Fire bunkers or private bushfire shelters

Bunkers are a last resort option in a bushfire

CFA strongly recommends being away from high risk areas on Extreme and Catastrophic Fire Danger days. But we understand that people might decide to install a bunker on their property for their family’s safety or as part of building a new home in a bushfire risk area.

What to keep in mind when considering building a bunker:

• Bunkers are not guaranteed to save lives.
• A bunker should only be used if it's no longer safe to leave the area and there is a bushfire on your property.
• Bunkers are not an alternative to leaving early and should never be a stand-alone solution.
• Bunkers should only be used as a last resort option if they meet Victorian Regulations and performance requirements.
• Make sure you have an overall bushfire plan to avoid making rash, last minute decisions that could endanger your life.
• You must be physically and mentally prepared to use a bunker in a bushfire. This involves regular practise fire drills and having a clear fire plan.

Bunkers are strictly regulated in Victoria

In Victoria, bunkers must comply with:

• Victorian Building Regulations 2018 (Regulations)
• National Construction Code (NCC) performance requirements.

Performance requirements

Bunkers must meet very strict National Construction Code performance requirements, including locating the bunker away from fire hazards (objects, building and vegetation which can catch on fire), providing safe access, suitable ventilation, appropriate interior air temperature, smoke sealing and other specific safety measures.

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) Performance Standard for Private Bushfire Shelters gives bunker designers and builders advice for how to meet the NCC performance requirements.

It provides objectives around what needs to be considered and achieved when designing a bunker, but is not a guide for how to build one.

Building permit required

A building permit is required before constructing a bunker on your property. Installing a bunker without a valid building permit is illegal.

You can get a building permit from your local council building department or a private building surveyor.

You may also need a planning permit from your local council, depending on the zoning of your land.

Any bunker installed without a building permit could place its occupants at serious risk of injury or even death if it is used during a bushfire.

Choosing a bunker product

CFA does not test or endorse any bunker brands or designs.

To comply with building permit requirements, homeowners must either purchase an accredited bunker product, or get a non-accredited product properly assessed and certified.

Accredited bunker products

A number of bunker products have been accredited by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC). You can find out more about accredited products in the BRAC Product Accreditation Register. This list includes bunker products (and other products) that have been assessed as meeting the performance requirements and National Construction Code.

Non-accredited bunker products

If you choose to go with a non-accredited bunker, it must be:

a) reviewed by the Building Appeals Board (BAB) to determine if it meets Regulations

or

b) certified as compliant by a fire safety engineer who did not design the product.

If you plan to construct a non-accredited bunker, you must seek professional advice from a registered building practitioner, such as a fire safety engineer or a structural engineer.

The Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) warns against buying non-accredited fire bunkers. It also strongly warns against using water tanks, shipping containers, storage units or other informal structures as shelter in a bushfire. These are not designed or built to formal standards, and could put you at serious risk of injury or even death if used during a bushfire.

Requesting a compliance certificate

CFA recommends that you request a copy of the certificate of compliance from the bunker designer or manufacturer.

This could be a BRAC certificate of Accreditation from the bunker manufacturer, a determination from the BAB, or a certification of compliance from an independent fire safety engineer who did not design the bunker.

Siting and landscaping your bunker

If you plan to install a bunker on your property, it must be put in an appropriate location well away from fire hazards and carefully landscaped so people can get in and out as safely as possible. A fire hazard is anything that could catch fire and increase your risk as you go in or out of the bunker.

Distance from house and other buildings

All buildings, including your home, should be no less than 6 metres or 1.5 times their height away from the bunker, whichever is greater.

At the same time, your bunker shouldn't be too far away from the house, so you can get there quickly in an emergency.

Typical distance is around 20 metres between a bunker and a house. If there is a range of possible locations, the preferred distance is between 10 and 15 metres.

Create a clear space around the bunker

Make sure there is a clear space of around 10 metres around the bunker where there is very little fuel (vegetation, trees, branches, buildings, wood, vehicles, for example) for a fire to burn. This creates a cleared space around the bunker, making it safer for you to enter and exit the bunker in a fire.

Remove fire hazards from this area. The greater the distance between potential hazards and the shelter, the lower the risk.

Fire hazards can include:

• plants
• trees
• branches
• wood piles
• farm machinery
• vehicles
• mulch
• decking
• gas bottles
• flammable liquids
• garden furniture.

Avoid building your bunker where future development might happen (including on a neighbour's land).

Pathway needs to be clear and flat

Make sure there is a direct, clear and flat pathway from the bunker to the house. Consider the following when constructing the pathway:

• Use a non-combustible surface (for example, clay, concrete, gravel and pebbles) and a hard edge when landscaping the pathway.
• Keep area around pathway clear of vegetation and other fuels and fire hazards. Keep any grass to less than 10 centimetres in height.
• Build features like a retaining wall or other heat shields along the length of the pathway. This might provide some protection from wind, radiant heat and embers.
• Install a metal sprinkler system along pathway.
• Install a chain link along length of pathway to help you find the pathway when visibility is limited.
• Put a flat concrete apron in front of the shelter door to provide a stable entry surface.

