Bushfire and Grassfire Preparedness

Department resources

Bushfire and grassfire preparedness procedures and checklists

• Bushfire preparedness procedures for education facilities (PDF)(opens in a new window) – outline what schools and early childhood services need to do to prepare for bushfires and grassfires
• Pre-season bushfire preparedness for schools (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – this checklist outlines the activities schools should take prior to the commencement of the high-risk weather season and the extra steps needed to develop a pre-emptive action plan for Category 0 to 2 schools
• Pre-emptive relocation plan template (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a template for Category 0 to 2 schools to develop a pre-emptive relocation plan for days of elevated fire danger (High or Extreme FDR)
• Pre-emptive closure plan template (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a template for Category 0 to 2 schools to develop a pre-emptive closure plan for days of elevated fire danger (High or Extreme FDR)
• Enacting your pre-emptive action plan (relocation or closure) checklist (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a checklist for Category 0 to 2 schools to enact their pre-emptive action plan (relocation or closure) on a day of High or Extreme FDR in their local government area
• Enacting your Catastrophic FDR school closure checklist (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a checklist for all BARR and Category 4 schools to support closure on a day of Catastrophic fire danger in their forecast district
• Enacting your Catastrophic FDR service closure checklist (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a checklist for all BARR and Category 4 early childhood services to support closure on a day of Catastrophic fire danger in their forecast district

Annual site readiness checklists

Schools and early childhood services can use the site readiness review checklists to help guide their preparations for the start of the bushfire season each year. This can also assist schools on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) to comply with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA)’s Guidelines on bushfire preparedness.

• School bushfire site readiness review checklist (DOCX)
• Early childhood services bushfire site readiness review checklist (DOCX)

Communication templates for schools

• Presentation: Ensuring our school is bushfire ready (PPTX)(opens in a new window) – a PowerPoint presentation for schools to use in communicating about bushfire preparedness with their school community
• Newsletter article: Communications to parents on fire preparation for category 0, 1 and 2 schools (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a template for schools to publish in a newsletter or on their website to communicate their school’s fire risk and preparations
• Newsletter article: Communications to parents on fire preparation for category 3 and 4 schools (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a template for schools to publish in a newsletter or on their website to communicate their school’s fire risk and preparations
• Letter – inform your school community about your school’s EMP (DOCX)(opens in a new window) and Short form – inform your school community about your school’s EMP (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – sample communications to share key messages regarding your plan and procedures with your school community

Posters for schools

The following posters are designed to be printed by individual schools and children’s services and prominently displayed throughout the school, including all entrances.

• Poster: School will be using pre-emptive action plan (relocation or closed) due to elevated fire danger (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a template for schools in Categories 0 to 2 to use when activating their pre-emptive action plan
• Poster: School will be closed due to Catastrophic fire danger (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a template for schools in Categories 0 to 4 to use when closed due to Catastrophic fire danger in their fire weather district

Letter and notification templates for schools

These letter and notification templates have been developed to assist schools in communicating with their community about their bushfire preparedness arrangements on days of elevated fire danger. Schools can use this text as the basis for a letter on their own school letterhead, for other messages and notifications, or for their website. Schools will need to review and update the text each time it is used to ensure it is relevant.

• Letter template: advice regarding potential enactment of pre-emptive actions (DOCX) - for Category 0-2 schools to advise your school community of the potential to enact pre-emptive action plans due to elevated fire danger in the local government area
• Letter template: confirmation of activation of pre-emptive actions (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – for Category 0 to 2 schools, use this letter to confirm to your school community that your school is activating your relocation or closure plan due to elevated fire danger in the local government area
• Letter template: advice regarding potential school closure on Catastrophic FDR day (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – use this letter to advise your school community of a potential Catastrophic FDR day in your weather district
• Letter template: cancellation of potential Catastrophic day school closure (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – use this template only if you have previously sent out the Letter template: advice regarding potential school closure on Catastrophic FDR day. This letter confirms to your school community that a potential Catastrophic FDR day forecast has now been downgraded and that your school will remain open
• Letter template: confirmation of school closure on Catastrophic FDR day (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – use this letter to confirm to your school community that your school is closed due to a Catastrophic FDR day in your weather district
• Letter template: cancellation of school bus service for schools that remain open on Catastrophic FDR (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – use this letter to confirm to your school community that your school is open but your bus service is cancelled due to a Catastrophic FDR day in your weather district
• Letter template: cancellation of off-site activities due to elevated or Catastrophic fire danger day (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – use this template to confirm to your school community that off-site activities are cancelled due to elevated or Catastrophic FDR
• Letter template: not enacting pre-emptive actions plans (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – for Category 0-2 use this letter to remind your community that your school’s threshold for pre-emptive action has not yet been triggered. This is useful when the LGA and district FDR ratings are not the same
• Letter template: No action required for Category 5 and 6 schools on Catastrophic FDR day (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – for schools in Categories 5 and 6, use this to remind your school community that you are not required to close on a Catastrophic FDR day
• Letter template: Notification for families of schools hosting Category 0, 1 and 2 schools on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – use this template to notify your school community that you are hosting neighbouring schools as part of pre-emptive action plans
• Notification and social media template: pre-emptive actions on days of elevated fire danger (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – use this template to update your community about activation of pre-emptive actions, potential activations, or cancellation due to a change in forecast via your notification app or social media channels

Phone script for schools

Telephone script: pre-emptive action or catastrophic closures (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – use this script to leave a recorded message on your school main telephone line when enacting pre-emptive action plans or a Catastrophic FDR closure

eLearning modules

All school staff can now enrol in and access an eLearning module which provides a short, accessible introduction to bushfire preparedness. This self-directed online learning module is titled ‘Emergency Management: Bushfire At-Risk Register’ and can be accessed at any time through the eduPay portal(opens in a new window) (staff login required).

The department has also developed eLearning modules about other key emergency and critical incident management topics including emergency planning, conducting drills, managing risks and more. These can be accessed through LearnEd on the eduPay portal by searching for the keywords ‘Emergency Management’.

Further resources

• AFDRS information sheet (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a factsheet with information about the new Australian Fire Danger Rating System which came into effect 1 September 2022
• Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR)(opens in a new window)
• Schools and early childhood services at risk of grassfire – Category 4(opens in a new window)
• Bushfire Preparedness (Vegetation) Program factsheet (PDF)(opens in a new window) – information and guidance on how schools can utilise and acquit Bushfire Preparedness (Vegetation) Program (BPVP) funding
• Vegetation management plan template (DOCX)(opens in a new window) – a template designed to assist schools with site management

External resources

Country Fire Authority (CFA)

The CFA has a variety of resources and information that can support your school and broader school community:

• Plan and Prepare(opens in a new window)
• Your Guide to Survival(opens in a new window)
• Fire Ready Kit(opens in a new window)
• Resources for Schools at Risk of Fire(opens in a new window)
• Lesson plans for primary, secondary and EAL schools(opens in a new window)
• For CFA information in languages other than English in text and audio file formats, refer to: Fire Safety Translations(opens in a new window)

Other resources

• Bushfire Management Overlay(opens in a new window) – Department of Transport and Planning
• Guidelines for Bushfire Preparedness(opens in a new window) – Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority
• VicPlan(opens in a new window) (Department of Transport and Planning) – a tool that can be used to view, query and create property reports.