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
2011 Review of the Tostaree Fire (External link) A review of the Tostaree Fire that provided the first chance to measure arrangements put in place through the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission (VBRC), and since the establishment of the Fire Services Commissioner and the Fire Services Commissioner Act 2010. Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner
2010 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission final report (External link) The culmination of the Commission’s work, the final report describes and analyses the bushfires of January–February 2009 and makes 57 recommendations about changes needed to reduce the risk, and the consequences, of similar disasters in the future. It also describes how the Commission went about its task. The final report consists of four volumes, and together with the Commission's interim reports, should be considered one body of work. 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission