Bushfire Attack Level Assessment Report
Last updated July 2020
Bushfire Attack Level Assessment Report
(As per AS 3959–2018)
Property Details
Applicants Name: ….……………………………………………........…………………………………………………………….…………….………...
Contact Phone Number (H): …….…………............................... (M): .....…………………………………….………….…….…….…..
Municipality ……….……………………………………….…………………Lot: ……………………………….……….………………..…….….…….
Address: …………………………………………………..…………………………………..........………………..………………………....……….….…
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………...….…
Type of building work
New Class 1a building
New Class 1b building
New Class 10a building
New Class 2 building
New Class 3 building
Alteration/Additions to an existing building
Description of building work: e.g. single dwelling with attached garage
……………………………………………..…..............................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................................
Note:
Class 1a
• a single dwelling being— a detached house; or
• one of a group of two or more attached dwellings, each being a building, separated by a fire-resisting wall, including
a row house, terrace house, town house or villa unit.
Class 1b
• a boarding house, guest house, hostel or the like— with a total area of all floors not exceeding 300 m2 measured
over the enclosing walls of the Class 1b; and in which not more than 12 persons would ordinarily be resident; or
• 4 or more single dwellings located on one allotment and used for short-term holiday accommodation, which are not
located above or below another dwelling or another Class of building other than a private garage.
Class 10a
• a non-habitable building being a private garage, carport, shed, or the like.
Class 2
• a building containing 2 or more sole-occupancy units, each being a separate dwelling.
Class 3
• a residential building, other than a building of Class 1 or 2, which is a common place of long term or transient living
for a number of unrelated persons, including— a boarding-house, guest house, hostel, lodging-house or
backpackers accommodation; or
• a residential part of a hotel or motel; or
• a residential part of a school; or
• accommodation for the aged, children or people with disabilities; or
• a residential part of a health-care building which accommodates members of staff; or
• a residential part of a detention centre.
© State of Victoria, Victorian Building Authority 2020 Page 1 of 8
Bushfire Attack Level Assessment Report
Bush Fire Attack Level (BAL)
Step 1: Relevant fire danger index
(Refer to clause 2.2.2)
FDI 50 Victorian alpine area
FDI 100 Victoria general – excluding alpine area
Step 2: Assess the vegetation types within 100m in all directions
Tick relevant group & type of vegetation
(Refer to table 2.3)
Vegetation North South East West
classification
Group A Tall open forest Tall open forest Tall open forest Tall open forest
Forest
Tall woodland Tall woodland Tall woodland Tall woodland
Open forest Open forest Open forest Open forest
Low open forest Low open forest Low open forest Low open forest
Pine plantation Pine plantation Pine plantation Pine plantation
Group B Woodland Woodland Woodland Woodland
Woodland
Low woodland Low woodland Low woodland Low woodland
Group C Closed (low) heath Closed (low) heath Closed (low) heath Closed (low) heath
Shrub-land
Open heath Open heath Open heath Open heath
Low shrub-land Low shrub-land Low shrub-land Low shrub-land
Group D Closed scrub (Tall Closed scrub (Tall Closed scrub (Tall Closed scrub (Tall
Scrub Heaths) Heaths) Heaths) Heaths)
Open scrub Open scrub Open scrub Open scrub
Group E Tall shrubland Tall shrubland Tall shrubland Tall shrubland
Mallee/Mulga
Group F Tall closed forest Tall closed forest Tall closed forest Tall closed forest
Rainforest
Closed forest Closed forest Closed forest Closed forest
Low closed forest Low closed forest Low closed forest Low closed forest
Group G Open woodland Open woodland Open woodland Open woodland
Grassland
Low open Low open Low open Low open
woodland woodland woodland woodland
Open shrubland Open shrubland Open shrubland Open shrubland
Low open Low open Low open Low open
shrubland shrubland shrubland shrubland
Hummock Hummock Hummock Hummock
grassland grassland grassland grassland
Closed tussock Closed tussock Closed tussock Closed tussock
grassland grassland grassland grassland
Tussock grassland Tussock grassland Tussock grassland Tussock grassland
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Bushfire Attack Level Assessment Report
Open tussock Open tussock Open tussock Open tussock
Sparse open Sparse open Sparse open Sparse open
tussock tussock tussock tussock
Dense sown Dense sown Dense sown Dense sown
pasture pasture pasture pasture
Sown Pasture Sown Pasture Sown Pasture Sown Pasture
Open herbfield Open herbfield Open herbfield Open herbfield
Sparse open Sparse open Sparse open Sparse open
herbfield herbfield herbfield herbfield
Group H Tussock Moorland Tussock Moorland Tussock Moorland Tussock Moorland
Tussock Moorland
Exclusions North South East West
Insert relevant
paragraph descriptor
from clause [Link].
i.e.(b), (c), (d), (e) or (f)
Step 3: Distance of the site from classified vegetation
(Refer to clause 2.2.4)
Distance from North South East West
each vegetation
type
Step 4: Determine the effective slope of land under the classified vegetation
(Refer to Figure 2.3)
Effective slopes North South East West
Slope under the Upslope/0o Upslope/0o Upslope/0o Upslope/0o
classified vegetation
Downslope
>0o to 5o >0o to 5o >0o to 5o >0o to 5o
>5o to 10o >5o to 10o >5o to 10o >5o to 10o
>10o to 15o >10o to 15o >10o to 15o >10o to 15o
>15o to 20o >15o to 20o >15o to 20o >15o to 20o
Step 5—Determination of the BAL
Select the relevant table from Tables 2.4 or 2.6 for FDI 50 or FDI 100 as relevant for Victoria.
Using the relevant table, determine the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) for each of the vegetation classifications
determined at Step 2, the distance from the site determined at Step 3 and the effective slope determined at
Step 4.
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Bushfire Attack Level Assessment Report
Select the highest BAL obtained above.
The BAL for this site is: BAL ………………………………..…..
Date of Assessment: ………………………………..………..…….
Assessors Name: ………………………………………………………
Assessors contact number:
Home …………………….……… Mobile …………….…….……………….. Work …………….………….…..........
Statement:
I have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information provided in this assessment is accurate and
reflects the conditions on and around the site and allotment on the date of this assessment.
Signed: ……………………………………………………………….
Date: ……………………………….……………………….………..
ATTACHMENTS
Site plan (Attachment 1)
North aspect vegetation and east aspect vegetation (Attachment 2)
South aspect vegetation and west aspect vegetation (Attachment 3)
Notes
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ATTACHMENT 1- Site Plan
Show: -Allotment boundaries -Front street -North Point
-Proposed building/s -Vegetation
-Exclusions as identified in Step 2
Note: The circle below indicates roughly 100m radius from edges of building if building is placed in centre 4
squares of the circle.
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ATTACHMENT 2 – North and East aspect vegetation (Photos)
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ATTACHMENT 3– South and West aspect vegetation (Photos)
© State of Victoria, Victorian Building Authority 2020 Page 8 of 8
