Bushfire preparedness assessment for 2025 and 2026 across SE Australia in early November 2025

Considering fire access track installation and maintenance and water supply and availability preparedness, there are concerns in relation to bushfire preparedness, including access track installation, maintenance and closure of access tracks and water supply and availability.

Bushfire disaster preparedness of towns and cities and individual houses is a critical issue. The author considers that there is inadequate bushfire preparedness in relation to the protection of many towns, cities and households. Due to the importance of this issue, the author believes an annual state status report listing all towns and mitigation treatments and ongoing needs could be included with state bushfire annual reports, if not, a separate annual report.

Evacuation options and safety arrangementsare also critical bushfire preparedness issues. The author believes that there is inadequate bushfire preparedness in relation to evacuation options and safety arrangements in many locations in SE Australia.

Bushfire disaster risks to firefighters, for forests and grasslands is a hugely important bushfire preparedness factor and there is inadequate bushfire preparedness in relation to fire fighter safety, a major issue that the author believes needs considerable action.

In relation to seasonal bushfire outlooks and bushfire risk management planning, there is inadequate bushfire preparedness across parts of SE Australia for this season, considering the current outlook for the 25/ 26 season in parts of SE Australia, including western Victoria and Eastern S Australia, especially in relation to low levels of bushfire mitigation across SE Australian forested landscapes.

Conclusions

In the public interest, community interest, national interest and in the interests of fire fighter and community safety, the author has prepared this bushfire preparedness assessment across SE Australia, examining a series of bushfire preparedness assessment factors.

The author is of the opinion that there is inadequate bushfire preparedness across SE Australia for many of the bushfire preparedness factors outlined above for the 2025/ 26 bushfire season, an accountability issue that needs to be seriously addressed and tackled.

There are large opportunities for governments at all levels, government agencies and communities to address the bushfire preparedness issues identified above in the public interest, community interest, national interest and in the interests of fire fighter and community safety.

If opportunities aren't taken, Australia could very well end up similar or worse than the 2019/ 20 bushfire outcomes.