Bushfire response

Achievements and policies implemented in the first year of Coalition Government

• Released revised Bushfire Safety Policy Framework with the aim of improving bushfire safety for all Victorians
• Held ten multi-agency exercises across Victoria to evaluate the preparedness and response of agencies in an emergency – eight relate to fire and two to flood
• Provided funding for local government to employ 25 staff members across 34 councils in high bushfire risk areas
• Developed guidelines on evacuation processes
• Provided funding so two high fire risk communities can practise their emergency response to bushfires as part of community fire drills
• Supported the $5 million Fire Ready Communities program to help build resilience and prepare for a safer future
• Established more Neighbourhood Safer Places, with a total of more than 200 now established
• Allocated $13 million for a grants program to support councils and communities to establish contingency shelter options which include Neighbourhood Safer Places
• Published a revised policy on community fire refuges, along with practices and procedures
• Developed an enhanced action-orientated Community Preparedness Guide template – 29 new Township Protection Plans have been developed using the new template, bringing the total number of Plans to 140
• Provided $50 million funding for a voluntary buyback scheme for landowners whose principal place of residence was destroyed in the 2009 bushfires
• Revised Building Amendment (Bushfire Construction) Regulations to improve the protection of homes and communities in bushfire-prone areas across the state
• Established the Fire Recovery Unit as a one-stop shop for those needing assistance to recover and rebuild after the 2009 fires
• Developed Victoria's first fire services reform action plan to ensure the outcomes of the Royal Commission are delivered and reform the manner in which agencies operate together to meet the changing needs of the community
• Ensured the role of the Bushfires Royal Commission Implementation Monitor is truly independent. The Monitor is now not subject to ministerial direction and can only be removed from office on the resolution of both houses of Parliament, and reporting now occurs in an open and transparent way

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