Bushfire Planning & Design Blog

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 acceptable solutions of...

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 for the...

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 was released...

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 can quickly get...