Climate change is Australia's greatest public health challenge of the coming decades. Rising temperatures are driving more frequent and severe heatwaves that kill Australians — particularly elderly people, outdoor workers, and those with chronic conditions. Wildfire smoke events affect respiratory and cardiovascular health. Floods, droughts, and cyclones cause injury, mental health impacts, and displacement. Grant funding supports the research, community adaptation, and health system preparation that will determine how well Australia copes with a changing climate.
Heatwaves
Heatwaves are Australia's deadliest natural disaster:
- More Australians die from heatwaves than from any other natural disaster
- Heatwave mortality is concentrated among elderly people, people with chronic conditions, and those without access to cooling
- The Black Saturday week (2009) in Victoria: over 370 heat-related deaths
- Urban heat islands (cities significantly hotter than surrounding areas)
- Increasing frequency, duration, and intensity of heatwaves with climate change
Wildfire smoke
Smoke from bushfires and prescribed burns is a significant respiratory and cardiovascular hazard:
- 2019-20 Black Summer: millions of Australians exposed to hazardous air quality for weeks
- PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) from smoke drives emergency presentations, respiratory disease exacerbation, and premature death
- People with asthma, COPD, and cardiovascular disease most vulnerable
- Long-term health effects of repeated smoke exposure
Extreme weather events
Vector-borne disease
Mental health
Climate change drives mental health impacts:
- Eco-anxiety and climate grief (particularly in young people)
- Post-disaster trauma and PTSD
- Chronic stress from climate uncertainty
- Agricultural community mental health under drought and climate pressure
Food and water security
Department of Health and Aged Care
Climate change health adaptation funding — relatively limited:
- National Heatwave Information for Health Professionals
- Climate change health adaptation framework
NHMRC
Research grants for climate and health — growing priority.
Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF)
Climate health research as part of environmental health priorities.
State health departments
Heatwave management plans and community cooling.
Emergency Management
Disaster health preparedness and response.
The Wellcome Trust
Global health and climate change — significant funder of climate health research.
Future Earth Australia
Climate and sustainability research.
Australian Academy of Science
Climate science and health communication.
VicHealth
Health in a changing climate — significant Victorian investment.
NSW Health Foundation
Climate and health research.
The Ian Potter Foundation
Environmental health and sustainability.
National Heart Foundation
Cardiovascular effects of climate (heat, air pollution).
Lung Foundation Australia
Respiratory impacts of air pollution and wildfire smoke.
Heatwave health
Wildfire smoke health
Mental health
Rural and agricultural community health
Outdoor worker heat health
Vulnerable population adaptation
Health system adaptation
Research
Growing recognition of climate's mental health impact:
- Young people report high levels of climate anxiety
- Climate grief (mourning biodiversity loss, futures foreclosed by climate change)
- Not pathological — appropriate response to genuine threat
- Support frameworks: Climate Aware Therapy, ecological grief counselling
- Community approaches: climate grief circles, action groups as mental health
Heatwave equity
Heatwave deaths are not evenly distributed — elderly, disabled, low-income, and some CALD communities bear disproportionate burden. Applications addressing cooling access and heatwave health for these populations are compelling.
Wildfire smoke preparedness
The 2019-20 Black Summer revealed severe gaps in community preparedness for prolonged smoke events. Applications building community capacity (air quality monitoring, home protection, vulnerable population support) are well-timed.
Mental health co-benefit
Climate health interventions often have mental health co-benefits and vice versa. Community-based adaptation that builds social connection also builds mental health resilience — show this dual benefit.
Intersecting vulnerabilities
Climate health impacts concentrate in people who already face health disadvantage — framing climate health as equity is both accurate and compelling to funders.
Tahua's grants management platform supports environmental health funders and climate adaptation organisations — with programme participant tracking, health outcome measurement, community reach data, and the reporting tools that help climate health funders demonstrate their investment in protecting Australia's most vulnerable people from the health impacts of a changing climate.