13 July 2026 | See disclaimer
If a bushfire warning was issued for your area tonight, would you know what to do, and would your family? As Australians, we’re far too familiar with the impact bushfires can have on the communities we live in. According to the Australian and New Zealand Council for Fire and Emergency Services, the autumn 2026 seasonal outlook identified heightened bushfire risk across New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. [1] And coupled with long-term dryness across the country, these types of weather combinations only increase the need to be prepared for a bushfire.
Living in a bushfire-prone area can be overwhelming, as what can start as a small fire can lead to a devastating outcome. To best prepare yourself and your family, there are a few essential steps you can take, including preparing your property, looking out for your safety and ensuring you have the right insurance cover.
Emergency Services
If there is a bushfire warning for your local area or nearby, it’s time to follow your metropolitan fire and rural fire service plans and consider locating to a designated safe area.
If you reside in a metropolitan area, you can contact one of the following fire services, or if you live in a rural area, you can seek information from the following rural services:
| State/Territory | Metropolitan Fire Service | Rural Fire Service | Designated Safer Areas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | Fire & Rescue | Rural Fire Service | |
| New South Wales | Fire and Rescue NSW | NSW Rural Fire Service | Neighbourhood Safer Places |
| Northern Territory | NT Fire and Rescue Service | NT Fire and Rescue Service | Emergency Shelters |
| Queensland | Queensland Fire and Emergency Services | Rural Fire Service | Neighbourhood Safer Places |
| South Australia | South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service | South Australian Country Fire Service | Bushfire Safer Places and Bushfire Last Resort Refuges |
| Tasmania | Tasmania Fire Service | Tasmania Fire Service | Nearby Safer Places |
| Victoria | Fire Rescue Victoria | Country Fire Authority | Neighbourhood Safer Places and Community Fire Refuges |
| Western Australia | Department of Fire & Emergency Services | Rural Fire Division |
Prepare Your Property
To best prepare your home, consider these protective measures you can take around your property before bushfire season: [2]
Structure
- Clear leaves, twigs, bark and other debris from the roof and gutters: Removing these flammable materials can help prevent a fire from starting or spreading across your roofline.
- Purchase and test the effectiveness of gutter plugs: Designed to block your downpipes so you can fill your gutters with water to help extinguish any windblown burning embers.
- Enclose open areas under decks and floors: Helps prevent wind-driven embers from collecting underneath your home and igniting materials that could lead to a fire.
- Install fine steel wire mesh screens on all windows, doors, vents and weep holes: Screens can act as a barrier to help prevent embers from entering and igniting within your home.
- Install metal gutter guards: These can help reduce the accumulation of flammable leaf litter and debris in your gutters, which may help prevent embers from starting or spreading to the structure of your roof.
- Point LPG cylinder relief valves away from the house: By directing gas release away from your home, this can help reduce the risk of a fire spreading to your home.
- Conduct maintenance checks on pumps, generators and water systems: Checking this equipment is working may help you fight flames.
- Seal all gaps in external roof and wall cladding: An effective solution to help prevent ember attacks.
Vegetation
- Reduce vegetation loads along the access path: Limiting the amount of flammable materials leading to your home can help prevent a fire from spreading to your property and allow for a primary access route.
- Mow your grass regularly: Reducing the height of your grass can reduce the amount of flammable vegetation on your property, limiting a fire from spreading to your home.
- Remove excess ground fuels and combustible material (long dry grass, dead leaves and branches): Such vegetation can be highly flammable. Removing these natural materials may help prevent embers from starting a fire.
- Trim low-lying branches two metres from the ground surrounding your home: Cutting down overhanging tree branches can help reduce the risk of a fire spreading to the roof of your home.
To best prepare for a bushfire, it’s important to know the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) ratings. Each rating shows the amount of risk your home could be exposed to. [3] A higher BAL level signifies a heightened bushfire threat to your home, making preparation crucial.
To find out what your BAL rating level is for your home, there are a few authoritative sites you can use to measure this risk. These include the CSIRO BAL Assessment and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services Bushfire Attack Level Assessment Tool.
What A Bushfire Emergency Plan Must Include
Consider the Fire Danger Ratings
Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) says finding out your bushfire risk should be the first step in actioning your bushfire survival plan. Knowing what your fire danger rating is may help you put together a plan that takes into consideration the extremities that could occur.
Know When to Leave Your Home
Before bushfire season, it’s also best to figure out who in the family should make the call to leave and at what emergency warning stage. This can help your family stay calm under pressure as much as possible.
The DFES suggests you should consider leaving bushfire risk areas if your location reaches the high rating, and leave your home if the fire danger rating becomes extreme or catastrophic. [4]
Establish a Communication Plan
It’s also important to establish with your loved ones who needs to contact whom and where you should meet if you get separated during a bushfire. Your plan will help you take action and avoid making last-minute decisions that could prove deadly during a bushfire.
Plan for Your Pet’s Safety
If a bushfire threatens your home, consider your pet’s life. As they rely on us to protect them, make sure they’re a priority, keep checking on them and have them ready to go with their essentials packed in case you need to leave in a hurry.
Create an Evacuation Kit List
Make sure you have all the essentials for an evacuation kit listed on your phone or a hardcopy list that is within reach. Spend some time figuring out what you would need to take with you in case a bushfire spreads to your home. Your list should include protective clothing, water, important documents and your mobile phone (and charger) so you can stay connected and informed during a chaotic and overwhelming natural disaster.
