Place and place attachment are important features in the analysis of climate change adaptation outcomes. These features inform the divide that exists between social ideas of place and institutional framings of place. The recognition of this divide and of the many dimensions place and place attachment can have, assists in developing strategies that may encourage the positive uptake of climate change adaptation policy.

One on one semi structured interviews were undertaken with residents in two coastal Local Government Areas in New South Wales (Port Stephens and Lake Macquarie). The interviews explored, amongst other things, the role of law in coastal adaptation. Attachment to location, place and home became a recurring theme in identifying a gap between the social and institutional ideas of place. Legal geographers such as Graham (2011) have also identified this gap as between property and place. This paper is situated conceptually in legal geography. It analyses the implications of different framings of place in the context of the gap identified by Graham. This analysis provides ideas for the further exploration of place based governance outcomes, which in turn may assist in community led climate change adaptation.