How to Check Whether Your Land Is in a Bushfire-Prone Area
If you are planning a kit home project, one of the first things to establish is whether your land is in a designated bushfire-prone area. This affects whether additional planning and construction requirements will apply — and whether iBuild needs to allow for a Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating in your cost estimate.
You do not need to engage a bushfire consultant to answer this initial question. Each state and territory provides a free online tool that shows whether bushfire planning controls apply to a particular property.
Free Online Tools by State and Territory
Victoria
Use VicPlan at planning.vic.gov.au. Search your property address to generate a free planning property report. The report shows every zone and overlay that applies, including whether the Bushfire Management Overlay (BMO) is mapped on the land. Some BMO schedules specify a mandatory BAL for the area, which can be used as an early figure for estimating purposes.
The report can be downloaded as a PDF and is updated weekly.
New South Wales
Use the NSW Rural Fire Service Bush Fire Prone Land tool at rfs.nsw.gov.au. Enter your address to check whether the land is designated as bush fire prone. The tool identifies vegetation categories (Category 1, 2 and 3) and buffer zones.
The NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer also shows bushfire-prone land layers and can be used as a cross-reference.
Note that the bush fire prone land map does not provide a BAL rating — it only confirms whether the land is mapped as bush fire prone. A formal BAL assessment by a qualified consultant is still required for development approval.
Queensland
Search your property on the Queensland Globe at qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au. You can also check your local council planning scheme for a Bushfire Hazard Overlay, which is based on State Planning Policy bushfire-prone area mapping.
The Queensland Fire Department Postcode Checker at fire.qld.gov.au/postcode-checker provides a general indication of bushfire potential in your area, although it is designed for community preparedness rather than planning assessment.
SOuth australia
Use the South Australian Property and Planning Atlas (SAPPA) at sappa.plan.sa.gov.au. Enter your property address and click through to Planning Zones and Overlays to view any bushfire hazard designations, including whether the Hazards (Bushfire — Urban Interface) Overlay applies.
SAPPA is free and available to anyone.
western australia
Check the DFES Map of Bush Fire Prone Areas at dfes.wa.gov.au. The map shows whether your property falls within a designated bushfire-prone area as identified by the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner. The most recent version of the map came into effect in December 2025.
The map shows whether an area is designated as bushfire-prone but does not show hazard levels — a further site-specific assessment may be required.
tasmania
Use the LIST Map bushfire-prone areas layer, or the RiskReady tool at alert.tas.gov.au/get-ready/risk-ready, to check natural hazard mapping for your property. The PlanBuild enquiry portal at portal.planbuild.tas.gov.au also shows which planning codes apply to your address, including the Bushfire-Prone Areas Code.
To find a licensed Bushfire Hazard Practitioner in Tasmania, visit the Tasmania Fire Service website.
Australian capital territory
Check the ACTmapi website to view the Bushfire Prone Area (BPA) map. The BPA covers Canberra’s urban areas adjacent to forest and grassland, as well as all rural ACT. Development on land within the BPA must comply with the Planning for Bushfire Risk Mitigation General Code in the Territory Plan.
northern territory
The NT does not currently have a single public-facing bushfire-prone area map equivalent to those in other states. Some areas are covered by bushfire overlays in the NT Planning Scheme 2020. For site-specific advice, contact your local council or Bushfires NT, which administers Fire Management Zones under the Bushfires Management Act 2016.
what to do with the result
If any of these checks indicate that your land is in a bushfire-prone area or affected by a bushfire planning overlay, you should:
- Note the result on the iBuild Estimate Request Form (ER1) so that iBuild can allow for bushfire-related requirements in your cost estimate. If the planning tool shows a specific BAL level — for example, where an overlay schedule mandates BAL-29 — include that figure.
- Be aware that a formal BAL assessment by a qualified bushfire consultant will still be required before development approval. The consultant — typically a BPAD-accredited practitioner — will assess the site under Australian Standard AS 3959 and, where required, prepare a Bushfire Management Plan. You can find an accredited consultant through the Fire Protection Association Australia (FPA Australia) website.
- Understand that the free online tools confirm whether bushfire controls apply in general terms. They do not replace the formal BAL assessment, which considers the specific vegetation, slope and setback conditions of your site.
If the result shows that your land is not in a bushfire-prone area, bushfire construction requirements under AS 3959 are unlikely to apply — but this should be confirmed with your local council, as conditions and mapping can change.
Why This Matters for Your iBuild Estimate
Identifying whether bushfire controls apply early in the process allows iBuild to include a reasonable BAL placeholder in your initial cost estimate. This gives a more realistic early project budget and reduces the likelihood of significant pricing changes once the formal BAL assessment has been completed. For more detail on how the BAL rating is built into the costs, see our companion article: At What Point Does the BAL Rating Get Built into the Costs?
