Whilst climate change is a global issue, many of the impacts will be felt at the local level. Local government authorities (LGA) have a significant role in climate change response due to their mandated activities in the area of development and approvals, infrastructure management and through the provision of services such as water supply, waste, public health, community and emergency services. Publicly available documents of all 152 NSW local governments were examined to determine how rural LGA were responding. It was found that while Australian federal and state governments support climate change action at the local level through the provision of policy and funding to guide local governments; these arrangements often target areas of higher population. Thus compared with urban LGA, regional and rural councils are neglected players in climate adaptation response. This is poignant given that regional and rural organizations, with their role in the management of relatively larger areas of land, could potentially provide adaptation opportunities not available to their urban counterparts.