{"id":"bush-fire-risk-treatment-standards-2020","name":"Bush Fire Risk Treatment Standards 2020","slug":"bush-fire-risk-treatment-standards-2020","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":174176,"registerId":"wa-bush-fire-risk-treatment-standards-2020-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Bush Fire Risk Treatment Standards 2020","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nBush Fires Act 1954\n\nBush Fire Risk Treatment Standards 2020\n\nWestern Australia\n\nBush Fire Risk Treatment Standards 2020\n\nContents\n\n1. Citation 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Terms used 1\n\n4. Areas to which standards apply 2\n\n5. Risk treatment areas 4\n\n6. Clearing risk treatment areas 5\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 7\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nBush Fires Act 1954\n\nBush Fire Risk Treatment Standards 2020\n\n##### 1. Citation\n\n\t\tThese standards are the *Bush Fire Risk Treatment Standards 2020*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThese standards come into operation as follows —\n\n(a) clauses 1 and 2 — on the day on which these standards are published in the *Gazette*;\n\n(b) the rest of the standards — on the day after that day.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\nIn these standards —\n\nBuilding Code means the Building Code of Australia which is Volumes One and Two, as amended from time to time, of the National Construction Code series published by, or on behalf of, the Australian Building Codes Board;\n\ncollar, of a branch of a tree, means the base of the branch where it meets the trunk of the tree;\n\ndevelopment approval means —\n\n(a) approval under the *Planning and Development Act 2005* for the development of any land; or\n\n(b) approval, authorisation, consent or permission under any other written law to do anything that would or might significantly affect the physical character of any land;\n\ninner zone has the meaning given in clause 5(2);\n\nlot has the meaning given in the *Land Tax Assessment Act 2002* Glossary clause 2;\n\nMetropolitan Region Scheme has the meaning given in the *Planning and Development Act 2005* section 4(1);\n\nouter zone has the meaning given in clause 5(3);\n\nrelevant building means a building that —\n\n(a) is classified under the Building Code as —\n\n(i) Class 1, 2, 3, 9 or 10c; or\n\n(ii) Class 10a, but only if part of the building is within 6 metres of a building classified under the Building Code as Class 1, 2, 3 or 9;\n\nand\n\n(b) was built under development approval obtained before 8 December 2015;\n\nriparian vegetation means the distinctive vegetation associated with a wetland or watercourse;\n\nrisk treatment area has the meaning given in clause 5(1);\n\ntree means a perennial plant —\n\n(a) having one or more woody, self‑supporting trunks; and\n\n(b) standing at a height of at least 5 metres;\n\nvegetation does not include a tree;\n\nwatercourse has the meaning given in the *Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914* section 3;\n\nwetland has the meaning given in the *Environmental Protection Act 1986* Schedule 5 clause 2.\n\n##### 4. Areas to which standards apply\n\n(1) Except as provided in subclauses (2) and (3), these standards apply to land in an area of the State designated as a bush fire prone area under the *Fire and Emergency Services Act 1998* section 18P.\n\n(2) These standards do not apply to land —\n\n(a) that is within 100 metres inland from the high water mark of the coastline of the State; or\n\n(b) that is covered by the riparian vegetation of a wetland or watercourse; or\n\n(c) identified as a Bush Forever area under —\n\n(i) the Metropolitan Region Scheme clause 25(1); or\n\n(ii) an approved redevelopment scheme under the *Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority Act 2011*;\n\nor\n\n(d) to which a biodiversity conservation covenant under the *Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016* section 122 applies; or\n\n(e) to which a conservation covenant or an agreement to reserve under the *Soil and Land Conservation Act 1945* section 30B applies; or\n\n(f) to which a restrictive covenant under the *Transfer of Land Act 1893* section 129BA that has the effect of limiting the ability to clear vegetation or a tree applies; or\n\n(g) to which a covenant under the *National Trust of Australia (W.A.) Act 1964* section 21A that has the effect of limiting the ability to clear vegetation or a tree applies; or\n\n(h) that is an Aboriginal site as defined in the *Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972* section 4; or\n\n(i) that under the *Heritage Act 2018* —\n\n(i) is registered land as defined in section 4 of that Act; or\n\n(ii) is subject to a heritage agreement (as defined in section 4 of that Act) to which the Heritage Council of Western Australia established under section 11(1) of that Act is a party; or\n\n(iii) is an area to which a protection order under Part 4 of that Act applies;\n\nor\n\n(j) that is a reserve as defined in the *Land Administration Act 1997* section 3(1); or\n\n(k) that is a nature strip as defined in the *Road Traffic Code 2000* regulation 3(1); or\n\n(l) that is subject to an agreement under the *Planning and Development Act 2005* section 121(1)(c).