Managing our beaches

Our beaches provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits. We carefully manage them to reduce the risk of erosion and help them recover after severe storms and wave conditions.

Understanding our coastline

The Gold Coast’s coastline is shaped by three main natural forces: waves, tides and longshore drift.

1. Waves

Waves constantly move sand around. When the weather is calm, waves push sand up the beach. During storms, waves can wash sand away and reshape the coastline overnight. Sand can be pushed offshore where it forms sand bars. Waves can then push it back onshore when conditions are right. We can also use sand dredging if there is severe storm damage.

Watch the changing shoreline during Tropical Cyclone Alfred in 2025

2. Tides

Twice a day, tides rise and fall, pulling water in and out, moving sand up and down our beaches. Tides also control how far up the beach the waves can reach. Very high tides and king tides can damage our beaches, especially if they coincide with large swell.

3. Longshore drift

When waves hit the beach at an angle, they push sand along the shore in one direction. Most waves on the Gold Coast come from the southeast due to prevailing winds and swell direction, so the sand is pushed north.

Impact of climate change

More frequent and severe storms are increasing beach erosion and changing the ‘wave climate’. Rising sea levels also contribute to beach erosion.

Without proactive management, the width of our beaches will decrease, especially during higher tides and storm surge events. If we lose that protective buffer zone, the risk of erosion and flooding increases.

That’s why we use clever engineering to protect our foreshore parks and beachfront infrastructure and keep the beaches healthy.

Watch how climate change and erosion affects Gold Coast beaches

How we protect our beaches

Protecting our beaches takes smart planning, teamwork and engineering.

We use 'three lines of defence' to keep our beaches healthy and our communities safe.

1. Sand

Sand is nature’s shock absorber. Wide, sandy beaches absorb wave energy and high tides, protecting the land behind them.

Sand naturally moves around with winds, tides and storms. Sand movement can also be affected by coastal structures like training walls and groynes.

We manage sand carefully through:

• Sand nourishment: adding sand from offshore and creek dredging to rebuild beach width.
• Sand bypassing and backpassing: using pipes and pumps to move sand across creeks, rivers and the Seaway, as well as around coastal structures, and place it back along beaches where needed.
• Sand profiling: reshaping beaches with machinery for safe access and better storm defence.

Watch how sand moves during and after major storms

2. Dunes and vegetation

Dunes play a vital role in our coastal ecosystem. They’re more than just sandy hills – they are the second line of defence behind the beach.

Dunes are living buffers that:

• hold large volumes of sand for natural protection during extreme weather
• act as windbreaks
• help trap new sand to rebuild the beach
• provide habitat for native wildlife.

For details, visit Sand dredging and dunes

3. Buried seawalls

We have seawalls buried beneath the sand along the developed part of our coastline. These structures may be invisible to beachgoers, but they are our third line of defence.

They:

• protect homes, roads, foreshore parks, and public infrastructure during large and extreme storm events
• reduce the risk of severe erosion when the beach and dunes are under pressure
• stay hidden and out of the way until they’re truly needed.

During severe weather events these seawalls can become exposed. This doesn’t mean they’ve failed. It means they’ve done their job to protect the infrastructure on top or behind them. Our engineers build, check, maintain and rebuild these buried seawalls to make sure they’re ready when the next major storm hits.

For details, visit Seawalls and artificial reefs

Beach cleaning

We also use specialised beach cleaning tractors that sieve the sand daily to keep the beaches and foreshores clean and sparkling.

After large storm events, you’ll also see our beach crews cleaning up large debris such as logs and hazardous materials.

Why managing our beaches matters

Our coastline isn’t just sand and water – it’s a vital part of our lifestyle, economy and environment. Our beaches contribute more than $3 billion to the local economy annually, attracting domestic and international visitors year-round. Our coastal dunes are home to a large variety of native plants and animals. And our enviable Gold Coast lifestyle is built around our beautiful coastal places.

By managing sand, nurturing dunes and maintaining buried seawalls, we’re protecting:

• public and private assets
• safe beach access for everyone
• natural habitats and ecosystems
• the future of our coastal way of life.

Together, these actions form a strong, smart system – balancing natural processes with essential engineering to keep the Gold Coast coastline strong and resilient.

How you can help protect our beaches

You can help protect our beaches and coastal dunes by:

• using designated beach accessways
• keeping off dune vegetation
• taking your rubbish with you and properly disposing of it
• picking up rubbish and microplastics you find on the beach
• joining in local dune planting and rubbish collection events
• reporting illegal camping and vegetation vandalism as soon as possible.

Annual beach report card

We monitor and report on the health of our beaches every year, measuring the following key health measures at 29 beaches along our coastline:

• dune amenity
• water quality
• beach amenity
• erosion protection.

For details, read the State of the Beaches Report 2024-25(PDF, 10MB)

25-year vision for our beaches

To read our long-term strategy for protecting and enhancing our beaches, waterways and foreshore parks, visit Our Coastal Lifestyle Strategy 2050

Contact us

Got a question? Email us at beaches@goldcoast.qld.gov.au