Three years before the launch on the Climate Change in Australia website, meetings between stakeholders, project leaders, key scientists, data managers and the communication manager established a mutual understanding of needs and research capabilities. A User Panel was formed. A year before the launch, a series of workshops were co-designed by researchers and participants to develop the stakeholders’ capacity to understand climate science. Printed, web-based and technical products were prepared for different target audiences, including brochures, reports, web-tools, guidance material, online training, videos, slides, memory sticks and posters.

During the launch in January 2015, a basic website www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au delivered a technical report, eight regional reports and eight regional brochures. An enhanced website was launched in April 2015, supported by a media release, webinars and a Help Desk. The website enhancements included guidance and training material for those using climate projections in impact assessments, nine interactive data exploration tools, a decision-tree to help people find what they need, information about historical climate change, and links to research on impacts and adaptation for natural resource management.

The website has received over 120,000 unique visitors and has almost 800 registered users. Providing ongoing outreach and support for stakeholders is essential for widespread uptake of the information. Outreach activities include presentations, workshops and training courses to facilitate capacity-building and application of projections. The Help Desk has handled over 100 requests for projection information tailored for specific applications. Good examples of applications will be documented in case studies.