Climate Risk and Adaptation
Foundations.

Turn climate evidence into adaptation decisions for the assets, services and communities you are responsible for.

Register now

Climate Risk and Adaptation

Registrations

Standard rate for the three-day Climate Risk and Adaptation programme.

Standard registrations are now open.

In person, per person incl GST$1,795
Live stream, per person incl GST$495
Group of 3 or more from one organisation, in person, per person incl GST$1,705
Group of 3 or more from one organisation, live stream, per person incl GST$470
Total$0
Book by purchase order

Paying by invoice? Send us your purchase order details with the form, or email admin@apter.au.

*Group rate: 5% off the current price for three or more people from one organisation. Select it for each person. All prices include GST.

How to attend

In person

Join all three days in Brisbane, including:

  • Expert-led sessions on climate risk, adaptation, governance and AI.
  • The adaptation field day.
  • Case work and discussion with people from councils, agencies and business.

Live stream

  • Join the Day 1 and Day 3 sessions as they run, with the course materials.
  • The adaptation field day is in person only and is not streamed.

Confirmed: the course runs on 25–27 November 2026.

Why this course

Climate change already shapes the assets you manage, the services you deliver and the decisions you make about the future. Acting well means knowing the risks, the options and what it costs to act early or late.

This course connects climate science to the day-to-day work of councils, state agencies, utilities and businesses. You build a shared foundation, see adaptation decisions in the field on Day 2, and apply it all to a case from your own organisation.

Who it is for

Professionals whose decisions are shaped by climate risk:

  • Councils: adaptation, planning, infrastructure, asset management, sustainability and community resilience.
  • State agencies and utilities: the people responsible for assets, networks, services and long-term investment.
  • Business: risk, sustainability, finance and operations teams, including those preparing for climate reporting.
  • Consultants and advisers supporting clients with risk assessment and adaptation.

No specialist climate or AI background is needed.

What you will be able to do

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

  1. Read climate projections and scenarios, including their uncertainties.
  2. Identify hazards, exposure and vulnerability across assets, services and communities.
  3. Assess consequences, including compound and cascading impacts.
  4. Develop, compare and sequence adaptation options as conditions change.
  5. Connect climate risk to governance, investment and reporting.
  6. Judge where AI helps, and how to check what it produces.

What you take back

You take back:

  • Your own case, worked through with the group: the risk, the options and a practical next step.
  • The course materials.
  • A Certificate of Completion with a permanent verification link.

Programme

  1. Day 1

    Understanding climate risk

    A common foundation in climate risk, applied to a situation from your organisation. Topics include:

    • Observed and projected change, scenarios and uncertainty.
    • Physical and transition risks.
    • Exposure, vulnerability and compound impacts.
    • Who owns the risk: governance in councils, agencies and business.
    • An introduction to AI and machine learning for climate-risk work.

  2. Day 2

    Adaptation field day

    Adaptation decisions in practice, on site. At each stop we ask:

    • What risk was addressed, and on what evidence?
    • Which options were considered, and why was one chosen?
    • Who paid for it, and what trade-offs shaped it?
    • What risk remains, and how is it monitored?

    Themes may include flooding, urban heat, water and critical infrastructure. In person only. Sites and hosts are announced once confirmed.

  3. Day 3

    From risk to adaptation

    Apply the first two days to your own case. Topics include:

    • Developing and comparing adaptation options, costs and co-benefits.
    • Adaptation pathways, thresholds and trigger points.
    • Funding, investment and implementation.
    • Monitoring, review and residual risk.
    • Demonstrations of AI-assisted climate-risk workflows.

    Your case can be a council asset, a public service or a business operation.

Climate risk governance and reporting

Councils, agencies and businesses are all expected to show how they manage climate risk. The course covers what that looks like in each setting:

  • Councils and agencies: climate risk in risk registers, asset management plans, long-term financial plans and reports to elected members and executives.
  • Business: the foundations of Australian climate reporting under AASB S2.
  • For everyone: who owns the decision, how scenarios are used, and the evidence that holds up to review.

The course builds understanding. Formal reporting obligations need their own assessment and advice.

Artificial intelligence for climate risk and adaptation

AI runs through the course, applied to the climate questions you work on:

  • Reviewing and organising research, guidance and internal documents.
  • Finding patterns in environmental and asset data with machine learning.
  • Drafting option comparisons and communication material.

You learn what to check before using an output: sources, data quality, uncertainty and confidentiality. No programming experience is needed.

Instructors

  • Dr Marcello Sano

    Founder and instructor, Apter

    Climate risk, hazards and adaptation, and applied AI for climate-risk assessment.

