Shelter-in-place projects
The department maintains a Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) that identifies approximately 350 Victorian government schools at the highest risk of fire danger within bushfire-prone areas.
There are 2 additional components to the rolling facilities evaluation (RFE) for schools on the BARR:
- Bushfire Attack Level assessment
- A Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) measures how exposed a building could be to ember attack, radiant heat and direct flames.
- Shelter-in-place (SiP) assessment
- The SiP assessment report reviews the school’s nominated SiP building and recommends works and maintenance to provide ember and bushfire resistance.
There are 5 Bushfire Attack Levels that form part of the Australian Standard for construction of buildings in bushfire prone areas (AS3959-2018):
- BAL-12.5
- BAL-19
- BAL-29
- BAL-40
- BAL-FZ (Flame Zone)
Applying shelter-in-place guidelines
The objectives of the SiP assessment for the RFE project are to:
- identify gaps between the SiP and the construction principles within the AS3959-2018
- identify work needed for the SiP to comply with the minimum performance criteria guidelines
- enable consistent and evidence-based decision making for schools on the BARR.
When an RFE assessor recommends improvement works or maintenance, they will provide supporting commentary and a cost estimate.
Where the guidelines provide options to meet specific SiP requirements, the RFE assessor will recommend a preferred option and provide supporting rationale. Their recommendation will take into account the resilience of the building, along with the cost of the proposed work.
Delivery of shelter-in-place projects
Given the technical nature of some SiP works, the VSBA will deliver all high priority SiP works using a centrally managed contract procurement. Schools will be assigned a dedicated VSBA Project Officer as their point of contact who will work with the school throughout the entire delivery process.
Reviewed 29 September 2022