People and community safety

Protecting and preserving life is the sector’s highest priority. Community-centred approaches, where the sector builds local bushfire management capacity through community consultation, reduces the impact of fire on communities. These approaches are informed by behavioural and social science, and fuel management strategies that positively influence behaviour change and build social capital in communities and across the sector.

Empowering communities with an understanding of bushfire risk and the tools to take action to minimise those risks leads to reduced impacts and faster recovery.

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Community-based participation in bushfire management planning and activities

Table 1: Performance results of community engagement activities by FFMVic and CFA, Victoria, 2022-23 to 2024-25

Table 2: Community understanding of bushfire risk, Victoria, 2022-23 to 2024-25

Note(a): Survey applied to postcodes identified as being areas of extreme or very high fire risk. Indicator 1.2.3 from CFA Outcomes Framework.

Preventing human-induced ignitions

Preventing human-induced ignitions, especially on days of dangerous fire-weather conditions involves a range of prevention measures across agencies including:

• Providing clear information about campfire regulations and campfire safety
• Declaring and enforcing Total Fire Ban Days, Fire Danger Periods and the seasonal Prohibited Period
• Undertaking campfire compliance controls to prevent ignitions
• Closing forests and parks when conditions would make them dangerous to enter
• Undertaking an intelligence-led, partnership approach to preventing the incidence of bushfire arson
• Ensuring that electricity network distribution assets maintain bushfire safety standards.

Table 3: Human-induced ignitions and prevention, FFMVic, CFA and AER, Victoria, 2022-23 to 2024-25

Note(a): Data on fire starts from electricity distribution network assets have been derived from the Australian Energy Regulator’s Victorian electricity distributors' fire start reports.

Mitigating bushfire risk

Victoria’s bushfire management sector takes a year-round approach to reducing bushfire risk. Sector partners undertake a broad range of mitigation activities to reduce the incidence and severity of bushfires, minimise their effects and improve the resilience of communities and ecosystems.

• plan and deliver planned burns and non-burn fuel treatments
• conduct ecological burning, threatened species and biodiversity programs to increase the resilience of species and ecosystems to future disturbances
• construct and maintain fuel breaks, fire access roads and maintain roadside vegetation
• undertake other bushfire risk-reduction activities, such as using predictive weather and fire behaviour advice to strategically position air and ground resources on days when bushfire risk is increased
• conduct research to improve risk reduction approaches.

Fuel-driven bushfire risk

Fuel-driven bushfire risk is the component of bushfire risk that is attributable to the amount, type and dryness of vegetation (bushfire fuel). Fuel is a key element of fire behaviour and therefore is a major component of overall bushfire risk. However, it is not a full measure of bushfire risk. Fuel is not the only factor that affects fire behaviour, or the likelihood and consequence of bushfires impacting people and the things they care about.

The primary determinants of fire behaviour are topography, weather and fuel. The sector models the impact that planned burning and bushfires have on reducing fuel-driven bushfire risk to human life and property by modelling fire behaviour as a function of:

• topography as represented by a digital elevation model of Victoria,
• weather as represented by a catastrophic fire weather scenario, and
• fuel as represented by the varying fuel load across Victoria from year-to-year.

This impact is calculated and expressed as the percentage of modelled fuel-driven bushfire risk ‘left over’ after fuels have been reduced, either through planned burning or bushfires. A current constraint is that this calculation can only consider the contribution of planned burning and does not consider non-burn fuel treatments such as slashing and mowing.

DEECA's fuel management program is guided by a risk reduction target to keep modelled fuel-driven bushfire risk at or below 70% of its maximum modelled fuel-driven bushfire risk. DEECA responds to this target by delivering fuel management in State forests, national parks and protected public land.

The level of modelled fuel-driven bushfire risk is different across the landscape, due to variations in vegetation, topography and where houses are located. Each FFMVic region and district have long-term planning targets for reducing fuel-driven bushfire risk, which contribute to achievement of the statewide fuel-driven bushfire risk target. Regional and district modelled fuel-driven bushfire risk targets vary across the State. They are influenced by both the level of risk in an area (influenced by vegetation, topography and the location of houses) as well as the leverage that FFMVic has over reducing risk through fuel management on public land.

Figure 1 depicts the state and regional modelled fuel-driven bushfire risk in Victoria for 2024-25, including the targets. DEECA district modelled fuel-driven risk information is available in the Appendix.

Table 4: Modelled fuel-driven bushfire risk, statewide and regions, 2022-23 to 2024-25.

See Appendix to explore regional data further.

Joint Fuel Management Program

The Joint Fuel Management Program (JFMP) is a statewide operational planning process for the management of bushfire fuels on public and private land over a 3-year rolling timeframe. Each year the JFMP includes more fuel management operations planned than are operationally feasible, providing flexibility to adapt the program to seasonal conditions. JFMP integrates a risk-based bushfire management approach that the sector works within and shares personnel, resources, vehicles, and other equipment to maximise the prioritisation and delivery of fuel management activities.