Understand What to Do Before Leaving Your Property
Consider these steps to ensure you’re ready to evacuate your home safely: [5]
Outside
- Turn off the gas mains and/or the bottle
- Move flammable items away from the house
- Block downpipes (at the top) with socks full of sand and fill gutters with water, if possible
- Patrol the house well before the fire arrives to put out embers and spot fires
- As the fire approaches, wet the side of the house and garden that faces the fire
- Disconnect the hose and fittings and take them inside the house.
Inside
- Put on protective clothing
- Close doors, windows, vents and blinds
- Fill baths, sinks, buckets and wheelie bins with water
- Seal gaps under doors and windows with wet towels
- Take down curtains and move furniture away from the windows
- Tune into local radio and/or visit the ABC Emergency website
- Drink lots of water.
What to Pack In Your Bushfire Evacuation Kit
To prepare for possible bushfires, we suggest pre-packing an evacuation kit well before the bushfire season starts. Having your most important items ready to go in case an extreme or catastrophic bushfire spreads to your area can help ensure you’ll be well-equipped after leaving your home. An evacuation kit should be organised in advance of a bushfire emergency, and this list is for preparation only. Remember, while thinking of the essentials you may need to pack, don’t forget your pets and their food if you own animals.
And for your own safety, don’t prioritise packing over evacuating.
| Item | Notes | Checklist: Do you know where in your home these are stored for quick access? Are these items pre-packed and ready to go? |
|---|---|---|
| Protective clothing (long-sleeve shirts, jeans, boots, hats, respirator masks and safety googles) | Protective, adaptable, and comfortable clothing that is fire-safe. | |
| Bottled water and food for everyone | Enough water for your family. Allow space for energy bars, dried fruit and canned goods. | |
| Mobile phone and chargers | A charged power bank is also highly recommended to stay in touch with loved ones. | |
| List of important contacts saved on your phone (school, neighbours, council, work, etc.) | In case you need to contact them for help or to inform them about your situation. | |
| Insurance Policy Details & Insurer Contact Number saved in a specific location on your phone, such as Google Drive | Crucial for making immediate claims and getting support. Insurance may help to rebuild your home and replace your belongings. | |
| Passports, IDs, birth certificates and all essential documents that you may wish to save in an easily accessible location on your phone | Originals and certified copies. | |
| Wallets/purses with cash | Containing credit/debit cards and cash as ATMs may not be operational. | |
| Medications & first aid kit | Prescription medications (at least 7 days' supply) and paracetamol. And a fully stocked first aid kit with sterile dressings, bandages, wipes, tape, etc. |
The Stay or Go Decision
Deciding to stay with your house or leave it behind can be a difficult decision to weigh up. Although you may be frantically worrying about packing up your belongings, your safety is what’s most important.
What will be your sign to leave? Queensland’s Rural Fire Service recommends you should leave your home well before a bushfire threatens your area and before travelling by road becomes hazardous. [6]
Leaving early is your safest choice, which you should do well before the fire front arrives at your property. For anyone who may face this situation, make sure that anyone in your family who is elderly, young or faces health conditions should always leave the situation early for their own safety and well-being.
Is Your Home Covered From Bushfires?
Is your sum insured keeping up with reality? The cost to rebuild your home has likely risen significantly in recent years. If your sum insured was set three years ago, it may no longer reflect what it would actually cost to rebuild today.
With material costs rising between five and 50 per cent in the past few years, these prices are disrupting the building and construction industry, [7] meaning an outdated sum insured could cost you a large amount. That’s why it’s important to ensure your sum insured is accurate.
Most Home and Contents Insurance policies include Bushfire Insurance, including Budget Direct. With this policy, you will also have additional benefits such as the removal of debris and extra rebuilding costs, potential temporary accommodation options and possible assistance with mortgage discharge legal costs. To read more, please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Before the fire season starts, we also recommend knowing your insurer’s claims number so you can successfully lodge a claim if you need it. For Budget Direct customers, you can call one of our friendly claims consultants on 1800 069 336.
If you’ve done everything to help protect your home, review your sum insured before fire season starts on your Policy Manager to make sure your insurance is ready to back you up.
Bushfire Facts
When is bushfire season in Australia?
Most Australians view summer as the height of bushfire season, but this window isn’t the only threat. It depends on when the region has experienced the least rain (as dry plants and grass help bushfires spread faster).
The Bureau of Meteorology has produced a graphic representation of when bushfires occur in each region of Australia. It’s based on their average temperatures and annual rainfall.
The regions in Northern Australia tend to be most at-risk during winter and spring, whereas states in Southern Australia are on alert during summer and autumn.
How do bushfires start?
Bushfires can start from natural causes, including lightning strikes to dry plants or trees or by people who, for example, don’t extinguish their campfire properly. [8] Hot, dry and windy weather conditions also contribute to large fires. [9]
Bushfires can then spread along the ground in one of three ways: [10]
- Direct flame contact - Flames touch unburned fuels and raise their temperature to start a fire. Wind can also blow the flames deeper into the fuel ahead on flat ground or up a hill.
- Radiant heat - Radiant heat from the fire raises the fuel’s temperature to start a fire (often before flames reach it).
- Burning embers - When embers land on fine fuels, they can start small fires. These embers can smoulder, grow and spread with the help of the wind direction, spreading fire embers several hundred metres ahead.
Fire Danger Ratings
Australia’s Fire Danger Rating System predicts and describes the potential level of danger if a bushfire starts.
The four fire danger rating levels are:
- Moderate (green) - Plan and prepare
- High (yellow) - Prepare to act
- Extreme (orange) - Take action now to protect your life and property
- Catastrophic (red) - For your survival, leave areas at risk of bushfires
Australia is prone to unpredictable bushfire activity, and with the Australian fire danger rating levels, you can take action and protect yourself from risks depending on the level.
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