Understanding vertical fuel continuity and its role in bushfire behaviour Asset Protection Zones (APZs) are widely understood as separation distances between vegetation and development. In practice, however, their effectiveness depends just as much on vegetation structure within...

Practical guidance for applying Appendix 4.1 of Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019 Asset Protection Zones (APZs) are central to achieving acceptable bushfire outcomes for development on bushfire-prone land. While Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019 establishes canopy cover...

Overview The tingle forests of the Walpole–Nornalup region represent one of Australia’s most distinctive wet-forest ecosystems. Dominated by red, yellow and Rate’s tingle, these forests are characterised by immense, long-lived trees, deep buttressed trunks and a closed, moist...

Not all bushfire landscapes behave the same way. In parts of Western Australia’s Margaret River region, what lies beneath the surface can fundamentally change how fires are fought. Large areas of the Leeuwin–Naturaliste Ridge are underlain by limestone karst — a complex system of...

Bushfire Management Activity: Planned Hazard Reduction Burn Context: Coastal township within forested bushfire-prone landscape Planned hazard reduction burning was undertaken in and around the Peaceful Bay township as part of a coordinated bushfire risk management program for the...

Designing for the fireground, not just the approval Bushfire resilience is not achieved at the planning desk alone — it is proven on the fireground. This Essential Services Guide demonstrates how a rural business in Denmark, Western Australia has embedded fire-fighting...

When I was at the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) in my role as Director responsible for Planning for Bushfire Protection (PBP), I often used the Berman House by Harry Seidler as a case study in staff and industry training. Not because it was a prescribed example within the...

By Lew Short, Director Blackash Bushfire Consulting In New South Wales, Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019 (PBP) sets the benchmark for how we plan, design and assess new development in bushfire-prone areas. Its aim is clear and simple, yet profoundly important: To provide...

The landuse planning framework as it relates to landuse planning and bushfire in NSW is embedded in the EPA Act, the Rural Fires Act 1997 (RF Act), Rural Fires Regulation 2013 (RF Reg) which is articulated through PBP. The Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Bill 2025...

Bushfire access matters. In NSW, Section 5.3.2 of Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019 (PBP 2019) sets out the requirements for vehicle access. Like all bush fire protection measures, the intent is sound – ensure that residents can safely evacuate and that emergency services...