What bush fire prone land is
The NSW RFS defines it as "land that has been identified by local council which can support a bush fire or is subject to bush fire attack", and says the maps "are prepared by local council and certified by the Commissioner of the NSW RFS". Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 a council records the map, the Commissioner certifies it, and the council must make it available for public inspection. The RFS's Guide for Bush Fire Prone Land Mapping (version 5b, November 2015) sets the method, and says maps "are required to be reviewed at least every five years".
The map is built from vegetation, not from fire history or from houses. The guide classes vegetation into three categories and then buffers each:
- Vegetation category 1, red on the map, "the highest risk for bush fire": forest, woodlands, heaths, forested wetlands and timber plantations. Buffer 100 metres.
- Vegetation category 2, light orange, lower risk: rainforests, and lower-risk parcels such as remnant vegetation under active management. Buffer 30 metres.
- Vegetation category 3, dark orange, "medium bush fire risk": grasslands, freshwater wetlands, semi-arid woodlands, alpine complex and arid shrublands. Buffer 30 metres.
- Buffer, yellow: the 100 or 30 metre band around each vegetation polygon.
A lot is bush fire prone if any of the four colours touches it. Most suburban lots that carry the designation are in the yellow buffer, not the vegetation itself. The guide excludes some vegetation from mapping, including managed lawns and gardens around buildings, most agricultural cropping land, single patches under 1 hectare that are more than 100 metres from other mapped vegetation, and strips narrower than 20 metres. The certified map is a snapshot; the guide itself says that "changes to the landscape may occur from time to time and therefore the certified bush fire prone land maps may not be a true indication of bush fire risk".
How to check an address
The RFS tool. The RFS bush fire prone land check is built from the councils' certified maps. Its instructions: "Enter your address including house number, street and suburb or town. Select your address from the drop down options provided", "Check the map has correctly located your property. If not drag and drop the red marker on to your property", then "Click the 'Get Results' button to see if you're in a designated bush fire prone area". Three limits from the same page. It "does not provide an assessment of the bush fire risk you may face on your property". "The outcome of your search is only valid for the day of the enquiry is made", because "as new maps are certified by the NSW RFS they are updated on this mapping tool and circumstances do change". And "to confirm whether the lot is bush fire prone, you can check on the Section 10.7 Planning Certificate which can be obtained from the relevant Council".
The Planning Portal. The NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer carries the same certified dataset as a layer named Bushfire Prone Land in its Hazard group. Following the Portal's quick reference guide: search by address or by lot and deposited plan, open the Layers tab, turn on Hazard, read the legend, and use the icon beside the search bar to download a Property Report PDF for the lot. The Portal is useful because it shows the colour, so you can see whether the lot is in vegetation or in the buffer, and because the Property Report lists the other planning layers on the lot at the same time.
The dataset itself. The state's NSW Bush Fire Prone Land dataset on SEED names the NSW RFS as custodian, is updated "as needed", and was last updated on 29 October 2025 when read; the Data.NSW listing says it is updated "upon certification of each LGA BFPL change or spot change". So the RFS tool, the Portal layer and the council's own map should agree; where they do not, the council's certified map and the 10.7 certificate are the ones that count.
The council. The RFS page says you can "contact your local council and ask to view the bush fire prone land map". Many councils publish it online; the council's page will also say when the map was last certified.
What the designation triggers
Planning for Bush Fire Protection, when you build or renovate. The RFS's what you need to know page states the rule: "Section 4.14 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 requires that a council does not approve any development in a bush fire prone land area unless the development application complies with Planning for Bush Fire Protection (PBP) requirements." The current document is Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019, which the RFS calls its "principal statutory instrument for development on bush fire prone land", adopted under the Regulation on 1 March 2020. It deals with five things: access, water supply, asset protection zones, landscaping, and design and construction standards. A draft PBP 2026 was on exhibition from 6 August to 3 September 2026, and the RFS expects to finalise it in December 2026, so the rules for a renovation next year may differ from today's.
A bush fire attack level (BAL) assessment. The RFS uses the term BAL "to quantify this risk", in six steps: BAL-LOW ("lowest risk from a potential fire"), BAL-12.5 (risk "primarily from potential embers"), BAL-19 ("moderate risk, particularly from embers and burning debris"), BAL-29 ("high risk, particularly from embers, debris and heat"), BAL-40 ("very high risk", potentially flames) and BAL-FZ ("extreme risk. Directly exposed to the flames of a potential fire front"). "Your BAL is affected by the area you live, the vegetation, the distance from the vegetation to your home, and the slope." Each BAL maps to construction requirements in Australian Standard AS 3959, Construction of buildings in bush fire prone areas. The RFS says "many people complete this step with a bush fire consultant" accredited through the Fire Protection Association Australia, or a single dwelling applicant can use the RFS's Single Dwelling Applicant Kit. Complying development, the fast-track approval, is available on bush fire prone land only from BAL-LOW to BAL-29; at BAL-40 or BAL-FZ a development application is needed.
A notation on the section 10.7(2) certificate. The RFS says the designation "should also be noted on the Section 10.7 Planning Certificate for the property", and the NSW Planning Portal's planning certificate page lists "bushfire prone land" among the constraints a 10.7(2) certificate shows. It is a yes or no; see the section 10.7 page for what else the certificate holds.