FFMVic and CFA staff developed JFMP in consultation with local councils, the viticulture and tourism industries, apiarists and flora and fauna specialists. Drawing on knowledge from local communities including Traditional Owners, key stakeholders, local community leaders and other interested parties. FFMVic and the CFA welcome and encourage public involvement around the timing and scheduling of activities in local areas. Burns are nominated for a variety of reasons including:

• reducing bushfire risk
• enhancing ecological resilience
• regeneration
• supporting Traditional Owners to reintroduce cultural fire to Country.

Table 5: FFMVic preparations for JFMP burns delivery, 2022-23 to 2024-25

Note: FY 2024/25 performance is below target due to changes in seasonal conditions that required adjustments to the program, to allow for parallel burning and preparation through to May each year.

Fuel management makes bushfire suppression easier and safer for firefighters and helps to reduce the impact of bushfires on communities and the environment. It includes:

• Planned burning for risk reduction – lighting and managing planned fires in the landscape, including along roadsides and rail corridors
• Ecological burns – burns where the primary objective is to improve the health of our ecosystems and reduce the intensity and potential destructive impacts of bushfires on our native flora and fauna
• mechanical treatments – mowing, slashing and mulching
• other non-burn treatments like spraying for weed management
• construction and maintenance of the strategic fuel breaks
• removal or management of storm debris.

Table 6: Area treated with fuel management by FFMVic and CFA, Victoria, 2022-23 to 2024-25

Note: Fuel management figures do not include cultural burns delivered.

Under the Forests Act 1958, DEECA is responsible for the planned prevention of fire in State forests, National Parks and other protected public land in Victoria. It does this through FFMVic, which is led by DEECA and draws on partnership arrangements with Parks Victoria and Melbourne Water.

Other fuel management related actions taken to mitigate bushfire include mechanical (non-burn) fuel treatments to maintain the network of existing fuel breaks. They also treat small, discrete, or complex areas that are difficult to burn safely (such as in steep gullies). These mechanical treatments may complement a planned burn where the geography (i.e., community, vegetation or terrain) is complex, and planned burning opportunities are very limited. The mechanical fuel treatment program has remained steady in recent years, averaging just over 17,000 ha treated in the 6 years since 2019-20.

Table 7: Total area (ha) treated with fuel management by FFMVic, Victoria, 2022-23 to 2024-25

Note(a): Number corrected from Victoria’s Bushfire Risk Management Report 2022-23.

FFMVic Fuel Management Overview 2024-25

FFMVic delivered fuel management treatments across 109,938 ha of public land in Victoria in 2024-25. This included 270 planned burns covering 92,473 ha and non-burn fuel treatments covering 17,465 ha.

The 92,473 ha treated by planned burning is consistent with the average planned burn delivery since DEECA moved to a risk-based approach in 2016-17 (the average area treated in the 8-year period 2016-17 to 2023-24 is 92,528 ha).

The 2024-25 financial year saw a strong underlying dryness across much of the state influencing both bushfire activity and fuel management delivery. Significant bushfire response operations diverted resources to emergency management from all parts of the state to support western regions for long periods over summer and autumn. This meant some delays to both burn planning and on-ground preparation of burns prior to the peak autumn delivery period across all regions.

Planned burning in 2025 commenced with several burns across Gippsland in the last few days of February 2025. Then the eastern districts of Snowy, Tambo and Macalister each igniting multiple burns in the first week of March, while other parts of the state remained dry and were waiting for their first rains before burn programs could commence.

Significant rain across central and eastern areas of the state in mid-March meant the burn program quickly stopped. Following this rain, opportunities for the burn program to commence more broadly were emerging. 36 burns were ignited between 23 and 31 March across most regions of the state, with another 32 burns ignited in the following week, as conditions remained favourable across the Hume region. Conditions were less favourable south of the divide in early April, with Gippsland being too damp after successive rainfall events through March.

Underlying soil dryness (except in Gippsland) remained through all of autumn across central and western areas. This had operational impacts, including delays in safely igniting burns, extended patrol requirements before burns could be declared safe, and reduced availability of resources to commence new burns. Instead, crews remained committed to patrolling existing burns to ensure they stayed within control lines. In some instances, patrols were required well beyond a week after the initial ignition.

Underlying dryness (except in Gippsland) also reduced the length of burn windows following rain events, as the dry soil quickly absorbed moisture, drying out fuels quicker than in recent years. However, the drier conditions did mean good burning opportunities continued later into autumn. A Treasurer’s Advance enabled additional planned burning to be delivered through late-April to mid-May, with contract extensions of fixed term Seasonal Forest and Fire Operations Officers and Fire Support Officers providing additional capacity later than normally available for planned burn delivery. Planned burning activity slowed quickly as conditions transitioned from too dry to too wet, and day lengths shortened by late May with high humidity preventing ongoing burn opportunities through into June.

