Associate Professor Hannah Power and Dr Michael Kinsela say coastal management has typically been "piecemeal, reactionary and remedial".

They propose a properly funded federal agency, legal framework and research body for coastal resilience and adaptation.

Currently, much of the Australian coast is managed at the local and state level with approaches that "vary between jurisdictions".

This lack of consistency was confusing local communities, while band-aid solutions based on short-term government and budget cycles made little sense.

A/Prof Power, a coastal and marine scientist, said this was "very relevant to the Newcastle and Hunter Region because so many of us live here for the coastal and lake lifestyle".

"We're facing some real challenges in this space," Dr Power said.

Increasingly frequent cases of extreme weather highlight the "growing and compounding threats" faced by more than 80 per cent of Australians who live on the coast.

Many jurisdictions had underestimated the problem, but improved science, engineering and modelling offered hope for better preparation and coastal protection.

Dr Kinsela said local approaches to coastal problems had positive aspects, but they can be "quite reactionary".

"The resources aren't there to plan for the future seriously. A nationally co-ordinated approach means huge efficiency gains in access to resources, data and analysis.

"Decades ago, we'd go down to each beach and measure it on foot. These days we have satellites, drones and technology that can do this at a large scale."

Decisions should be made "based on thresholds and trigger points" of coastal changes, with a range of options available.

Monitoring the coast for this purpose was difficult for a council or community.

"When it's co-ordinated on a larger scale, it becomes much more efficient and accessible. If we leave all this to down the track, the cost will be too high to address."