Planning & BMO

The Bushfire Management Overlay (BMO) applies to land in Victoria that may be at risk from bushfire. If your land is within the BMO you may need a planning permit to develop or subdivide your property.

Details on the exact requirements of the BMO and other bushfire planning controls can be found within your local planning scheme. Use the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) Vic Plan Tool to find out whether your site is located within a BMO.

Help and advice

1. The first point of contact for general help and advice on applying for a permit is your local council.
2. For more information on your property and building in the BMO, including general information on why bushfire controls are in place, how to prepare an application in the BMO and other information that will help you design a bushfire responsive proposal, please see the Planning for Bushfire Protection section of the Vic Gov website.
3. For further assistance the Fire Protection Association Australia website provides a list of accredited Bushfire Planning and Design Practitioners (BPAD) who can assist you with advice on the requirements for development in a BMO and preparing a planning application that addresses the bushfire planning controls.

Additional resources

Planning Scheme and Property Information

• The Victorian Planning Provisions and Local Planning Schemes contain information about zones, overlays and other planning controls that help determine when a permit is required for a certain use or development. You are encouraged to consider key bushfire policies at Clause 13.02-1S, Clause 44.06, Clause 53.02 and Clause 71.03.
• Free Planning Property Reports will help you identify what planning controls apply to a particular site and if the land is located within the BMO or a Bushfire Prone Area.

Preparing an Application in the BMO

• You may be able to prepare a Bushfire Management Statement for a simple planning permit application yourself. DELWP with the support of CFA developed Bushfire Management Statement templates to help you.
• Planning for bushfire is often complex and requires a qualified bushfire consultant to help you prepare your application. The FPAA website provides a list of accredited Bushfire Planning and Design Practitioners (BPAD).

Bushfire Landscape Hazard Assessment

• The DELWP Technical Guide - Planning Permit Applications in the Bushfire Management Overlay provides general information on how to prepare a Landscape Hazard Assessment.
• To further assist practitioners in preparing their Bushfire Hazard Landscape Assessments, particularly in more complex bushfire environments (Type 3 or Type 4) CFA has prepared the Guideline - Applying the Bushfire Hazard Landscape Assessment in a BMO - PDF 84k

Additional Static Water Supply Information

• For information on CFA's requirements for water supply fittings refer to Tank Connections - PDF 482k.
• To assist practitioners with advice regarding requirements for installing a remote outlet to a firefighting water supply in the BMO, refer to Remote Outlet Guidelines (PDF 2.5Mb)

Glossary of Terms and Standard CFA Conditions

• View a list of CFA’s standard permit conditions.
• To understand some common terms used in CFA's standard planning permit conditions you can refer to the glossary of terms.

Vegetation Management for Bushfire Protection

• For more information on the bushfire protection exemptions for vegetation management around your property within the BMO or BPA, please refer to DELWP’s website - Vegetation Management for bushfire protection for more information.

The bushfire planning provisions can be viewed at Clauses 44.06 & 53.02 of the Victoria Planning Provisions here. More information on how to interpret these requirements, can be found on the DELWP website, including the Technical Guideline – Planning Permit Applications Bushfire Management Overlay September 2017.

To assist in the identification of the different vegetation classes and how they may affect bushfire behaviour refer to CFA’s Vegetation Classes in the Victorian BMO - PDF 482k. You may also need to review Australian Standard AS3959-2009.