    LinkedIn

  • Dr Stella Whittaker

    Climate Change, Adaptation and Resilience Lead, Haskoning

    Climate adaptation planning, governance and implementation.

    LinkedIn

  • Steve Charlton-Henderson

    Resource economist, Natural Capital and Climate

    The economics of risk and adaptation: costs, trade-offs and co-benefits.

    LinkedIn

Additional contributors will be announced as confirmed.

What is included

All registrations include:

  • Access to the sessions covered by your attendance option.
  • Course materials.
  • Certificate of Completion.

In-person registration also includes the Day 2 adaptation field day.

Questions

Do I need a climate background?
No. The course starts from the foundations and connects them to the decisions in your role.
Should I bring a case?
Yes, if you can. Day 3 is built around it. A real asset, service or site question is enough.
Does this cover climate reporting?
Where it bears on governance and adaptation decisions, for councils and business alike. It is not a compliance course.
Where does the adaptation field day go?
Sites are confirmed closer to the course, depending on host availability.
What does a live-stream seat include?
Days 1 and 3 as they run, the course materials and a certificate. Day 2 is in the field and cannot be streamed.
Can my organisation pay by invoice or purchase order?
Yes. Pay by card at checkout, or use the purchase order request page and we will raise a tax invoice. Finance teams that prefer email can write to admin@apter.au. A tax invoice is provided either way, and there is no booking fee.
How does the group rate work?
Three or more people from one organisation registering for the same course can use the group rate. It is calculated as 5% off the standard price, then rounded down to the nearest $5. Select the group option for each eligible participant. It applies to in-person and live-stream places where offered, but cannot be combined with pathway pricing or another discount.
What if I cannot attend after registering?
Contact admin@apter.au as soon as you know. A suitable colleague can usually take your place at no additional cost if you notify us before the course starts. Under our terms, cancellations more than 21 days before the course may receive a refund less non-recoverable fees or committed costs. Between 8 and 21 days, a transfer or credit may be offered, but a refund is not guaranteed. Refunds are generally unavailable within 7 days. Please read the full cancellation terms at www.apter.au/terms.
Is the course confirmed?
Yes. The course runs on 25–27 November 2026 in Brisbane.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. After the course you receive a Certificate of Completion with a credential ID and a permanent verification link on apter.au, which you can add to LinkedIn from the email. It states the structured learning hours for the course. Your professional body determines whether and how these hours count towards its CPD requirements.
Where is the venue?
The Ship Inn, corner of Stanley and Sidon Streets, South Bank, Brisbane, for Days 1 and 3. Day 2 is at field sites confirmed closer to the course.
I have dietary or accessibility requirements.
Contact admin@apter.au as early as possible so we can discuss your requirements and available arrangements.

Register

Registrations close Friday 20 November.

25–27 November 2026, Brisbane. From $495 per person, GST included.

Register now

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Background reading: Climate risk and adaptation for local government

What practitioners say

Feedback on the Apter learning experience from participants in Coastal Resilience courses, including the AI session in Level II, not this programme.

The most rewarding part was engaging with the other participants. I came away understanding coastal hazards from perspectives beyond my own, and seeing the range of solutions to erosion and inundation being applied across Australia.
Dr Paul BiermanBureau of Meteorology
I brought my own case to the AI session and built an agent to manage my email. I have been using it ever since, and I am now looking at whether AI can help with a coastal problem too.
Sophie BarrettCairns Regional Council, Queensland
A really worthwhile course. Working through coastal resilience in a practical way, alongside people from right across the coastal space, gave me perspectives I had not had before. I have already found myself drawing on those discussions in my own work.
Abby BernathCity of Gold Coast, Queensland
We were deeply impressed by this comprehensive and practical course. It provided essential knowledge that we hope to implement in our national forecasting strategies. Thank you for your valuable guidance and support.
Tom NatickMinistry of Climate Change, Vanuatu
A highly useful introduction to coastal processes and the options for erosion mitigation. Experienced professionals and real case studies made the basics of coastline management clear. I would strongly recommend it to anyone building their knowledge of how the coastal sector works in practice.
David GarradBundaberg Regional Council, Queensland
An incredibly rewarding experience. The course gave me valuable knowledge, meaningful connections and a fresh perspective that I will carry forward in my work and beyond. If you have the opportunity, I would absolutely encourage you to do it.
Carla OmeleyWollongong City Council, New South Wales
The AI session was particularly interesting and beneficial. I had not realised how many applications AI could have, or its potential for both administrative and complex tasks. I am now using it in everyday work and in drone mapping.
Craig PerryPeron Naturaliste Partnership, Western Australia

Get in touch

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