South eastern Australia, including Victoria, is among the most bushfire-prone areas in the world.

Victoria’s high bushfire risk is due to a combination of factors including increasing population density in fire-prone areas.

Major bushfires can lead to loss of life and injury, damage to key state infrastructure such as electricity transmission lines, water supply assets and transport links.

Additionally, fast moving grass fires in metro/rural interface environments, structure fires in urban environments, and mine fires caused by fires in nearby bushland all pose their unique challenges and consequences.

Examples of significant bushfires and related fires include the 2009 Black Saturday fires, 2014 Hazelwood mine fire and more recently the 2019-20 fires which led to major reviews at state level and a Royal Commission at national level: Inquiry into the 2019–20 Victorian Fire Season and Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements respectively.

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Publish year Assurance activity Summary Organisation
2021 Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry - Progress Report 2020 (External link) An assessment of progress in implementing recommendations and affirmations from the 2014 and 2015–16 Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry reports. In this report IGEM monitors 11 government actions and 1 recommendation that were reported as ongoing in 2019. The report finds that some actions are close to completion, and others involve complex legislative reforms that require time to fully implement. Inspector-General for Emergency Management
2021 10 Years Beyond Bushfires Report (External link) An overview of the key learnings in the 10 years since the 2009 Victorian bushfires, including Black Saturday. The results showed individual and community capacity to recover from a disaster experience and subsequent disruptions, and to adapt to changed lives and environments. Recommendations made in the report help to apply these findings to individual decision making, community-level strategies to strengthen resilience, and the targeting and timing of recovery services. Academia
2021 Lessons to be learned in relation to the Australian bushfire season 2019-20 - Final Report (External link) The second and final report examines the impact of the 2019-20 bushfires on human health and welfare, and the recovery process including assistance provided and the appropriateness of recovery programs; insurance issues; aerial firefighting capability; and hazard mitigation for future events. The report makes 16 recommendations to ensure more coordinated, equitable and efficient recovery processes. Parliament of Australia
2021 Bushfires 2019–20 (External link) A short overview of the 2019–20 fire season and government responses to date. It includes an overview of bushfire inquiries that have been conducted over the past two decades and highlights the considerable information collated by recent inquiries relating to two of the major issues linked with this fire season - prescribed burning and climate change. Parliament of Victoria
2021 Speaking Up: Young people’s experience of Bushfire and Recovery (External link) A report produced in partnership with the Victorian Government’s Department of Education and Training and Bushfire Recovery Victoria, and informed by consultations with young people and community members to document their experience of disaster recovery and response to the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. It makes 13 recommendations by young people and by YACVic based on young people’s expressed needs. Emergency Recovery Victoria, Department of Education, Independent
2021 2021-22 Quarter 1 Fire Services Outcome Framework Progress Report - Fire Services Q1 performance results (External link) An independent quarterly report that provides observations on the progress of CFA and FRV against their respective outcomes-based fire services performance indicators. Fire Services Implementation Monitor
2021 Understanding preparedness and recovery (External link) An examination of the emergency experiences of 165 people who lived through a disaster between 2008 and 2019 to better understand the link between preparedness actions and enhanced recovery. Australian Red Cross
2021 Assurance of DELWP breaches of planned burn control lines - 2019-20 (External link) A report on observations and progress updates relating to DELWP’s planned burns that breach control lines, and a summary of implementation of ongoing recommendations related to planned burning. Inspector-General for Emergency Management
2022 Fire to Flourish - Annual Report 2021 (External link) The first annual report on the Fire to Flourish program of bushfire recovery, disaster resilience and community development - a partnership with communities affected by the 2019/20 Australian bushfire season, to support communities to lead their own recovery, co-create foundations for long-term resilience and wellbeing, and disrupt cycles of entrenched disadvantage. Academia
2022 Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry Implementation of recommendations and affirmations - Progress Report 2021 (External link) IGEM’s sixth report as sole monitor on the progress of the implementation of recommendations and affirmations from the 2014 and 2015–16 Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry reports, it summarises implementation progress to August 2021, of the eight government actions and one recommendation directed to the Latrobe Valley coal mine operators that were reported as in progress in IGEM’s Progress Report 2020. Inspector-General for Emergency Management