Since 2009, Victoria has adopted a systems approach to the provision of bushfire shelter options. This has involved a significant shift in public policy, along with the development of detailed technical and social responses to the issue of sheltering in a bushfire flame zone.

Central to this approach has been building structural resilience through the development of shelter options for people who either choose to stay or are trapped in a location during the passage of a bushfire.

This has involved revisiting options such as community fire refuges, the development of standards around the construction of private bushfire shelters (bunkers) and the new concept of a Neighbourhood Safer Places. Victoria now has examples of both purpose-built and retrofitted community fire refuges, capable of accommodating hundreds of people, built to performance standards that will inform a national approach.

The provision of shelter options that may well encourage people to remain within the flame zone is arguably at odds with a broader policy position that encourages people to leave bushfire-prone areas early at times of high risk. Such “last resort” options rely on a detailed community understanding of how best to respond to the threat of fire.

The public policy debate around bushfire shelter options is ongoing and has significant social, political and economic dimensions. Among the questions explored by this paper will be the duty of the State, if any, to provide contingent shelter options to its citizens and its capacity to provide sufficient refuge options in areas of high population density. The relative advantages and disadvantages of private versus public shelter shelters will be discussed.