Bushfire tips

Tips for protecting your home during bushfire season.

Bushfires are part of life in Australia, affecting communities across the country every year. While preparing for fire season might seem overwhelming, taking simple steps now can make a real difference to protecting your home, vehicle and family.

We’ve put together some practical tips to help get you started.

Click on the '+' plus sign below to expand the areas for more information.

Bushfire brochures

Home bushfire brochure

Car bushfire brochure

Preparing your home

Cut back branches growing near buildings; and rake up leaves, bark, and twigs
Keep lawns mown and mulch away from the house
Regularly clean leaf and tree debris from gutters and chimneys, and consider installing gutter guards
Move garden waste and rubbish away from your home, buildings, and fence line
Remove anything flammable from around the exterior of the house
Ensure you have hoses long enough to reach around your house and a reliable source of water
If you have LPG gas bottles, turn the valves to point away from the house
Plant lower flammability vegetation including plants and trees with low oil and high water and salt content.

Prepare a bushfire plan

Just as every family is unique, so too are bushfire plans. New research by Australian Red Cross shows while 90 per cent of us have been affected, only one in three Australians are prepared for emergencies.

Bushfire plans are key to remembering what needs to be done when you’re at risk of fire, for all members of the family, including pets.

Bushfire plans will include information on what your triggers will be for leaving, where you will go, what you will take, who you will keep informed, what route you will take, anyone you need to consider or check on, and what you will do if you’re unable to leave due to the location of the fire.

Downloadable action plans

Your state’s fire service has downloadable action plans you can use:

New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
Northern Territory
Tasmania
Australian Capital Territory

And we haven’t forgotten the non-human family members, there is also Helpful information on pets and bushfires.

Remember: it’s important to decide who will do what as part of your plan, and the safest thing you can do when there's a bushfire is leave early.

Packing an emergency kit

Having an emergency kit is an essential part of preparing for bushfire.

Once you’ve made your bushfire plan, you can pack your emergency kit.
If you’re not sure what to include in your kit, you can access our checklist.

Keep your bushfire plan with your emergency kit so it's easy to find quickly.

What to do if fires are nearby or have been forecasted

Have your bushfire emergency plan handy, bags packed, and ensure your vehicle has fuel and tyres are pumped up.
Make sure fire trucks and other emergency vehicles have a clear path to your property by cleaning away anything blocking the driveway and unlocking gates.
Remove external door mats, furniture and other items that could catch on fire.
Stay informed, stay tuned to your local radio station, official fire and emergency agencies, and your local council.

Relevant emergency services will also be active on social media channels and ABC Radio is an official Emergency Broadcaster.

If a hazard is likely to threaten lives or property you will hear the warning on your local ABC radio station and see the warning on Facebook.

Understanding your risk

To find out if your home is located in a bushfire area, click on your state below:

New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
Northern Territory
Tasmania

The Australian Warning System has three warning levels – ‘Advice’, ‘Watch and Act’, and ‘Emergency Warning’ - and each warning level has a set of action statements giving you clear advice about what to do.

Visit the Australian Warning System website for more information.

It’s also a good idea to know what your Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) is for your property, as this could potentially increase the rebuild costs if you live in a bushfire risk area.

Checking your insurance cover

Understanding what your insurance policies cover is really important. It allows you to ensure you have the right amount of cover for your current situation. Many people have found out too late that they did not have enough home and/or contents insurance cover for their home and assets.

You may have taken out your Home and Contents insurance when you bought your home, we recommend reviewing your insurance cover annually. You should consider reviewing the sum you insured your home and contents for to ensure it is adequate to rebuild your home and replace all of your covered contents. We also recommend reviewing your selected coverage levels and any additional benefits that may suit your needs.

For car insurance, it’s important you know your cover level and value, which are contained in your Product Disclosure Statement or Certificate of Insurance. If you have Agreed Value Comprehensive Insurance, check the value is sufficient to replace your vehicle. If you have a Market Value Comprehensive or Third Party Property, Fire and Theft policy, your vehicle will be valued at Market Value at the time of loss.