Bushfire Management Statements are required to be submitted to the local council if you need a planning permit under the Bushfire Management Overlay.
Bushfire Planning prepares statements for new houses, subdivisions, larger developments and other uses in locations across Victoria.
When is a bushfire management statement required?
A bushfire management statement is needed if your proposal requires a planning permit under the Bushfire Management Overlay. This includes for new homes, to subdivide land and for most development.
Learn more about the Bushfire Management Overlay here.
What is a bushfire management statement?
A bushfire management statement is simply a document that demonstrates to the local council that your proposal meets the Bushfire Management Overlay rules.
The local council cannot make a decision unless you have submitted a bushfire management statement with your application.
What is included in a bushfire management statement?
A bushfire management statement includes the information required by the Bushfire Management Overlay, the local council and the CFA.
It includes:
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Bushfire hazard site assessment.
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Bushfire hazard landscape assessment.
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Bushfire management plan.
Building a new house
The Bushfire Management Overlay requires that your house be accompanied by bushfire safety measures.
These measures include construction standard (bushfire attack level, or BAL), location of the structure on the site, vegetation management, site access and the need for a water tank for fire fighting purposes.
All of these are assessed as part of the bushfire management statement.
Subdividing land
The planning scheme rules for subdivision are thorough and complex.
The rules require that the future development of the lot (for example, with a house) be fully considered at the subdivision stage. This is to ensure that any new lot is capable of being safely developed in future.
Our experience shows that the bushfire rules will be the most significant constraint on subdivision layout and lot size. It is essential that subdivision design be informed by bushfire considerations.
We specialise in working collaboratively with other technical specialists to integrate and give effect to the bushfire rules in subdivision design.
What we need from you
If you use our services, we will need access to your land for our site visit. You can join us for the site visit if you like, but this is not essential. We will also need plans or drawings of your site and your proposed development. Your builder, designer or architect will have these.