If your home is near bush, scrub or grassland, getting ready for bushfire season comes down to four things. Reduce what can burn close to the house, close the gaps embers can get through, understand how warnings work, and decide in advance when you will leave. Most of it can be done on a cool weekend, well before any fire starts.
This guide walks through bushfire preparation in six steps, with plain explanations of terms like Bushfire Attack Level and bushfire overlays. Your state or territory fire service has the final word for your area, so check its local guidance alongside this one.
What a bushfire is and how one starts
A bushfire is an unplanned fire burning through vegetation such as forest, scrub, grassland or crops. Grassfires count too, and they can move very quickly across open, dry country.
Bushfires in Australia start in three broad ways:
- Natural causes, mainly lightning, often during dry storms.
- Accidents, such as sparks from mowers, slashers, grinders or welding gear, vehicles, damaged powerlines, escaped burn-offs, campfires and discarded cigarettes.
- Deliberate lighting.
What turns an ignition into a dangerous fire is the conditions: high temperatures, low humidity, strong wind and dry fuel. Fire danger ratings are built to capture those conditions, which is why your planning should follow the forecast rating rather than how a particular fire began. It’s also why burning and some machinery use are restricted during declared fire danger periods
How a bushfire reaches your home
Houses are put at risk in three ways, and each one shapes the steps that follow.
- Embers. Burning bark, leaves and twigs are carried by wind well ahead of the fire front. They settle in gutters, on doormats and decks, and through gaps under roof tiles or around vents. Embers are the most common way houses catch fire, and they can keep arriving for hours after the main fire passes [VERIFY: V03].
- Radiant heat. Intense heat from nearby flames can crack window glass, ignite materials without direct contact, and injure people outdoors.
- Direct flame. Burning vegetation, sheds, fences or stored items right next to the house can set it alight.
That’s why most of the work below focuses on the area immediately around the house and on small openings in it.
When bushfire season starts where you live
There’s no single national season. The higher-risk period generally follows the dry months where you live [VERIFY: V09]:
- Northern Australia: winter and spring, during the dry season.
- NSW and southern Queensland: spring and summer.
- Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and southern Western Australia: summer and autumn.
Local authorities declare fire danger periods, and burning restrictions or permit requirements apply during them .
For the 2026–27 season, check the latest Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook, published by AFAC, and your state fire service’s updates . Don’t rely on how last summer felt. A wet year can grow more grass, and that grass can dry out and carry fire later.
Step 1: Check whether your home is in a bushfire-prone area
- Start with the maps. They show whether extra planning and building rules apply to your property, and they tell you how seriously to treat the remaining steps. Every state and territory maps land at higher bushfire risk, usually through its planning portal or local council.
What a bushfire overlay means
A bushfire overlay is a planning control that flags land where bushfire risk is high enough for extra rules to apply. If your property sits under one, new homes, some extensions and some subdivisions usually need to show how they will manage bushfire risk before approval.
Names differ by state :
- Victoria: the main control is the Bushfire Management Overlay (BMO) in the planning scheme.
- NSW: land is mapped as “bush fire prone land”.
- Other states and territories: Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT each have their own bushfire-prone area mapping and planning rules.
If you’re buying, renting or renovating, check early. An overlay can affect building costs and approvals, and vegetation rules can affect what you’re allowed to clear.
Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) ratings
A Bushfire Attack Level measures how much ember attack, radiant heat and flame contact a building could face. It is based on four things:
- the type of surrounding vegetation;
- its distance from the building;
- the slope of the land;
- the region’s fire weather.
The Australian Standard AS 3959 sets six levels. Each comes with construction requirements for new homes and some renovations in bushfire-prone areas
BAL | What the home could face |
BAL-LOW | Very low risk; no specific bushfire construction requirements |
BAL-12.5 | Ember attack, with radiant heat up to 12.5 kW/m² |
BAL-19 | Increasing ember attack and burning debris, with radiant heat up to 19 kW/m² |
BAL-29 | Increasing ember attack and burning debris, with radiant heat up to 29 kW/m² |
BAL-40 | As above, with flame contact increasingly likely; radiant heat up to 40 kW/m² |
BAL-FZ (Flame Zone) | Direct flame contact likely, plus ember attack; radiant heat above 40 kW/m² |
A qualified bushfire consultant or your council can assess a specific site. Even for an older home built before current rules, knowing the BAL tells you how much exposure you’re preparing against.
Step 2: Reduce what can burn around your home
The ground closest to the house matters most. An ember landing on gravel or short green grass does far less than one landing in dry leaves against a timber wall.
- Clear fine fuel. Remove leaves, bark and twigs from gutters, roof valleys and the base of walls. Repeat through the season; one clean in spring won’t last on a property with trees nearby.
- Manage grass and plants. Keep grass short, especially in the first few metres around the house. Prune branches that overhang the roof, and remove shrubs pressed against walls or under windows.