Possibly a BAL in the vendor's documents. A BAL is not on the certificate and not on the map. It exists only if someone assessed the site, which happens when a house on bush fire prone land is built, extended or rebuilt under a consent. If the house is recent or has been extended, ask the agent for the BAL report or the bush fire assessment lodged with that approval; it tells you the construction standard the work was built to and, indirectly, how exposed the site was judged to be. There is no obligation on the vendor to have one.
Insurance. None of the government sources says anything about premiums. Insurers use their own data. Get a quote for the address before exchange.
What it does not mean
It does not mean the house is unsafe. The mapping guide says the designation "is intended to designate areas of the State that are considered to be higher bush fire risk for development control purposes". The RFS says "it is not the intention of the measures to prevent the development of land in bush fire prone areas". A lot in the yellow buffer 95 metres from a category 1 forest and a lot inside the forest carry the same designation and very different exposure; the BAL is what separates them, and the map does not give a BAL.
It does not mean the house was built to a bush fire standard. Houses that predate the mapping, or that predate PBP, were not required to meet AS 3959. The designation tells you what applies to future work, not what the existing building is.
An unmapped lot is not a guarantee. The guide is direct: "Not being designated bush fire prone is not a guarantee that losses from bush fires will not occur."
The RFS tool result is not an RFS assessment of the property. It says so on the page. The RFS's separate household assessment tool and a consultant's BAL report are different things from the map.
Nothing on this page is a valuation, an insurance assessment or legal advice.
The steps, in order
- Run the address through the RFS bush fire prone land check. Note the date; the result is only valid for that day.
- Open the Planning Portal Spatial Viewer, turn on Hazard > Bushfire Prone Land, and read the colour: vegetation category, or buffer. Download the Property Report.
- Read the bush fire prone land line on the 10.7(2) certificate attached to the contract. If it disagrees with the tool, the map may have been re-certified since the certificate was issued; ask the council which is current.
- If the house is recent or extended, ask the agent for any BAL report or bush fire assessment from that approval.
- If you plan to build or renovate, read Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2019 and get a BAL assessment from an accredited consultant before you exchange, so you know whether the work is complying development (BAL-LOW to BAL-29) or needs a development application.
- Get an insurance quote for the address before exchange.
Questions about bush fire prone land
What is bush fire prone land in NSW?
Land that the local council has mapped as able to support a bush fire or likely to be subject to bush fire attack, on a map certified by the Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The map is made from vegetation: category 1 (forest, woodland, heath, forested wetland, timber plantation) with a 100 metre buffer, and categories 2 (rainforest and lower-risk parcels) and 3 (grassland, freshwater wetland, semi-arid woodland, alpine complex, arid shrubland) with 30 metre buffers. A lot is bush fire prone if any of the vegetation or its buffer touches it.
How do I check if an address is bush fire prone?
Use the NSW RFS online tool: enter the house number, street and suburb, pick the address from the drop-down, check the red marker sits on the right lot, and click Get Results. The RFS says the result is only valid for the day you make the enquiry and does not assess your bush fire risk. You can also turn on the Bushfire Prone Land layer under Hazard in the NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer, or ask the council to see its map. The council's section 10.7(2) planning certificate is the confirmation, and it is attached to the contract.
Does bush fire prone land mean the house is unsafe?
No. The RFS mapping guide says the designation marks areas of higher bush fire risk for development control purposes, and the RFS says it is not the intention of the measures to prevent development in bush fire prone areas. The map says nothing about the building's construction, its distance from the vegetation, or the slope, which are what decide the actual exposure. Those are measured by a bush fire attack level assessment, and the mapping guide adds that not being designated is not a guarantee that losses from bush fires will not occur.
What is a BAL and do I need one to buy?
A bush fire attack level is the RFS measure of a building's potential exposure to embers, radiant heat and flame, in six steps from BAL-LOW to BAL-FZ. It depends on the area, the vegetation, its distance from the building and the slope. You do not need one to buy, and the map and the 10.7 certificate do not give one. You need one when you build or renovate on bush fire prone land, and complying development is only available for BAL-LOW to BAL-29. Ask the vendor whether a BAL report exists from a previous approval, and get one before exchange if you plan to extend.
What does the 10.7 certificate say about bushfire?
Whether all or some of the land is bush fire prone land. The RFS says the designation should be noted on the section 10.7 planning certificate and that the certificate is how to confirm the online tool's result. It is a yes or no; it does not give a vegetation category, a buffer distance, a BAL or any advice on construction. The certificate reflects the council's certified map on the day the certificate was issued, and maps are re-certified periodically, at least every five years under the RFS guide.
Does Prova replace the RFS map or a BAL assessment?
No. The free Prova check reads the state layers for an address, including the bush fire prone land layer, and names the flags it finds. The A$19 report adds the council's own mapping, read or linked, the evidence behind each flag, and what to order next. It cannot clear an address, it is not a BAL assessment, and it is not a valuation or legal advice. The RFS tool, the council's map, the 10.7 certificate and an accredited consultant's BAL report remain the documents to rely on.