Reference Document - RAL26 0015 - Bushfire Hazard Assessment (As Published) · RAL26/0015

            Bushfire Hazard Assessment & Management Plan v2                                                                 NCES REF: J001445
            434 Lake Cooroibah Rd Lake Cooroibah, QLD


            4         HAZARD ASSESSMENT

            4.1       Hazard Assessment Methodology
            The Noosa Plan requires that a site-specific bushfire hazard assessment be prepared to assess the
            degree of bushfire hazard acting on a development site which is proposed within a mapped
            Designated Bushfire Hazard Area.
            The SPP Bushfire Prone Area mapping prevails over the Noosa Plan Bushfire Hazard Area mapping
            with respect to the currency of the methodology adopted to prepare the mapping. Accordingly, the
            site-specific hazard mapping required by the Bushfire Hazard Overlay Code is to be prepared
            consistent with the methodology adopted to prepare the SPP mapping.
            The methodology used to prepare the SPP mapping is described in:
                  •    Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning’s Natural Hazards, Risk and
                       Resilience –– Bushfire (December 2019) State Planning Policy – state interest guidance
                       material; and
                  •    Queensland Fire and Emergency Services - (2019) Planning for Bushfire Resilient
                       Communities.
            Site-specific hazard maps are referred to as Local Hazard Area Maps in the SPP documents. The
            preparation of Local Hazard Area Maps has been undertaken for the site in accordance with the
            methodology described in the above-mentioned documents.
            A Local Hazard Area Map was prepared by adopting the following methodology:
                  •    Categorizing the vegetation within the site in accordance with the vegetation hazard classes
                       derived from QFES (2019);
                  •    Subdividing the identified vegetation hazard classes into bushfire hazard sub-units based on
                       slope differences and vegetation hazard classes. All upslope and across slope vegetation
                       units are allocated an underlying slope of 1 degree as per methodology prescribed within
                       Queensland Fire and Emergency Services - (2019) Planning for Bushfire Resilient
                       Communities. The maximal slope recorded within 25m x 25m grids within the VHC’s is
                       adopted as the effective slope underlying the VHC. A conservative approach is adopted
                       where multiple slopes persist within VHC’s.
                  •    Assigning SPP Potential Bushfire Intensity classes to the remaining sub-units;
                  •    Using the patch and corridor filtering process under Section 4.2.6 of the BRC to remove /
                       downgrade narrow corridors and small patches of hazardous vegetation1;
                  •    Application of 100m Potential Impact Buffers to the amended sub-units to derive an overall
                       Local Hazard Area Map.




            1 The patch and corridor filtering process to remove or downgrade hazard levels of small patches and narrow corridors involves the

            following three stages:
                  •    Merging small patches of a single Vegetation Hazard Class less than 0.5 ha;
                  •    Merging small Vegetation Hazard Class patches between 0.5 and 1 ha with higher or moderate fuel loads (greater than 8
                       tonnes/ha); and
                  •    Removing narrow corridors of vegetation less than 50m wide through a process of patch erosion and dilation. These small
                       patches are merged with surrounding vegetation by allocating a patch to the Vegetation Hazard Class that is most common to
                       the patch boundary (Leonard et al., 2017).



Document Set©ID:   24816699
                 2026                                                          11
Version: 1, Version Date: 25/05/2026