The choice to live and work in places of bushfire risk makes us more vulnerable. It also demands that we become self-sufficient in dealing with that risk.

This program is helping communities become more resilient in the face of the threat from bushfires. It is seeking to understand what communities need to manage the risk, which varies greatly from one community to another across Australia and New Zealand. Central to this program is better understanding what drives human behaviour before, during and after a bushfire.

In collaboration with the fire agencies, Bushfire CRC researchers are working within communities from Far North Queensland to Victoria’s western districts, Canberra, Hobart, and South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. They are gaining valuable information for the fire agencies by developing a better understanding of how these communities manage the bushfire risk, how they respond to warnings and advice from fire agencies and how they receive messages through the media. Research on arson is another key research focus of great practical interest to our end user partners.

The Bushfire CRC has also initiated research in the fledgling topic of bushfire economics, linking with the small number of international experts working in this area.