A free Bushfire Resilience Rating app has been released for residents to assess and prepare their homes for bushfire risk.
Households can measure the bushfire resilience of their own home through a star-rating system and then get a customised action plan to make practical, safety improvements to their homes.
As the tasks are completed, their home becomes safer and the home’s Resilience Rating is updated through the app.
Go to the website, sign up and then you’ll be asked questions about your home.
When was the roof replaced?
Do you have shrubs near your home?
Is anything stored under your house?
How much glass is there in your home?
It takes about 30 minutes to complete all the questions and only applies to detached homes in Australia.
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.
Minister for Emergency Management, Murray Watt said as more people use the app and take action, communities around Australia will be better prepared.
“We commend the Resilient Building Council for their innovative and collaborative solutions to help build national resilience and we are encouraged by discussions through the Hazards Insurance Partnership about insurers supporting this initiative with their customers.,” Mr Watt said.
The RBC received $3million funding from the Australian Government’s Disaster Risk Reduction Package to develop the app.
The app was trialed in fire-prone locations across the country including in Queensland, NSW 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 next year. This will include on-site assessments for integrated bushfire, flood, storm, cyclone, heatwave, and energy efficiency ratings.
This Resilience Rating will be useful if selling or renting a property.
This phase is jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments.
The process to do the assessment is available here.
