The document summarizes key recommendations from inquiries and reports regarding planning and building in bushfire prone areas. It outlines recommendations to substantially restrict development in high risk areas, incorporate bushfire risk management into planning policies, amend building standards to better protect from ember attack, and ensure compliance with bushfire protection measures through planning permits and title deeds.

1. Key Recommendations from
Inquiries for planning & building in
bushfire prone areas

2. National Strategy for Disaster
Resilience
• Adopted by Council of Australian Governments
(COAG) in early 2011
• Looks at reducing the impact of natural disasters
in medium to long term
• Recognises that land use planning and building
controls reduce, as far as is practicable,
community exposure to unreasonable risks from
known hazards

3. Victorian Bushfires Royal
Commission
• Culmination of an 18-month inquiry into the
Victorian fires of 2009, which killed 173 people.
• 67 Recommendations in total:
Recommendations 37- 55 deal with Planning
and Building
• Key recommendations for land use planning are
39, 40 and 45
• Key recommendations for building are 47, 48, 49
and 52

4. Planning Recommendations (summary)
• Recommendation 39
• Ensure provisions give priority to protection
of human life, adopt a clear objective of
substantially restricting development in
areas of highest bush fire risk (with due
consideration to biodiversity conservation)
and provide clear guidance for decision
makers
• Recommendation 45
• Incorporate bush fire risk management in
their planning policies and strategies for
rebuilding communities

5. Planning Recommendations
(summary)
Recommendation 40
– Guidelines should
• substantially restrict new developments and subdivisions
in areas of highest bush fire risk
• set out guidelines for assessing permit applications for
dwellings, non-dwellings and subdivisions)
• approve new developments and subdivisions only if
recommended bush fire protection measures are created
and maintained on a continuing basis
• emphasise the need for enduring permit conditions.

6. Building Recommendations (Summary)
• Recommendation 47
• Amend the objective of AS 3959-2009, Construction of
Buildings in Bushfire-prone Areas, to ensure it
incorporates reducing the risk of ignition from ember
attack
• Recommendation 48
• Amend performance requirements in the Building Code
of Australia to ensure they incorporate reducing the risk
of ignition from ember attack
• Amend the Building Code of Australia to remove
deemed-to-satisfy provisions for the construction of
buildings in BAL-FZ (the Flame Zone)

7. Building Recommendations
(Summary)
• Recommendation 49
• remove deemed-to-satisfy provisions for the construction of
buildings in BAL-FZ (the Flame Zone)
• apply bush fire construction provisions to non-residential
buildings that will be occupied by people who are particularly
vulnerable to bush fire attack, such as schools, child care
centres, hospitals and aged care facilities
• other than in exceptional circumstances, apply minimum
BAL-12.5 (AS 3959-2009) to all development
• Recommendation 52
• Develop and implement a mechanism for sign-off of any
permit conditions imposed and the regular assessment of
landowners’ compliance with conditions.

8. Keelty Review - Perth Hills Bushfire
2011
• Highlighted the shared responsibility of
communities, local government and stage
government agencies to build community
resilience
• 55 Recommendations
• Key recommendations for planning and building
are recommendations 3, 4, 39, and 40

9. Planning Recommendations
(Summary)
• Recommendation 3
• The declarations of bushfire prone areas be
transferred from local government to the
Western Australian Planning Commission
• Recommendation 40
• The State Government mandate that the
title deeds for relevant properties be
amended to indicate if the property is in a
declared bushfire prone area

10. Building recommendations
(Summary)
• Recommendation 8
• State and local governments
– Recognise that regardless of future declarations of
bushfire prone areas, the existing planning and building
problems in the Perth Hills related to bsufhire risk will
persist
– Urge residents in these areas to retrofit their homes and
evaporative air conditions in compliance with AS3959-
2009
– Examine options to retrospectively bring these areas into
compliance with Planning for Bushfire Protection
Guidelines