Other suburbs considered highly vulnerable were Fassifern, Marmong Point, Fennell Bay, Whitebridge, Wangi Wangi, Coal Point, Awaba and Balmoral.

Pockets of Warners Bay, Swansea, Valentine, Speers Point and Boolaroo were also ranked highly vulnerable.

Oil vulnerability was assessed after examining the number of cars residents owned, how they travelled to work and their wealth.

‘‘While areas such as Coal Point and Wangi display high levels of oil vulnerability, they also rank highly for economic resources,’’ the report said.

Wealthier suburbs were considered ‘‘most able to cope with fluctuations in the price of oil’’.

Poorer areas ‘‘should be considered the highest priority for local government initiatives to reduce oil vulnerability’’, the report said.

The report maps the vulnerability of suburbs to a ‘‘long-term decline in the availability and affordability of oil and conventional petroleum fuel products’’.

It did not measure vulnerability to a short-term oil shock, but highlighted areas of greatest need for long-term planning and investment to reduce reliance on oil and create ‘‘more liveable, resilient communities’’.

Concern was increasing about the future availability of oil, the report said.

‘‘Planning for a future of less oil, turning around decades of growing consumption and the policies that underpin this growth requires the focused attention of government,’’ it said.

As oil became scarce, fuel prices would become more volatile.

‘‘Those with the least economic resources and greatest dependency on car use are likely to be the first to experience the impacts,’’ the report said.

‘‘The production and transport of food has become heavily dependent on oil and any threat to the availability of oil has food security implications.’’

The report said the development of a community less dependent on oil would have ‘‘long lead times’’ that involved reconfiguring transport systems and land use.

It recommended consolidating development around transport hubs such as train stations and bus interchanges and greater investment in bicycle infrastructure, such as on-road lanes and off-road shared paths.