Find books, government reports, websites, statistics, newspaper articles and images about Victorian bushfires from 1851 to today.
Current Victorian acts and regulations relating to bushfires, arson, fire prevention and control, lighting of fires, and states of emergency are available online at Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents.
The Code of practice for bushfire management on public land (PDF) 2012 (amended 2022) provides 'a framework for the management of fire on Victoria’s public land including planned burning and bushfire response' and 'strategies for prevention, preparedness, response and recovery activities while outlining new statutory obligations during bushfire responses such as the Fire Services Commissioner’s requirements and the obligation to warn the community'.
The National Construction Code can be accessed for free by creating an account or onsite at State Library Victoria. See DEECA - Forest Fire Management Victoria for risk management information. Building Acts, Amendments and Regulations are available from Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents.
The Bushfires Royal Commission Implementation Monitor Act came in to force in Victoria in 2011. It was repealed on 30 September 2014 by section 25 of the Bushfires Royal Commission Implementation Monitor Act 2011, No. 6/2011.
Standards
The 2019 National Construction Code (NCC) references Australian Standard AS3959:2018 Construction of buildings in bushfire prone areas. Housing Industry Association provides an overview of changes in this version.
Standards Australia and the Commonwealth Government are making this Standard freely available for all Australians until 30 June 2021. It can be downloaded through vendors including SAI Global (choose PDF Product Format):
AS 3959:2018 Construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas
Historical Victorian acts are available online. The website includes a facility to search the text of the acts. However, the printed consolidations listed below may be easier to use, as they give clear information about the amendements made to an act over time.
The Library holds printed consolidations of Victorian legislation as in force in 1890, 1915, 1929, and 1958.
The acts included in these consolidations usually indicate amendments made to an act up to the date the consolidation was made. These amendment histories help you to you trace changes to an act back in time.
See below for acts in the consolidations which appear to relate to bushfires. Some may relate to fires more generally, or fires in metropolitan and suburban areas, or fires in properties or buildings (as opposed to forest or grass fires). It can be difficult gauging this from the descriptions included in the indexes so you will need to look at the acts to determine their relevance.
1890 consolidation
Index in last volume of the set. See:
1915 consolidation
Indexed. See:
1929 consolidation
Not indexed - organised by title. Consult it to see changes to Acts listed in the earlier consolidations.
1958 consolidation
Indexed. See:
The track of the bush fire, IAN12/05/79/72