- Relocate stored fuel. Move woodpiles, spare timber, fuel containers and garden chemicals away from the house. Doormats, outdoor cushions and plastic bins are easy to forget, so list them in your plan for removal on high-risk days.
- Replace flammable mulch. Swap bark mulch next to walls for gravel, pebbles or bare soil.
- Secure LPG cylinders. Check that gas cylinders are secured, with relief valves pointing away from the house [VERIFY: V16].
- Check your water supply. Make sure hoses reach every side of the house. If you rely on a tank and electric pump, plan for how you’ll run it in a power outage.
- Check before clearing vegetation. Rules on removing trees and native vegetation near homes vary by state and council, so check first
If you rent, you can still do much of this. Keep the yard tidy, move stored items, and clear what’s safely within reach. Raise bigger jobs, such as tree pruning, gutter guards or mesh, with your landlord or agent in writing before the season
Step 3: Close the gaps embers can get through
Ember-proofing targets the small openings embers actually use, so much of it is maintenance rather than renovation. Work around the house and check:
- gaps under roof tiles, along ridge capping and around eaves;
- wall and roof vents, and weep holes in brickwork;
- gaps around doors and windows (draught seals help here);
- the space under floors and decks, which should be enclosed or kept clear;
- evaporative coolers and other roof-mounted equipment (ask the manufacturer about ember guards);
- gutters, where non-combustible metal gutter guards can reduce build-up.
Bushfire mesh
Bushfire mesh is non-combustible, corrosion-resistant metal mesh, such as stainless steel, bronze or aluminium, with apertures small enough to stop embers. AS 3959 sets the maximum aperture at 2 mm. It’s fitted to openable windows, vents, weep holes and other gaps.
Standard fibreglass or nylon flyscreen melts and lets embers through, so it isn’t a substitute.
How bushfire roller shutters work
Bushfire roller shutters are metal shutters, usually aluminium or steel, that close over windows and glass doors. Closed, they shield glass from radiant heat, which can crack it. They also stop embers and burning debris from reaching the glazing or getting in through a broken pane. Products sold for bushfire use should state the BAL they have been tested and rated for [VERIFY: V07].
Before you buy, including online, check three things:
- The rating. Does the product’s BAL rating match or exceed your home’s BAL?
- Operation without power. How does it close if the power fails? Power can go out during a fire, so a manual override or battery backup matters.
- Installation. Who installs it? Gaps around the frame undo the protection.
Shutters add a layer to a well-prepared house. They don’t make a house safe to shelter in, and they don’t replace the steps above.
Step 4: Write a bushfire survival plan
A bushfire survival plan is a short written set of decisions, made on a calm day, so you aren’t deciding under smoke and stress. Use your state or territory fire service’s template; most are free online or as a printed kit. A useful plan covers:
- Your trigger to leave, tied to a fire danger rating or warning (see below), and who makes the call.
- Destinations and routes: at least two places to go away from bushfire risk, such as a friend’s or relative’s home in a built-up area, and two ways to get there.
- Responsibilities: what you’ll take, and who looks after children, older relatives, anyone with a disability or health condition, pets and livestock.
- A backup if you can’t leave: where you would shelter as a last resort. Some states designate neighbourhood safer places or similar last-resort locations.
- Contacts and a meeting point if household members are apart when a fire starts.
Keep the plan short enough to follow under pressure. Share it with everyone in the household, and walk through it once before the season starts.
Leaving early or staying to defend
Fire services consistently advise that leaving early is the safest option [VERIFY: V11]. “Early” means before a fire threatens, not when you see smoke, because roads can be blocked and visibility can drop sharply.
Staying to defend suits only people who meet all of these conditions:
- they are physically and mentally prepared;
- their house has been well prepared;
- they have equipment and water that work without mains power;
fire services are not advising them to leave.
If you’re unsure whether that describes your household, plan to leave.
Use fire danger ratings as your trigger
The Australian Fire Danger Rating System uses four levels. You’ll see them on roadside signs, in apps and on fire service websites. Linking your plan to them means the decision is made before the day arrives. The right-hand column shows example triggers for a household plan, not official advice.
Rating | Official message | Example trigger for your plan |
Moderate | Plan and prepare | Check your plan, kit and warning sources |
High | Be ready to act | Prepare to leave; keep checking conditions |
Extreme | Take action now to protect life and property | Leave early unless you are fully prepared to defend a well-prepared home |
Catastrophic | For your survival, leave bushfire risk areas | Leave the night before or early in the morning |
On days with minimal risk, no rating is issued.
Where a bushfire bunker fits
A bushfire bunker, or private bushfire shelter, is a last-resort refuge, not a plan. Shelters must meet a national performance standard, and some states require building approval.
