BAL Reports

From the 8 December 2015 new bushfire construction provisions have become legislative in order to mitigate bushfire risk throughout Western Australia. The Building Code of Australia (BCA) has contained bushfire construction requirements since 1996, however amendments to the Building Regulations 2012 will alter the process for identifying bushfire risk areas and shall clarify who is a responsible and suitably qualified professional to undertake Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) assessments in order to identify the BAL in accordance with AS 3959. The key points of this new legislation will involve:

• The creation of a new State Bushfire Prone Area Map and the designation of an area of land as bushfire prone by the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner (FES Commissioner) – yet to be released;

• New planning amendments to all local planning schemes will implement additional planning requirements for some types of development;

• Amendments to the building regulations.

The amendments mean that only suitably qualified building surveyors will be able to certify compliance with the BCA’s bushfire requirements and before certification for relevant buildings, a BAL assessment has to be undertaken to identify specific requirements of an affected property.

Here at Green Start Consulting we have qualified bushfire assessors who will be able to designate Bushfire Attack Levelsand compile bushfire reports for affected buildings. Contact us today for further information or a quote.

If you would like to discuss how your next project might be affected by bushfire prone areas, AS3559 – Construction of buildings in bushfire prone areas and the recent updates contact our Building Surveyors today for a no obligation chat.

Green Start Consulting also operates the brand WABALReport. This site has a lot of good information in the news section on BAL reports, bushfire management statements, bushfire management plans, bushfire hazard level reports and all this bush fire related. Click HERE to visit the site.

Due to constantly evolving legislation the information provided within this blog may no longer be valid. The advice given on this site is general in nature and does not take into account your specific circumstances. Please email one of our building surveyors to check what is right for you