Kathleen McInnes leads the sea level rise and coasts team at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. Her expertise lies in analysis of climate model simulations and modelling of coastal sea levels under current and future climate conditions and assessing the impacts of changes in the coastal zone.

She was a contributing author on the IPCC second, third and fourth assessment reports and a lead author on the IPCC Special Report on Extremes. She is currently a lead author on the IPCC Working Group 2 fifth assessment report chapter on Coastal Systems and Low-Lying Areas.