Building in the bushfire management overlay

A bushfire hazard landscape assessment provides information on:

• the bushfire hazard - within 20 metres and potentially up to 75 kilometres away.
• the potential bushfire behaviour and the likely impact on the site, including the potential for extreme fire behaviour or local and neighbourhood-scale destruction.
• the landscape characteristics, including vehicle and pedestrian movement networks and their availability before, during and after bushfire events.
• whether there is reliable access to areas of land where human life can be better protected from the effects of bushfire.
• other contextual information including, local bushfire history, landscape type, possible fire runs, wind direction, and any other significant landscape features that need to be considered.

It provides a better understanding of the bushfire risk and informs decisions about whether development should proceed and whether bushfire protection measures are satisfactory.

It is crucial to consider and integrate the bushfire hazard landscape assessment into all stages of preparing your application, to ensure that your design response or strategic planning proposal adequately responds to the bushfire risk beyond the site.

The bushfire hazard site assessment provides information on the bushfire hazard on the site and extends up to a 150 metres from the site. The assessment:

• provides information on the bushfire hazard (vegetation classification and slope)
• informs the building setback construction requirements.

It helps to build a better understanding of the bushfire risk at a location and to help make informed decisions about whether development should proceed and whether bushfire protection measures are satisfactory.

The bushfire management statement is prepared by the permit applicant or by a specialist on behalf of the permit applicant. It is a report that:

• shows how the application has responded to the bushfire hazard landscape assessment where required and bushfire hazard site assessment explains how a proposal has responded to the bushfire hazard site assessment.
• documents how approved measures have been applied.
• justifies any alternative bushfire protection measures that have been used, where permitted by the application type.

The bushfire management plan is an annotated map that shows the bushfire protection measures and describes the technical, performance or design specifications adopted by the proposal to address bushfire risk. The bushfire management plan provides information on:

• construction standard (BAL)
• development setback
• defendable space vegetation management requirements
• on-site water supply
• emergency services vehicle access.

On approval of the planning permit, the bushfire management plan is endorsed and must be adhered to as part of the planning permit.

The bushfire management overlay includes planning permit exemptions.

The most common exemptions are for:

• An alteration or extension to an existing dwelling or small second dwelling provided the gross floor area of the building is not increased by more than 50 per cent.
• An alteration or extension to an existing building (except a dwelling or small second dwelling) provided the gross floor area of the building is not increased by more than 10 per cent.
• The construction or carrying out works associated with the use of the land for an existing dwelling or small second dwelling, other than worsk associated with the construction of a building for which a permit is required under clause 44.06 or a vehicle accessway.
• A building or works with a floor area of less than 100 square metres not used for accommodation and ancillary to a dwelling.
• A building or works consistent with a section 173 agreement and planning permit as required by Clause 44.06-5 bushfire management overlay - mandatory condition of your local planning scheme.

If a BMO schedule applies, it may also include planning permit exemptions.

An exemption from a permit under the BMO may not mean that a planning permit is not required. A planning permit maybe required by another part of the planning scheme.

Some decks, pergolas and pools may be exempt from a planning permit. The exemption depends on the specific details of the proposal. Speak to your local council to find out if your proposal requires a planning permit.

You can explore the categories above or speak to your local council about permit requirements.