Reference Document - RAL26/0011 (As Published)

6. Risk Assessment
This risk assessment has been undertaken as a qualitative assessment of the potential risks posed by an anticipated bushfire
hazard following the assessment in Section 5. Specific risks are a function of the overall expected likelihood, vulnerability, and
consequence levels.
Based on the recommendations of the National Land Use Planning Guidelines for Disaster Resilient Communities (Planning
Institute of Australia 2015) and the Disaster Resilient Communities (Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience 2020) risks may be
categorised as:
      ▪        Acceptable

      ▪        Tolerable; or

      ▪        Intolerable

These principles are adopted as the
framework to identify appropriate responses,
identifying land use and development that
should not occur as well as land use and
development that may occur in certain
circumstances or with certain mitigation
measures in place. This framework has been adopted within the following risk assessment.

6.1       Nature of Site Activities
The application seeks approval for a Reconfiguration of a Lot. The activities associated with the proposed subdivision layout are
anticipated to be consistent with typical residential land use. No specific activities are likely to be undertaken to present an
increased bushfire hazard beyond what is generally expected in the pre-developed scenario. However, it is acknowledged that
fire incidents can be proportionate to the population density and land uses of any given area. Given this, the proposed
development may result in:
      •   Accidental ignition of fire within adjoining vegetation as a result of general use of the development (e.g. cigarette
          disposal);
      •   Un-controlled construction activities resulting in accidental ignition of adjoining vegetation; and
      •   Potential arson-related activities outside the site, not associated with the development, that result in bushland
          ignition.
Conversely, there is potential for a reduction in in bushfire occurrence associated with developing the subject site. The presence
of in the area will increase the detectability of potential ignition within the study area, allowing for a more rapid emergency
response to be enlisted.
The risk associated with the proposed land use and the nature of associated activities would be considered tolerable with
appropriate mitigation strategies and development design considerations applied.

6.2       Fire History
To assess past bushfire activity within the locality, aerial imagery and historical records of fire scars between 2012 and 2024
have been reviewed.
A bushfire event was recorded in 2013 and 2019 within a 2km radius of the subject site. Limited information regarding the fire’s
cause, extent, or conditions is available. It is noted that seven (7) years have passed since the recorded event with no further
documented occurrences in the locality.
The recurrence of fire at this frequency can be interpreted utilising the QERMF that provides a method to interpolate fire
frequency into a likelihood rating of a wildfire occurring. The following table is replicated from the QERMF handbook.
Table H – Event Likelihood Definitions (QFES 2018)
 Historical Likelihood                              Likelihood Level                 Definition
 Has occurred 3 or more times in the last year or                                    Almost certain to occur in most cases.
                                                    Almost Certain
 at least each year over the last 5 years.
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