A new app has been launched by the Resilient Building Council to enable people to assess the bushfire resilience of their homes, and take pre-emptive actions to protect their properties and families during the bushfire season.

Urging people to use the free app to prepare their homes, the Resilient Building Council says Australia must do things differently, starting now. The world-first Bushfire Resilience Rating Home Self-Assessment app places decades of science and research in the hands of homeowners, allowing them to assess their home and measure how well it would perform in a bushfire event.

A customised action plan, specific to their individual property and local risk, is also provided with the home’s Resilience Rating updated as the designated tasks are completed.

The Bushfire Resilience Rating system was developed by Australia’s leading researchers and engineers through a collaboration led by the Resilient Building Council, in response to calls from governments, insurers, banks, households, and the 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.

It is the first scientific system to measure the bushfire resilience of homes, taking a best-practice approach that covers building construction methods and materials, landscaping and ongoing maintenance.

Over 1,200 households from bushfire impacted areas across Australia helped co-design and test the app ahead of its national launch. The recommended actions helped participating homes reduce the risk of bushfire damage by 67 percent.

“Our mission is to prevent bushfires and other hazards from becoming disasters, by helping people know what they can do to protect their homes,” says Resilient Building Council CEO Kate Cotter.

“There are lots of simple, low-cost things people can do themselves right away and as everyone starts taking action, Australia will be better prepared and better off.

“Now, you can make your home, your family, and your community safer. It takes around 20 minutes to assess your home using the app, which includes a free report and a customised action plan to improve the resilience rating of your home.”

Cotter recalled how the Resilient Building Council was set up in 2014 to bring experts together to help friends and family recover after the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria.

“What started out as trying to help family and friends has led to a national effort to improve the resilience of all Australian homes.

“We co-designed the app with communities recovering from bushfires and piloted it with the Shoalhaven community in NSW, who were severely impacted by the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20.

“Our mission is to support people with practical information that helps them understand the specific risks to their home and evidence-based tools and recommendations that empower them to take the actions that matter.”

Access the app here.

Image: Shutterstock

Branko Miletic

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