Developed through collaboration between local residents and Council, the Marks Point and Belmont South Local Adaptation Plan (LAP) addresses the risk to low-lying Lake Macquarie settlements from tidal inundation and lake flooding with a projected increase in sea level of up to 0.9metres. The LAP sets out a strategy to 2100 combined with a 10-year action plan. After assessing 39 suggested management actions against social, environmental, economic, and risk management criteria, the preferred strategy is to defend the foreshore and progressively raise low-lying land and assets. Actions in the 10-year plan include planning and development controls to manage flood risk and protect land required for adaptation works; setting triggers linked to changes in hazard; setting design and construction standards for new assets; and developing processes to coordinate the raising of land, buildings and infrastructure. Collaboration moved the community from hostility to participation and support, and the LAP commits Council and the community to continue to collaborate in the implementation of actions. The Marks Point and Belmont South area comprises 1200 households and a small commercial centre, and provides a case study for similar settlements in other coastal estuaries. As one of the first such plans in Australia, the LAP raises new questions and challenges: how to manage and coordinate the progressive raising of land, buildings and infrastructure; how to finance the costs of renewing infrastructure and who should pay; and how to support new development without adding to the risk from the increasing hazard?