Rising ocean temperatures are rapidly changing fish body sizes by impacting their growth and mortality rates. Fish growth not only plays a crucial role in individual fitness, but also has fundamental implications for the size structure and productivity of populations. Southeastern Australia is a ‘warming hotspot’ and coastal species in this region are exceptionally impacted by ocean warming. Observed size distributions of many species are changing swiftly, but it is not clear whether these changes are caused by adaptations in growth or mortality. Here, we investigate long-term patterns in growth across 10 temperate reef fish species from southeastern Australia using otolith-derived growth chronologies. We analyse how growth is changing in response to temperature and investigate whether it is becoming more variable or synchronous with warming. We also assess the effect of marine heatwaves to test whether such extreme events are detectable from otolith increment analysis. Understanding how fish growth responds to warming and extreme thermal events is a first step in untangling the relative impacts of growth and mortality on population dynamics, which will be critical for predicting future impacts on marine ecosystems and developing effective management strategies under rapid climate change. Here I will present and discuss early results from this work.