Shire of Murray - Bush Fires Act 1954

Published on Wednesday, 25 September 2024 at 8:01:59 AM

Pursuant to the powers contained in Section 33 of the Bush Fires Act 1954 (the Act), owners and/or occupiers of land within the Shire of Murray (Shire) are required to carry out fire prevention work on their land that must comply with the requirements as stated in this Bushfire Compliance Notice (Notice). Fire prevention work must be completed by 1 December 2024 and must be maintained through to 15 May 2025.

Bushfire Prevention Work Requirements

  1. Area of land - 4,000m² or less

Where the area of any land in the Shire is 4,000m² or less, the owner/occupier of the land must reduce and maintain all flammable material on the entire land to a height of 50 millimetres or less.

  1. Area of land - greater than 4,000m² and less than 45,000m²

Where the area of any land in the Shire is greater than 4,000m² and less than 45,000m² in size, the owner/occupier of the land must construct and maintain a firebreak:

  1. Inside all external boundaries of the land as close as practicable, but within 50 metres of the boundaries so as to form a continuous firebreak around the land.
  2. Around all outbuildings, sheds, haystacks, groups of buildings and fuel depots/storage areas situated on the land.
  3. Area of land - greater than 45,000m²
  4. Where the area of any land in the Shire is greater than 45,000m2 in size, the owner/occupier of the land must:
  5. Reduce and maintain to a height of 50 millimetres or less all flammable material on the land by mowing, slashing, baling or grazing;
  6. Additionally, the owner/occupier of the land must comply with the work requirements as applicable in clause 2.
  7. Where the area of land is greater than 45,000m² and there is on the land any of the assets as described in clause 4.1, and the owner/occupier of the land cannot comply with clause 3.1(a) by the 30 November 2024, the owner/occupier of the land is to instead comply with clause 4.2 or otherwise apply to the Shire for a variation to this Notice.

4.1 Asset Protection Zones

Where any of the following assets are located on any land in the Shire the owner/occupier of the land shall comply with the requirements as described in clause 4.2:

  1. Habitable buildings;
  2. Other buildings or groups of buildings;

iii. Sheds;

  1. Haystacks;
  2. Fuel depots/storage areas.

4.2 Compliance with Asset Protection Zones

Where any of the assets as described in clause 4.1 are located on any land in the Shire the owner/occupier of the land shall comply with the following requirements:

  1. Slash and maintain to a height of 50 millimetres or less all flammable material within 20 metres around any habitable building;
  2. Install a firebreak around buildings, sheds, haystacks, and fuel depots/ storage areas situated on the land;

iii. Remove any flammable material on or around any building or roof of a building including from any gutters, abutments and valleys.

  1. Install and maintain a 3-metre wide driveway.
  2. Storage of Cut, Stockpiled Timber Products

On all land in the Shire except, land specified as Industrial, Non-Rateable or Reserve Land the owner and/or occupier of the land shall not keep or permit to be kept any cut, stockpiled or windrowed timber products (manufactured or natural) unless the owner and/or occupier of the land as obtained the approval of the Shire. Every pile of cut, stockpiled or windrowed timber product larger than 12 cubic metres is to be completely surrounded by a 10 metre wide firebreak.

  1. Plantations
  2. Boundary firebreaks

All property boundaries must have a 15-metre firebreak installed. The outer 10 metres will be cleared of all flammable material while the inner five (5) metres i.e. that portion closest to the trees, may be kept in a reduced fuel state by slashing or grazing grass to a height of less

than 50 millimetres. This includes the trimming back of all overhanging limbs, bushes, shrubs and any other object encroaching into the vertical axis above the outer 10 metres of the firebreak area.

  1. Internal firebreaks

Plantation area must be subdivided into areas not greater than 30 hectares, separated by six (6) metre wide firebreaks. This includes the trimming back of all overhanging limbs, bushes, shrubs and any other object encroaching into the vertical axis of the firebreak area.

iii. Public Roads and Railway Reserves

Firebreaks shall be constructed and maintained immediately inside any boundary that adjoins a public road and/or railway reserve. The specifications will be the same as for “Boundary Firebreaks” on Plantations.

