Yes, Sydney is located on the Sydney Basin, a region with numerous ancient fault lines, like the Kurrajong Fault and the Lapstone Structural Complex, formed from tectonic activity when Australia separated from New Zealand; while Australia is stable, these buried faults can cause minor earthquakes, though large ones are rare.
Faults west of Sydney belonging to the Lapstone Structural Complex and faults beneath the greater Sydney region are associated with infrequent damaging earthquakes (Figure 2).
In the area you have selected (New South Wales) earthquake hazard is classified as low according to the information that is currently available. This means that there is a 2% chance of potentially-damaging earthquake shaking in your project area in the next 50 years.
Adelaide is the most earthquake-prone capital city in Australia, with earthquakes of a magnitude five to six on the Richter scale occurring frequently enough to be a potential danger.
Since Australia has an up-to-date loading standard for earthquakes, the risk to buildings designed to current standards are minimal. The challenge we have are the old buildings (constructed before 1993) which are not designed to earthquake loading.
1. California. The seismic activity in California is widely known, and high-hazard areas cover large sections of the state, including the San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The San Andreas Fault has caused some of the most notable earthquakes in recent memory.
WA is the most active both in the size and number of earthquakes. One of Australia's largest recorded earthquakes tore through the wheat-growing community of Meckering in Western Australia on October 14, 1968.
Recent research found much of northern Australia could experience unliveable conditions if global temperatures increased by about 3C, which could become a reality within 40 years, Dr Howey told the conference. Such extreme conditions were found in 0.8 per cent of the planet, mostly in the Sahara Desert.
Neither the USGS nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake. We do not know how, and we do not expect to know how any time in the foreseeable future.
Know your risk
NSW is at low risk from tsunami, but the impacts can be severe. Over 50 tsunami have impacted the NSW coast in the last 200 years (most causing dangerous currents, tides and coastal water disruptions) and there is evidence of other tsunami impacts dating back before then.
Which is the safest place in Australia to live from natural disasters? Canberra is one of the safest places to live in Australia. It is considered as safest from natural disasters as well as the lowest crime rate in the country.
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar (Burma), near Sagaing, on March 28, 2025 (12:50 local time). Several strong earthquakes followed, as well as multiple aftershocks. This was the most catastrophic earthquake in Myanmar since the Maymyo earthquake of 1912.
Impact: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake on 300 miles of the southern San Andreas fault — from the Salton Sea (which is southeast of Palm Springs) to Lake Hughes (just west of Lancaster) — could result in 1,800 deaths, among the worst for a natural disaster in U.S. history. It could cause $213 billion in economic losses.
Sydney is located on the eastern coast of Australia, far from the major tectonic plate boundaries that cause significant earthquakes around the world. The city sits on the relatively stable Indo-Australian Plate, which is why it's not typically associated with frequent seismic activity.
The Alpine Fault has a high probability of rupturing in the next 50 years. The rupture will produce one of the biggest earthquakes since European settlement of New Zealand, and it will have a major impact on the lives of many people.
If the earthquake is right under our feet, we can't warn people because as soon as we notice it, we get rocked. But if it's a big earthquake on the coast or in California, it would take a few minutes for the crack to spread and rupture near us, giving us two, three or four minutes warning.
In the highly populated areas of Northern California and the Bay Area, scientists estimate there is a nearly 3 out of 4 chance of one or more magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquakes striking the San Francisco region in the near future—and a 95% chance in Northern California overall—with the earthquake risk spread ...
Finance experts believe that Australia is well on its way to being cashless, and that the change could come as soon as 2030.
Tasmania is the clear winner, with two in five Australians (41 per cent) choosing it, with other states falling well behind. Tasmania is especially preferred by those most worried about climate change and who expect the climate to be much warmer by 2050.
According to the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), published by the independent monitoring agency, the top three countries leading in climate protection are all Scandinavian: Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, while the United Kingdom is ranked fourth in climate protection.
In short: Darwin and Victoria's Latrobe Valley have been identified as high-risk earthquake zones. The National Seismic Hazard Assessment has been updated for the first time since 2018.
There is no proven way to predict an earthquake. Geologists are working to develop an early warning system, but there is still much to be learned about what happens just before an earthquake hits.