Landscape and orientation

Seek professional advice through a qualified and experienced bushfire safety consultant to make sure your bunker is installed in the most appropriate location. Some general principles:

• Consider the broader landscape, such as hills, ridges and gullies. These can be used to limit the exposure of your bunker to bushfire and fire-induced winds.
• Face the bunker door away from heavy fuels (for example trees, logs, buildings, cars). These can burn for a long time after the fire front has passed and create fire risk. Instead, face bunker towards a clear area so you can get out safely.
• Consider the most likely wind direction and locate the shelter door to best avoid direct impact from radiant heat sources when exiting.
• Consider potential site issues such as erosion, landslip, flooding and slope.
• Take into account any specific manufacturers requirements for the accredited shelter installation.

Manage vegetation and trees around your bunker all year round

Reducing the amount of vegetation around your property and being strategic about the type of trees and plants you have on site can reduce the intensity of a bushfire and reduce the chance of new fires starting near your home or bunker.

It is critical that all fire hazards (fine fuels, heavy fuels and other combustible items) near your shelter, access pathway and exit area are managed well before the bushfire season. This includes fine fuels, and heavy fuels.

Managing fine fuels (leaves, twigs, grass, pastures, crops, bark)

Fine fuel is small vegetation which catch on fire quickly and burn easily. Remove fine fuel, like leaf litter and twigs from within 30 metres of your bunker.

Create a clear space around your bunker

Keep grass short, around 10 centimetres in height or less, or use a non-combustible surface like clay, concrete, pebbles of gravel instead of grass around your bunker.

Don't put plants around your bunker. They become fuel for a fire and could make it more dangerous to get in and out of your shelter.

Make sure your garden is well prepared

When landscaping your property beyond your bunker and the surrounding area, choose plants which can resist fire better than others.

Consider what is growing under your trees. Fire could spread easily from the ground into the tree tops if shrubs aren't managed.

• Remove or trim shrubs so their branches are well away from tree branches and ground fuels.
• Clear space between plants and trees.
• Remove loose tree bark and remove lower tree branches to a distance of at least 2 metres above the ground.

Managing heavy fuels (trees, wood, thick branches)

Trees, tree branches and other flammable objects near a shelter can be extremely dangerous.

They can fall and damage the shelter, block the door or pathway and bring the fire closer to your shelter, making it dangerous to leave.

Distance from mature trees

Buildings and the mature height of surrounding trees should be no less than 6 metres, or 1.5 times their height away from the shelter, whichever is greater.

For example, if a mature tree height is 8 metres, the shelter should be located at a minimum of 8 metres x 1.5 = 12 metres away.

Contact your local council before you decide to remove vegetation, particularly trees.

You might not need a permit, but it is important to check. Different rules apply in different council areas and tough penalties can apply.

Don't use treated pine products

Don't use treated pine posts, sleepers or decking bearers in garden design, or wood chip mulch within 10 metres of your shelter or house. These materials are quick to catch fire, produce toxic ash and smoke, and are difficult to put out.

Want to learn more about fire resistant gardening?

Learn how to choose suitable plants, maintain your garden and design for your specific environment.

Read more

Maintain your bunker

You may not need to use your bunker until many years after its installation, but you must ensure it is in the best condition, properly equipped and ready for use before and during each fire season.

What to store in your bunker

Only store essential and emergency items in your bunker. Non-essential items will reduce the amount of air available in your bunker and how long you can stay in there.

A bunker should not be used as a store room or wine cellar or the like. This may make the bunker unusable in the event of an emergency.

Emergency items

Consider having the following items in your bunker:

• battery-powered radio
• torch
• first-aid kit
• medication
• sanitary supplies
• portable sanitary facilities
• clock
• fresh drinking water
• non-perishable food
• woollen blankets
• protective clothing, including P2 face masks, goggles and leather gloves.

Pets and pet supplies

If you have pets, your shelter equipment should include a carrier, cage or other means of restraint as well as food, drinking water and any medications. It is always safest to relocate pets early where possible, well before fire threat arrives.

Restock and check bunker annually

You will need to check, test, maintain and clean equipment. Restock the bunker every year before each fire season. This will make sure that it continues to operate according to the designed safety measures and is ready if needed during a bushfire.

Plan how you will use your bunker

You must carefully plan how you will use your bunker (and well-prepared home or other last resort options) for situations where it may be too late to safely leave the area.

When sealed (vents and door closed), a bunker only has enough air for a certain number of people, for a certain length of time. Refer to the accredited bunker manufacturer’s product specifications for this detail.

Want to learn about sheltering in a fire bunker?

Learn about sheltering in a bunker when there is a fire. It should only be used as a last resort option in certain circumstances.

Read more

Practise using your bunker

Before each bushfire season, it is critical that you and your household do fire drills using the bunker. Before every fire season:

• Discuss your fire plan.
• Discuss when it would be safe to enter into the bunker and when it would no longer be safe to move from the house to the shelter.
• Practise bunker fire drills during daylight hours and at night.
• Practise bunker fire drills on at least one very hot day, with the recommended protective clothing.

Drills should involve all family members (including pets). Practise staying in the sealed bunker for one hour.

All capable family members should be familiar with how the bunker works.

Leaving early is always the safest option

You should plan to leave the area well before there is any fire activity on days of Extreme and Catastrophic fire danger.

Your bunker is a back up for when your leave early plan has failed. Using a bunker during a fire event must be considered and planned.

Make a detailed bushfire plan so you know:

• when you will leave
• where you will go
• how you will get there
• when you will return
• what you will do if you can't leave.

Key resources

Resources

Fire Ready Kit

This comprehensive guide to bushfires helps you understand your fire risk, prepare for bushfire, and create a bushfire plan.

Download (PDF 3.3MB)

Download

Page last updated: Friday, 11 September 2026 11:30:46 AM