Hazard reduction burning is a key component of the fuel management program in the Australian Capital Territory. Burning is used in a variety of situations depending on the applicable fuel standard, proximity to property, aims of land management and suitability of alternative methods. The main aim of the study was to characterise the changes in the fuel array due to burning. We followed a before-after-control-impact procedure in which 91 matched pairs of plots were established within 23 hazard reduction burns and adjacent unburnt areas. The fuel in all plots was characterised using the Overall Fuel Hazard Assessment (OFHA) method and then following burning re-assessed. Opportunistic assessments of unplanned fires were also taken for comparison. The average OFHA prior to burning was 'High'. This reflects the dense grassy fuels, relatively sparse shrub layer and abundance of smooth-barked gum trees in Canberra’s nature reserves. Following burning the OFHA was reduced to an average of 'Moderate'. The component of the assessment which exhibited the greatest change was the near-surface fuel which was usually consumed. Changes in the elevated fuel hazard depended on the intensity of the burn. A reduction in the bark hazard was correlated with a reduced elevated fuel hazard and some canopy scorch. Surface litter had a minor affect on the OFHA because of the high grass cover in most systems and the incomplete combustion of the litter. The sensitivity of the OFHA method to grass means that the fuel hazard may rapidly return to 'High' – i.e. when the grass cover approaches 50 percent. In contrast, wildfires reduced the OFHA to 'Low', due to much greater combustion of the elevated, bark and surface litter fuels. We predict that the OFHA at sites burnt by wildfire will increase more slowly because of the slower pace of re-growth of woody vegetation.