Overall, Year 1 of the JFMP did provide flexibility through a broad variety of burns totalling 195,103 ha identified for potential delivery. This enabled FFMVic to deliver an average sized planned burn program of 92,473 ha in the context of a significant bushfire season and underlying dryness through central and western areas in autumn, noting the wet conditions in Gippsland. Planned burns delivered represent 47% of the area identified in Year 1 of the 2024-25 JFMP.

Relative contribution to risk reduction made by planned burning and bushfires

Modelling can be used to determine the relative contribution of planned burning and bushfires to risk reduction realised through the reduction of bushfire fuels. Presenting the contribution to risk reduction from planned burns and previous bushfires as a 10-year rolling average is a more meaningful and accurate way to view this data compared to doing it as a year-to-year contribution. The reason for this is the significant year-to-year variability in risk reduction contribution. For example, in years with very large bushfires, such as the 2019-20 fire season, the majority of risk reduction would be attributable to bushfires, whilst in years with minimal bushfire activity, almost 100% risk reduction is attributable to planned burning.

Although there is considerable variation from year to year, planned burning accounts for more fuel-driven bushfire risk reduction than bushfires. This is despite bushfires impacting a substantially greater area than planned burns over the last 10-year period.

Table 8: Relative contribution (%) of planned burning and bushfires to total risk reduction across Victoria, FFMVic, Victoria, 2024-25

Note(a): 10-year average to 30 June 2024.

Table 9: Proportion (%) of total burnt area (ha) burnt by planned burning and bushfires in past 10 years (to 30 June 2024), FFMVic, Victoria, 2024-25.

Fuel breaks, strategic fire access roads and roadside vegetation

Fuel breaks (previously ‘strategic fuel breaks’) form part of the landscape infrastructure necessary to safeguard communities. A network of fuel breaks is a critical bushfire management tool to aid in limiting the size, spread, behaviour and impact of bushfires. They provide safe access to undertake suppression operations to respond to a bushfire. They also assist with planned fuel management activities, such as planned burning. In the context of a changing climate with increased bushfire frequency, a network of fuel breaks is an essential part of the infrastructure that safeguards environmental, social and economic wellbeing and cultural values for communities.

Victoria has over 50,000 kilometres of minor roads and tracks through state forests. Well-maintained fire access roads and bridges are another important element of the landscape infrastructure for bushfire suppression enabling personnel, vehicles and heavy equipment to safely access remote areas.

The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), councils and FFMVic with the support of CFA manage roadside vegetation on priority routes to reduce the likelihood of fires igniting and spreading, improve the safety of firefighters responding to bushfires and communities leaving the area.

Table 10: Fuel breaks maintained and strategic fire access roads improved by FFMVic, Victoria, 2022-23 to 2024-25

Bushfire response

Following the ignition of a bushfire, the fuel, topography and weather in the area where the bushfire is burning will determine its size, direction and intensity. The fire agencies are responsible for the first response to bushfire according to their respective legislative and jurisdictional responsibilities, often supported by privately owned and managed resources in rural areas.

In light fuels such as grass, firefighters generally extinguish bushfires using water. Where water is scarce or where fuels are heavier, such as in a forest, firefighters generally contain bushfires within mineral earth firebreaks, created using either hand tools or heavy machinery.

Aircraft can assist in halting the intensity and spread of a fire for a temporary period, allowing ground firefighters to approach with increased safety. Predetermined dispatch of aircraft is a key measure to achieve this initial reduction in bushfire development.

Early detection of and response to bushfires is vital to restricting the spread and development of bushfires. The fire agencies detect bushfires using a range of methods including reports from the public, spotters in fire towers or detection aircraft. Enhanced levels of fire detection arrangements are activated commensurate with the forecast fire danger.

Where response is undertaken quickly to a bushfire, fires can generally be contained before they reach their maximum potential. An efficient first response will keep the area of impact of the bushfire as small as possible and will minimise the potential for bushfire to have broader consequences. On days of elevated fire danger, fire agencies adjust their readiness and response arrangements by planning for the initial response or first attack to fail and the fire to grow rapidly.

Table 11: Bushfire suppression performance by FFMVic and CFA, Victoria, 2022-23 to 2024-25

Note(a): Indicator 2.2.2 from CFA Outcomes Framework.
Note(b): Historical baseline applied as target.

Table 12: Response to bushfires on public land and private land by FFMVic and CFA, Victoria, 2022-23 to 2024-25

Note(a): Indicator 2.1.2 from CFA Outcomes Framework.
Note(b): In Q1 FY 2024-25, the number is based on ‘grass and scrub’ fires. This was later updated to ‘vegetation’ fires from Q2 onwards.
Note(c): Figures represent the number of fires attended by FFMVic or CFA and may include instances where both agencies responded to the same fire. As a result, totals may exceed the actual number of bushfires recorded in the relevant financial year.