Planning for bushfire
Bushfires are a natural hazard that can pose serious risks to life, property and the environment.
We help residents, businesses, and developers to understand and manage bushfire risk through land use planning, design and preparedness.
Is your property in a bushfire risk area?
Our City Plan includes a bushfire hazard overlay map that identifies:
- land that could potentially be affected by significant bushfires
- vegetation likely to support a bushfire
- adjacent land that could be subject to impacts from a significant bushfire, including ember attack.
To find out whether your property is in a bushfire hazard area:
- Go to the City Plan interactive mapping tool.
- In the map layers in the map tools to the right of the map, deselect Zones.
- Select Overlays and open the dropdown, select Bushfire hazard.
- Open the Legend to see colour-coded zones.
- Type your address into the search bar and choose it when it comes up.
- Refer to the Legend to check the level of bushfire hazard applicable to the property.
This map is based on the Bushfire Prone Area mapping provided by the State government. It displays the designated bushfire prone area under the Building Regulation 2021. Development within these areas is assessed against the City Plan bushfire hazard overlay code.
Building or renovating in a bushfire risk area
Building in a bushfire prone area may require additional assessment under the City Plan and Qld Building Regulations. To find out more, contact us on 07 5582 8708 or email mail@goldcoast.qld.gov.au. A planning or building consultant can also assist you.
Designing homes and landscapes with bushfire resilience in mind can significantly reduce risk.
Our Bushfire Resilient Design Guideline outlines:
- how you can renovate or build homes using bushfire resilient design
- building siting and separation
- fire-resistant materials and construction
- landscaping for bushfire protection.
To view the guideline and other resources, visit City design principles and guidelines.
Don’t forget — your property plan isn’t complete without appropriate insurance. A simple check of your insurance today can save big headaches tomorrow.
To find out more about how we manage bushfire risk, and how you can be better prepared, visit Get Ready – Bushfire and our Disaster emergency dashboard.