The Albanese Government contributed $3 million to support the groundbreaking work of the Resilient Building Council (RBC) who launched their free Bushfire Resilience Rating app today.
The app enables Australians to assess their site-specific risk and take action to improve their bushfire resilience.
Households can now measure the bushfire resilience of their own home through a star-rating system and receive a customised action plan to make practical, evidence-based bushfire safety improvements to their homes.
As tasks are completed, their home becomes safer and the home’s Resilience Rating is updated through the app.
The RBC received funding from the Australian Government’s Disaster Risk Reduction Package, to develop the app.
Over 1,200 households from bushfire impacted areas helped co-design and trial the app, undertaking actions that resulted in an average 67% reduction in the likelihood of their home igniting in a bushfire.
The Bushfire Resilience Rating is calculated using the Bushfire House Loss Probability Model, bushfire information, and historical house loss data.
This is the first scientific model to calculate bushfire building performance.
RBC’s Resilience Ratings were developed to improve the resilience and preparedness of households who have identified bushfire risk and plan ways to mitigate the risk.
The app was trialled in a number of different fire-prone locations across the country including in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
It was developed in response to a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.
The next phase of RBC’s Resilience Ratings program will be launched by mid-2024, providing expert on-site assessments for integrated bushfire, flood, storm, cyclone, heatwave, and energy efficiency ratings.
On-site assessors will be able to provide a detailed assessment of a home and verify Resilience Ratings to support industry initiatives, grants programs or advertising Resilience Ratings when selling or leasing a property.
This phase is jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments.
The app is available at Bushfire Resilience Home Assessment.
Acknowledgement of Country
WALGA acknowledges the continuing connection of Aboriginal people to Country, culture and community. We embrace the vast Aboriginal cultural diversity throughout Western Australia, including Boorloo (Perth), on the land of the Whadjuk Nyoongar People, where WALGA is located and we acknowledge and pay respect to Elders past and present.