Even a compliant shelter carries risks:
- heat and smoke inside it;
- reaching it in time;
- staying in it for the right length of time.
Fire services don’t treat a shelter as a substitute for leaving early. If you’re considering one, talk to your fire service and council first.
HOW DOES YOUR HOUSEHOLD DECIDE WHEN TO LEAVE?
Tell Panel Station whether you have a written plan, what would make you go, and what has stopped you writing one so far.
Step 5: Know how bushfire warnings work
Fire danger ratings describe how dangerous a fire would be if one started. Warnings are about a fire that is already burning. Australia uses one warning system with three levels, each paired with a call to action telling you what to do.
Warning level | What it means | Example calls to action |
Advice | A fire has started. There’s no immediate danger; stay up to date | Stay informed; monitor conditions |
Watch and Act | Conditions are changing and the threat is rising. Take action now | Prepare to leave; leave now if you’re not prepared |
Emergency Warning | The highest level. You may be in danger and need to act immediately | Leave immediately; shelter now |
Fires don’t always move through the levels in order. A fast-moving fire can go straight to an Emergency Warning, so start your plan at your own trigger rather than waiting for a bushfire alert.
Set up at least two ways to receive warnings, including one that doesn’t depend on mobile coverage or mains power:
- your state or territory’s official emergency app or website, such as Hazards Near Me (NSW), VicEmergency (Victoria), Emergency WA, Alert SA or TasALERT;
- ABC Local Radio, which broadcasts emergency information, ideally on a battery-powered or wind-up radio;
- Emergency Alert messages sent to phones in an affected area.
If you’re in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000).
A quick bushfire preparation self-check
Answer honestly. Each “no” points back to a step above.
- ☐ I know whether my home is in a mapped bushfire-prone area or under a bushfire overlay.
- ☐ Gutters, roof and the ground against the walls have been cleared this season.
- ☐ Vents, gaps and openable windows have metal mesh or are sealed.
- ☐ My household has a written plan with a clear trigger to leave.
- ☐ Everyone knows two places to go and two ways to get there.
- ☐ We have two ways to get warnings, including one that doesn’t need mobile coverage.
- ☐ Our kit includes cash, medicines, masks and copies of key documents.
- ☐ I’ve checked our insurance this year.
HOW MANY DID YOU TICK?
Share what your household has done to get ready, and what’s still on the list, in a short Panel Station survey.
Before the next hot, windy day
If you do only three things this week, make them these:
- Clear the gutters and the ground against your walls.
- Write down the rating or warning that will make your household leave.
- Set up two ways to receive warnings.
Then check your state or territory fire service’s guidance for your area, because local conditions, rules and recommended actions vary. Many fire services also run free community sessions on preparing your property
FAQs
1. What's the difference between a bushfire Watch and Act and an Emergency Warning?
Watch and Act means conditions are changing and you should take action now. An Emergency Warning means you may already be in danger and must act immediately. In practice, if your plan says to leave at Watch and Act, leave then; by Emergency Warning, roads may be unsafe and the safest option may be to shelter.
2. Does a bushfire overlay affect buying or renovating a home?
Yes, it can. An overlay or bushfire-prone mapping can add approval steps and construction requirements for new homes and some extensions, which can raise costs. When buying, look for bushfire information in the vendor’s disclosure or planning documents, such as a Section 32 statement in Victoria or a planning certificate in NSW, and ask the council if it’s unclear.
3. How do I find out my home's Bushfire Attack Level?
Check your building approval documents first if the home was built or extended recently, because the BAL is often recorded there. Otherwise, a qualified bushfire consultant or your council can carry out an assessment. Some fire services offer online tools for a preliminary estimate.
4. Are bushfire roller shutters worth it for an existing home?
They can be, but they’re rarely the first priority. Clearing fuel around the house and ember-proofing gaps deal with the most common way houses catch fire, at lower cost. Shutters make most sense where a home has a higher BAL and large areas of glass facing bushland, and only if they’re rated for that BAL and can close without power.
5. Is a bushfire bunker a safe alternative to leaving?
No. A private bushfire shelter is a last resort for when leaving is no longer possible, not a replacement for leaving early. It must meet the relevant standard and any state approval requirements, and it still carries risks from heat, smoke and timing.
6. I live in a suburb, not the bush. Do I need to prepare?
If your street backs onto bushland, grassland or a reserve, yes. Embers can travel well into the edge of suburbs and towns. Even further in, it’s worth knowing how warnings work and having a basic kit, because smoke, power outages and road closures can affect a wider area.
7. What should I do if I'm travelling through bushfire areas in summer?
Check the fire danger rating and current warnings for every area on your route before you leave, using the official app or website for each state you’ll pass through. Avoid travelling through bushfire risk areas on Extreme or Catastrophic days if you can. Carry water, a charged phone and some cash in case of road closures or outages.