  1. Powerlines

Firebreaks shall be provided along power lines where they pass through or lie adjacent to Plantations. The specifications of the width and the height of clearing shall be in accordance with Western Power specifications and requirements.

  1. Compliance with DFES Guidelines and Standards

All plantations shall comply with the requirements contained in the DFES guidelines or standards for Plantation Fire Protection.

Pursuant to Section 33 (4) of the Bush Fires Act 1954, where the owner and/or occupier of the land fails or neglects to comply with the requirements of this Notice within the times as specified in this Notice, the Shire may enter upon the land and carry out the requirements of this Notice that have not been completed by the owner and/or occupier of the land.

Pursuant to Section 33 (5) of the Bush Fires Act 1954, the Shire may recover from the owner and/or occupier of land the amount of any costs and expenses incurred by the Shire to complete the requirements of this Notice that have not been completed by the owner and/or occupier of the land.

Definitions

For the purpose of this Notice the following definitions apply:

“Authorised Officer” means a person authorised by the Shire and appointed as a Bush Fire Control Officer in accordance with S.38 of the Bush Fires Act 1954.

“Bushfire Management Plan” means a plan that has been developed and approved by the Shire to reduce and mitigate fire hazards within a particular subdivision, lot or other area of land anywhere in the Shire.

 

“Driveway” means the point of access (driveway) to a habitable building that is accessible for both conventional two-wheel drive vehicles and firefighting appliances that is totally clear of all vegetation, trees, bushes, shrubs and other objects or things encroaching into the vertical clearance of the driveway. If a driveway to a habitable building is longer than 50 metres in length from a public road, a clear turnaround area with a 10-metre radius must also be provided.

“Firebreak” means a strip of land that has been cleared of all trees, bushes, grasses and any other object or thing or flammable material to a trafficable surface leaving clear bare mineral earth. This includes the trimming back and removal of all overhanging trees, bushes, shrubs and any other object or thing over the vertical clearance of the fire break area. Firebreaks constructed on road verges do not constitute a legal firebreak.

“Fire Management Plan” has the same meaning as “bushfire management plan”.

“Fuel Depot/Storage Area” means an area of land, a building or structure where fuel (i.e. petrol, diesel, kerosene, liquid gas or any other fossil fuel) is kept in any container or other manner in commercial quantities.

“Flammable Material” means any plant, tree, grass, vegetable, substance, object, thing or material (except living flora including live standing trees, shrubs and bushes) that may or is likely to catch fire and burn or any other item deemed by an authorised officer to be capable of combustion.

“Habitable Building” means a dwelling, work place, place of gathering or assembly and includes a building used for storage or display of goods or produce for sale by wholesale in accordance with classes 1-9 of the Building Code of Australia. The term habitable building includes attached and adjacent structures like garages, carports, verandahs or similar roofed structure(s) that are attached to, or within 6 metres of the dwelling or primary building.

“Haystack” means any collection of hay including fodder rolls placed or stacked together that exceeds 100 cubic metres in size (e.g. 5m x 5m x 4m), whether in a shed, other structure or in the open air.

“Outbuilding” means any structure, shed, building, storage facility or structure or alike built for any purpose outside of the definition of the “habitable building” definition.

“Plantations” means any area of planted pines, eucalypt, hardwood or softwood trees exceeding 3 hectares in area.

“Shed” has the same meaning as outbuilding.

“Size” means a size of an individual parcel or lot of land as recorded in the Shire of Murray property Rates Register or land database.

1 hectare = 10,000m2 = 2.47 acres

1 acre = 4,046.86m2 = 0.4046 hectare

“Trafficable” means to be able to travel from one point to another in a 4x4 fire appliance on a clear surface, unhindered without any obstruction that may endanger resources. A firebreak is not to terminate in a dead end without provision for egress to a safe place or a cleared turn around area of 17.5 metre radius.

“Vertical Clearance” means the height of the space above the full width of the firebreak or driveway that must be kept clear of all obstructions and vegetation to a minimum height of 4.5 metres from the ground.

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