Planning & management

Bush fire is a part of life in New South Wales. So you need to live bush fire ready.

That means knowing your risk and having a plan for what to do during a fire.

You can make your plan online in as little as five minutes at www.myfireplan.com.au.

Or you can sit down with your family and discuss what you will do using our guide to making a bush fire survival plan.

Are you a small farm owner wondering if your property is properly insured? In this video, we'll share tips and tricks from the industry on getting the right insurance coverage for your farm. Protect your investment and ensure peace of mind with these helpful insights.

The Static Water Supply (SWS) Program is a free service that enables residents to help local firefighters by identifying existing water supplies (such as dams, tanks or swimming pools) on their property that could be used for firefighting purposes.

Livestock contamination is a critical factor of food safety – one which can jeopardise your livestock health and sales.

Key points

If there is one thing a small farm owner can count on during a high-risk fire day, it’s that your local rural fire brigade probably won’t arrive in time to control a fire on your property. They are likely to be busy fighting fires elsewhere, as fire-fighting resources are often allocated to places where there is the greatest risk to life on high-risk fire days. 

This can be a difficult fact to take on board for some new landholders, especially those living close to our larger regional towns and cities who are used to services being nearby and instantly available. 

When you run a small farm in Australia, you need to be prepared for increasingly regular severe weather events due to the La Nina and El Nino weather patterns.

Severe weather events such as floods and storms (during La Nina years) and drought and bushfires (during El Nino years) are risks that have become a certainty in Australia.

The threat of fire is a year-round risk in Australia. However, for anyone living on – or managing – a small farm, a long hot summer and the onset of the declared fire season is the time to be proactive and to prepare for bushfires. 

Having a fire management plan in place to protect your property, machinery, livestock and especially your loved ones is the best defence against bushfires and grassfires.