Site readiness
Schools are strongly encouraged to use the site readiness review checklist to help get their school site ready for bushfire season.
Bushfire Preparedness (Vegetation) Program
Schools listed on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (Categories 0 to 3) receive funding through the department’s Bushfire Preparedness (Vegetation) Program (BPVP) because of their higher risk. Schools will be contacted via email by the department if they are eligible to receive funding.
Schools are responsible for meeting the BPVP requirements. This includes hiring the tradespeople and contractors needed to do the work.
Under the BPVP, schools must:
- cut back or clear flammable undergrowth, such as dry grass. This needs to be done all the way to the school boundary, or at least 50 metres away from:
- school buildings
- evacuation routes
- evacuation locations (shelter-in-place building and other onsite evacuation sites)
- create a ‘fuel reduction zone’ around buildings. This means keeping the area up to 20 metres from buildings well maintained. Follow: Fuel Reduction Zone below.
BARR schools get their BPVP funds in 2 payments. Schools receive 80% of their allocated funding before the bushfire season (in approximately September each year). Schools can receive a further 20% once they have submitted an acquittal and it has been approved by the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA). Acquittals must be submitted by 1 November. The second payment is then usually made within 4 weeks of the acquittal’s approval.
School sites listed on the BARR that have been de-staffed or deemed surplus by the department must also meet BPVP guidelines. Responsibility for this falls to the relevant region, or in the case of surplus sites, the department’s Property, Land and Regeneration Unit.
Developing a Vegetation Management Plan
Every three years, each eligible BARR school is visited by a qualified expert in bushfire planning and design. The VSBA arranges and pays for this visit. The bushfire planning and design practitioner (BPAD) writes a Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) for the school. The plan covers three years of vegetation management works.
Some vegetation management actions may also appear in the Shelter-in-place building assessment report (SIP report). This report is part of the Rolling Facilities Evaluation program, refer to the School Maintenance Plans and Rolling Facilities Evaluation policy.
If a vegetation management action appears in the SIP report, the school must complete this action before other actions in the school’s VMP.
Schools must also comply with biodiversity obligations when undertaking bushfire vegetation management activities. Direction on how this applies to the BPVP is in the Biodiversity duty guidance chapter of the department’s Tree and Vegetation Management policy. The bushfire planning and design practitioners are aware of the biodiversity obligations and will consider these requirements as part of developing the VMP.
Completing vegetation management activities
Vegetation management works must be completed before the bushfire season. Vegetation management must then continue to be managed throughout the bushfire season.
Vegetation management activities may be:
- ongoing (such as mowing lawns)
- annual (such as pruning)
- one-off (large arborists works).
Schools are encouraged to secure any required contractors as soon as possible when funding is allocated in July or August. The Term 3 school holidays can be a useful time to schedule large projects.
If a BARR school has trouble finding and hiring vegetation management contractors, they can ask for help from a BPAD practitioner by contacting the BPVP team at bushfire@education.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window).
If a school is planning vegetation management works that costs between $5,000 and $150,000 (inclusive of GST), it must follow the Procuring Low-value Construction Works or Services policy.
If a school is planning large, one-off vegetation works, contingency funding may be available through the BPVP. Schools can contact the VSBA at bushfire@education.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window) to discuss funding if:
- the planned works will cost between $10,000 and $30,000, and
- the school does not have enough money in their BPVP funds to complete the work.
Acquitting funds
BPVP funding is given to BARR schools once a year over two payments. The funding year runs from 1 May to 30 April.
Schools report on how they spent the money in an acquittal due 1 November every year. This acquittal is completed in SmartyGrants(opens in a new window).
Schools can claim vegetation management work done from 1 May of the acquittal year up to the 30 April the next year in their November acquittal.
For works completed from May to November, 3 forms of documentation must be attached to the acquittal form to demonstrate each item is eligible for funding. These documents are:
- an itemised cost estimate (quote)
- a receipt of payment
- a photo.
For planned upcoming work (November to April) schools must provide a quote or estimate of these future costs.
Schools can include labour costs for the time for staff otherwise engaged by the school to undertake vegetation management activities.
If a school still has BPVP money after it finishes the vegetation management it must do, the school can spend the rest on other things that help get ready for bushfires. For example, a school could swap wooden sleepers, which catch fire, for concrete ones. It could also buy a ride on mower, which can save money over time.
When the principal or business manager submits the school’s BPVP acquittal, they are confirming that there are no conflicts of interest with the contractors who did the works.
After the school submits its acquittal, VSBA will assess it. Once approved, the second instalment payment is usually made within four weeks of submission.
Fuel Reduction Zone
Schools must create a ‘fuel reduction zone’ that extends up to 20 metres around their buildings. Within the fuel reduction zone, schools must follow these guidelines.
Grass, leaves and debris
- Keep grass short and well maintained during the bushfire season.
- Regularly remove fallen leaves and other plant waste. This includes piles of leaves, pruned branches, dead limbs and fallen trees.
- Keep roofs and gutters free of leaves, twigs and branches.
- Remove other flammable elements and prune lower limbs of established trees. Check with local council before removing trees.
- Within ten metres of a building, keep flammable objects away from the parts of the building that are most at risk of catching fire.
- Do not place plants taller than 10 centimetres within 3 metres of a window or glass part of a building.
Shrubs and trees
- Do not have shrubs under the canopy of trees.
- Remove thick, continuous shrubs or other plants that touch building walls or sit directly under windows.
- Keep each shrub or clump of shrubs to no more than 5 square metres in size, and leave at least 5 metres between them.
- Trees taller than 10 metres should be planted further from the shelter-in-place building than their height.
- Remove or trim any trees or branches that hang over or touch buildings and sheds. Keep branches at least 2 metres above rooflines and 2 metres away from the buildings
- Keep at least 5 metres between tree canopies.
- Keep at least 2 metres of clear space between the lowest tree branches and the ground.
Bushfire Protection Measures
Some schools may also have ‘bushfire protection measures’ listed on their Essential Safety Measures (ESM) maintenance schedule. Information about these requirements is detailed in Essential Safety Measures (ESM)(opens in a new window). Information about the ESM program can be found in the Buildings and Grounds Maintenance and Compliance policy.
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