BAL rating Tasmania: how to find your BAL in TAS
Your BAL rating in Tasmania tells you how much bushfire attack a building on your site could face, and that sets how it has to be built. If you're building or extending in a bushfire-prone area, you'll need a BAL assessment and a bushfire hazard management plan from a practitioner accredited by the Tasmania Fire Service. Check your likely BAL first.
BAL Buddy gives you an indicative result in a few minutes using AS 3959 Method 1. It's the free first step before you pay for the formal assessment, buy a block or design the house. It doesn't replace the assessment.
How to find your BAL rating in TAS, step by step
- Check your likely BAL with BAL Buddy. Trace the building, or where you plan to build, and each patch of vegetation nearby, and choose its type with the vegetation guide. Slope comes from public elevation data. You'll see the indicative BAL and how far the building would need to move to reach a lower level.
- Check whether your land is bushfire-prone. See the next section.
- Find out which rules apply in your council area. Your building surveyor or council can tell you which of Tasmania's bushfire determinations applies (see below).
- Book an accredited bushfire hazard practitioner. They visit the site, confirm the vegetation and slope, determine the BAL, and prepare and certify a bushfire hazard management plan (BHMP) showing the hazard management area, access and water supply.
- Lodge it with your building application. Your building surveyor uses the certified BAL and BHMP to set the construction requirements. The hazard management area then has to be set up and maintained.
How to check if your property is bushfire-prone in Tasmania
Land is bushfire-prone if it's inside the bushfire-prone areas overlay on your council's planning scheme map. The definition also catches some land near bushfire-prone vegetation outside the mapped area, so the map is a starting point, not the final word.
You can view the overlay free on LISTmap, the Land Information System Tasmania map: search your address and turn on the planning scheme's bushfire-prone areas overlay. Your council's planning team can confirm it. If your land is outside the mapped area but near bushland, forest, scrub or unmanaged grass, get it checked. More on maps: BAL rating map.
Bushfire building rules in Tasmania
Building law and the Director's Determinations. Building in a bushfire-prone area is regulated under the Building Act 2016 and Building Regulations 2016, which call up the National Construction Code and AS 3959. Tasmania adds its own requirements through Determinations made by the Director of Building Control and published by CBOS. The main one is the Bushfire Hazard Areas Determination; your building surveyor can tell you which determination applies to your council area. The rules cover more than materials: property access for fire vehicles, water supply for firefighting, hazard management areas and bushfire emergency planning.
Tasmania Fire Service. TFS accredits bushfire hazard practitioners, approves the form a BHMP must take, and publishes Building for Bushfire for owners and builders.
Planning: the Bushfire-Prone Areas Code. The Tasmanian Planning Scheme's C13.0 Bushfire-Prone Areas Code applies to subdivisions and to vulnerable and hazardous uses in bushfire-prone areas. A typical new house is dealt with through the building system rather than the planning code.
Hazard management areas
One Tasmanian rule is worth knowing early. The determination sets minimum hazard management areas around new buildings, and a lot created through a subdivision may already have a BAL and hazard management area set for it. Your practitioner will work out what applies. If your indicative result comes back BAL-40 or BAL-FZ, expect to look at moving the building or managing more vegetation. BAL Buddy shows how far it would need to move; see how to lower your BAL.
See how far you'd need to move
When do you need a formal BAL assessment in Tasmania?
You'll generally need one from an accredited practitioner if you're:
- building a new habitable building, or adding to or altering one, in a bushfire-prone area (the BAL and BHMP go in with the building application)
- subdividing in a bushfire-prone area (a bushfire hazard report and BHMP go with the planning permit application)
- starting a vulnerable or hazardous use in a bushfire-prone area
- building some outbuildings close to a house; ask your building surveyor
If the practitioner finds the risk is low, they can certify that, which may mean no specific bushfire measures are needed. You don't need a formal assessment to buy a block, but knowing the likely BAL first can save you a costly surprise.
Who can do a BAL assessment in Tasmania?
Only an accredited bushfire hazard practitioner can certify a BAL assessment and BHMP in Tasmania. They're accredited by the Chief Officer of the Tasmania Fire Service, but they're private consultants, not TFS staff. Many are surveyors, planners or bushfire consultants. Accreditation can be limited to certain kinds of work, so check the practitioner's scope suits your project. TFS publishes a searchable list. Accreditation from another state doesn't, on its own, let someone certify in Tasmania.
Need a bushfire practitioner?
FPA Australia keeps a public register of BPAD-accredited practitioners, searchable by state and accreditation level: BPAD practitioner register. In Tasmania, use the Tasmania Fire Service's list of accredited bushfire hazard practitioners. If you're not sure who to call, email me and I'll point you in the right direction. I don't take referral fees.
How much does a BAL assessment cost in Tasmania?
A BAL assessment with a bushfire hazard management plan generally costs between about $800 and $2,000. Travel is usually the biggest factor, especially for remote sites and islands, then site complexity, whether it's a single building or a subdivision, and how many times the plan needs revising if your design changes. More: BAL assessment.
BAL requirements in Tasmania by level
Plain-English summary only; Tasmania adds access, water and hazard management requirements on top.
BAL-LOW. No AS 3959 construction requirements. BAL-LOW guide
BAL-12.5. Keeping embers out: sealed gaps, screened openings and vents. BAL-12.5 guide
BAL-19. Stricter glazing and materials near the ground. BAL-19 guide
BAL-29. Toughened glass and fire-resistant frames, decks and cladding. BAL-29 guide
BAL-40. Tested systems or shutters. BAL-40 guide
BAL-FZ. Systems tested for flame contact. BAL-FZ guide
How BAL Buddy handles Tasmania
BAL Buddy works out a Tasmanian site with Method 1 and the one fire danger index AS 3959 gives Tasmania, without the alpine question it asks in NSW and Victoria. Check the summary for how detailed the elevation data is where you're building.
BAL Buddy gives an indicative Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) only. It isn't a determination under any Act, and no council or building surveyor has to accept it. For a BAL you can rely on, use an accredited bushfire practitioner.
Questions people ask
How do I find my BAL rating in Tasmania?
Get an indicative BAL with BAL Buddy, check the bushfire-prone areas overlay on LISTmap, and if you're building in a bushfire-prone area, engage an accredited bushfire hazard practitioner for the formal BAL and hazard management plan.
Who can do a BAL assessment in Tasmania?
Only a bushfire hazard practitioner accredited by the Chief Officer of the Tasmania Fire Service.
What is a bushfire hazard management plan?
A plan certified by an accredited practitioner showing the BAL, the hazard management area around the building, property access and water supply for firefighting. It goes in with your building or planning application.
Is my property bushfire-prone if it's not on the map?
It can be. Tasmania's definition also covers some land near bushfire-prone vegetation. Ask a practitioner or your council if you're near bush.