australia’s coastal monitoring capability through a nationally coordinated network of sensors and drones, providing real-time data to better understand changing coastlines and support informed decision-making.
Delivered through 13 NCRIS partners, Stage 2 builds on the foundations established through Stage 1 and strengthens national integration across coastal science and observing.
Next steps
Implementation is now underway. A series of technical workshops with CoastRI partners and key stakeholders has been completed to refine priorities, identify activities and equipment, and develop priority locations for investment. Work is now progressing to consolidate these outcomes, confirm deployment plans, and identify opportunities for co-investment and co-delivery.
Components of CoastRI
