On 15 March 2009 the Hon David Bartlett MHA, Premier of Tasmania, announced that he had requested that the Department of Premier and Cabinet provide advice on a package of measures to ensure that the construction of houses in Tasmania was appropriate having regard to the risk from bushfires. The three main reforms that were to be considered were:

1. An appropriate definition of "bushfire prone areas" or a process for defining "bushfire prone areas" for the purposes of applying relevant parts of AS3959-1999 Australian Standard for the Construction of building in Bushfire Prone Areas or subsequent versions of the Standard in Tasmania through the Building Act 2000;
2. An appropriate draft Standard Bushfire Schedule that can be referred to the Resource Planning and Development Commission for consideration as a new Planning Directive; and
3. Advice on strategies to ensure that Development applications for building in "bushfire prone area" can be considered and approved in a reasonable period.

The draft report has been released for consideration and comments by peak organisations and Councils. Once finalised, the draft Standard Bushfire Schedule, including definition of "bushfire prone area" will be forwarded to the Resource Planning and Development Commission for further consideration through a statutory process that includes public consultation.

Download the draft Review of Construction and Development Control in Bushfire Prone Areas (PDF, 646KB).

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