The new app will provide householders in bushfire risk areas with a rating to determine how resilient their homes are. Photo: File.
The Federal Government has launched an online resource that can help property owners determine how resilient their property is to the risk of bushfires.
The Bushfire Resilience Rating platform is designed to help property owners better prepare for bushfires and hopefully apply downward pressure on home insurance premiums.
The resource is free to use and can be accessed via the Bushfire Resilience Home Assessment website.
The app will help homeowners measure the bushfire resilience of their own property through a star-rating system, and receive a customised action plan to make practical, evidence-based bushfire safety improvements to their homes. As the improvements are made, these can be ticked off in the app, and an amended rating is applied.
The rating is calculated using the Bushfire House Loss Probability Model, bushfire information and historical house loss data.
The resource was developed in response to a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and was funded to the tune of $3 million by the government to support the Resilient Building Council (RBC).
The app was co-designed and tested by 1200 households from bushfire-impacted areas in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, and their actions resulted in an average 67 per cent reduction in the likelihood of their home igniting in a bushfire.
It is currently available only for Australian detached homes, and only people living in a bushfire risk area will be able to generate a rating.
“While governments have a role to play in preparing for this peak period for severe weather, it is collective responsibility households also share,” Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said, adding that the more people who use the app and take action, the more 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,” he said.
“The Australian Government continues to explore and support ways to make Australia more resilient to natural disasters, including through the Disaster Ready Fund, which offers up to $1 billion over the next five years for projects that support Australians to manage the physical and social impacts of disasters.”
Dr Ian Bennetts, the RBC’s lead project engineer added: “Bushfires exploit the weakest link in homes, whether they are old or new.
“There are often many low-cost actions that will improve the home’s resilience immediately, such as draught sealing and moving surfboards and caravans away from the home.
“People can get started today. The more homes upgraded in a community, the less risk of house-to-house fire spread, which can lead to the loss of whole townships.”
Insurance Council of Australia CEO Andrew Hall said the app will be an important tool for homeowners in recognising and reducing bushfire risk.
“The Insurance Council of Australia congratulates the Resilient Building Council for the development of the Bushfire Rating App,” he said.
“It seeks to make it easier for insurers to recognise and make reductions in insurance premiums based on retrofitting to high-risk households, informed by the app’s recommendations.
“The ICA is also pleased to have partnered with the Resilient Building Council to deliver the Multi-Hazard Resilience Ratings program, which will help insurers, and other industries, recognise effective actions taken by households.”
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