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Bringing a justice lens to climate resilience

Publication date: 15 December 2025

Communities across Australia are facing more frequent and severe disasters — from bushfires and floods to long-term environmental stresses. But the impacts aren’t evenly shared. For people already facing housing instability, poor health, or financial hardship, the impacts of climate change can deepen existing inequities and injustice.

That’s why Jesuit Social Services’ Climate Partnerships project in Victoria takes a different approach—one rooted in place, collaboration and justice.

Led by our Centre for Just Places and delivered in partnership with ARC Justice, Eastern Community Legal Centre and the Federation of Community Legal Centres, the three-year initiative supports local organisations in the Campaspe and Yarra Ranges regions to build their capacity to respond to climate change and disaster.

“Through the Climate Partnerships project, the Centre for Just Places continues to build on years of experience in enabling community service organisations to lead local adaptation and resilience work through place-based collaboration. Our work in Campaspe and Yarra Ranges is grounded in deep, practical knowledge of what drives equitable and effective action on the ground,” says Anna Braizer, Senior Project Officer for the Centre.

“I think that for climate resilience planning to be successful we need to see ourselves and experiences in it,” says Prue Bagley from ARC Justice. “The Campaspe community is shaped by its particular experiences of a changing climate and related disasters. The place-based nature of this project means that local knowledge, generated over many decades, is heard and valued.”

The project brings together community legal centres, health services, emergency services and community organisations through collaborative planning and capacity-building workshops. These workshops not only create a shared understanding of local climate risks—they also foster strong, cross-sector relationships that can be crucial in times of crisis.

Centre for Just Places team and Climate Partnerships partners bring local community and health organisations, local and state government representatives together at the Capacity Building workshop in the Yarra Ranges

“Many local organisations see climate resilience as a priority, but have found it difficult to find clear entry points for collaboration,” explains Michael Smith, CEO of Eastern Community Legal Centre.

“The tools for building organisational understanding and capacity have been pivotal. Organisations have told us the workshops have provided rich opportunities for learning, and they’re committed to co-developing a plan that reflects the strengths and challenges of their communities.”

Community legal centres play a crucial role in building climate resilience. As trusted organisations with deep local relationships, they are often the first to support people experiencing disaster related hardship—whether it’s navigating rental disputes, accessing income support, or resolving insurance issues. Their frontline insight also allows them to advocate for more inclusive systems that respond to the real impacts of climate change on people’s lives

Climate Partnerships is about strengthening resilience in ways that are practical, locally led and grounded in justice. By supporting organisations to understand how climate change intersects with social inequity—and equipping them with the tools to act—the project is laying the groundwork for more coordinated, inclusive and effective approaches to supporting climate and disaster resilience.

We’re helping communities to collaboratively strengthen their climate and disaster resilience— building a safer, more just future—together.

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