\n\n(3) These standards do not apply to a lot, or any part of the lot, if the lot contains threatened flora or a threatened ecological community as those terms are defined in the *Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016* section 5(1).\n\n(4) For the purposes of subclause (2)(a) —\n\n(a) the coastline follows the shores of bays, inlets and other similar bodies of water that are connected to the sea (disregarding any temporary closure from the sea); and\n\n(b) the high water mark is that at ordinary spring tides; and\n\n(c) the high water mark of the coastline extends across the mouth of a river or riverine estuary from the last point on the high water mark of one of the banks of the mouth of the river or estuary at which a line extended at 90° to the bank will reach the opposite bank to the other such point on the opposite bank.\n\n[Clause 4 amended: SL 2023/53 cl. 4; SL 2023/175 cl. 4; SL 2024/304 cl. 4.]\n\n##### 5. Risk treatment areas\n\n(1) Land is a risk treatment area if —\n\n(a) these standards apply to the land under clause 4; and\n\n(b) the land is within 20 metres of a relevant building.\n\n(2) Land is in the inner zone of a risk treatment area if the land is within 10 metres of the relevant building.\n\n(3) Land is in the outer zone of a risk treatment area if it is not in the inner zone of the area.\n\n(4) For the purposes of subclauses (1)(b) and (2) a carport, veranda, balcony, patio, pergola or other similar outdoor area that is contiguous to a building forms part of the building.\n\n##### 6. Clearing risk treatment areas\n\n(1) The owner or occupier of land that is a risk treatment area may clear any vegetation from the land.\n\n(2) Except as provided in subclause (4), the owner or occupier of land that is in the inner zone of a risk treatment area may do the following —\n\n(a) if a tree is located on the land and is not also located on land owned by a person other than the owner or occupier (as the case may be) — remove the tree;\n\n(b) if a tree is located on the land and is also located on land owned by a person other than the owner or occupier (as the case may be) and the owner or occupier obtains the consent of the person — remove the tree;\n\n(c) if a branch of a tree that is not located on the land overhangs the land —\n\n(i) if the tree is located on land owned by the owner or occupier (as the case may be) or the owner or occupier obtains the consent of the person who owns the land on which the tree is located — prune the branch back to its collar; or\n\n(ii) otherwise — prune the branch back to the boundary of the land.\n\n(3) Except as provided in subclause (4), the owner or occupier of land that is in the outer zone of a risk treatment area and above which part of a branch of a tree is at a height of less than 2 metres may —\n\n(a) if the tree is located on land owned by the owner or occupier (as the case may be) or the owner or occupier obtains the consent of the person who owns the land on which the tree is located — prune the branch back to its collar; or\n\n(b) otherwise — prune the branch back to the boundary of the land.\n\n(4) The owner or occupier of land that is a risk treatment area must not under subclause (2) or (3) remove, or prune the branch of, a tree that is listed on a register of significant trees established under a local planning scheme as defined in the *Planning and Development Act 2005* section 4(1).\n\n(5) For the purposes of this clause a tree is located on specified land if any part of its trunk —\n\n(a) meets the ground on the land; or\n\n(b) is above the land at a height of less than 2 metres.\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Bush Fire Risk Treatment Standards 2020* and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation see the compilation table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Citation** | **Published** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| *Bush Fire Risk Treatment Standards 2020* | SL 2020/220 6 Nov 2020 | cl. 1 and 2: 6 Nov 2020 (see cl. 2(a));   Standards other than cl. 1 and 2: 7 Nov 2020 (see cl. 2(b)) |\n| *Bush Fire Risk Treatment Amendment Standards 2023* | SL 2023/53 19 May 2023 | cl. 1 and 2: 19 May 2023 (see cl. 2(a));   Standards other than cl. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2023 (see cl. 2(b)) |\n| *Bush Fire Risk Treatment Amendment Standards (No. 2) 2023* | SL 2023/175 1 Nov 2023 | cl. 1 and 2: 1 Nov 2023 (see cl. 2(a));   Standards other than cl. 1 and 2: 15 Nov 2023 (see cl. 2(b) and SL 2023/161 cl. 2) |\n| *Bush Fire Risk Treatment Amendment Standards 2024* | SL 2024/304 23 Dec 2024 | cl. 1 and 2: 23 Dec 2024 (see cl. 2(a));   Standards other than cl. 1 and 2: 31 Mar 2025 (see cl. 2(b)) |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nBuilding Code 3\n\ncollar 3\n\ndevelopment approval 3\n\ninner zone 3, 5(2)\n\nlot 3\n\nMetropolitan Region Scheme 3\n\nouter zone 3, 5(3)\n\nrelevant building 3\n\nriparian vegetation 3\n\nrisk treatment area 3, 5(1)\n\ntree 3\n\nvegetation 3\n\nwatercourse 3\n\nwetland 3\n\n© State of Western Australia 2025.\n\nThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). To view relevant information and for a link to a copy of the licence, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au.\n\nAttribute work as: © State of Western Australia 2025.\n\nBy Authority: GEOFF O. LAWN, Government Printer\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument’s original, central mechanic — allowing owners/occupiers to clear vegetation within 20 metres of qualifying buildings in bush‑fire‑prone areas — remains. Subsequent amendments (shown in the compilation table: SL 2023/53, SL 2023/175, SL 2024/304) have added and clarified numerous exclusions and technical definitions, narrowing where the Standards apply. Notable scope changes reflected in the current text include the explicit 100‑metre coastline exclusion, expanded listing of statutory protections and covenants that remove land from coverage, and the explicit carve‑out for lots containing threatened flora or ecological communities (cl. 4(2)–(3)). The definition limiting “relevant buildings” to those built under development approval obtained before 8 December 2015 (cl. 3) also focuses benefits on older developments and creates a temporal boundary to the Standards’ coverage. Together, these amendments have materially narrowed and clarified the Standards’ field of operation compared with a simple, unconstrained power to clear vegetation near any building in bush‑fire‑prone land."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument (6 operative clauses) but heavy cross‑referencing to at least 8 other Acts (Planning and Development Act, Fire and Emergency Services Act, Biodiversity Conservation Act, Environmental Protection Act, Rights in Water and Irrigation Act, Heritage Act, Land Administration Act, Road Traffic Code)","Approximately 13 defined terms in cl. 3 that drive scope and operation (eg. \"relevant building\", \"risk treatment area\", \"tree\", \"vegetation\").","Nested conditional logic: definition of relevant building combines Building Code classes with a date condition (development approval before 8 Dec 2015) and a proximity exception for Class 10a buildings (cl. 3).","Long exclusion list in cl. 4(2) with multiple, non‑uniform types of protection (coastal buffer, covenants, Bush Forever areas, heritage, reserves, nature strips).","Different operational rules for inner zone vs outer zone (cl. 5 and cl. 6) including height thresholds (2 metres), consent requirements and different pruning end‑points (collar vs boundary).","A specific prohibition on work to trees on local government registers (cl. 6(4)) adds an external administrative check requiring local register searches.","Technical geographic definitions (coastline/high water mark rules in cl. 4(4)) that require factual/field assessment.","Amendments across multiple years (2023, 2024) noted in the compilation table, indicating evolving scope and potential transitional/compliance timing issues."],"plain_english_summary":"**What these Standards do (mechanics first)**\n\n- The Standards identify a “risk treatment area” as land within 20 metres of certain existing buildings that sits inside a designated bush‑fire‑prone area. (See cl. 5(1).)\n- That 20‑metre area is split into an **inner zone** (the 10 metres closest to the building) and an **outer zone** (the remaining 10 metres out to 20 metres). (See cl. 5(2)–(3).)\n- Owners or occupiers of land in a risk treatment area are allowed to clear vegetation from that land. In the inner zone they may remove trees on their land (or remove trees on a neighbour’s land if they obtain that neighbour’s consent) and prune overhanging branches back to the branch collar or to the property boundary, depending on where the tree stands. In the outer zone they may prune branches that hang less than 2 metres above the land in a similar consent‑dependent way. (See cl. 6(1)–(3), 6(5).)\n- The Standards prohibit removal or pruning under these powers if the tree is on a local government register of significant trees. (See cl. 6(4).)\n\n**Which buildings and land are covered**\n\n- A “relevant building” is a building of certain Building Code classes (Class 1, 2, 3, 9, 10c, or some Class 10a when within 6 metres of a Class 1/2/3/9 building) that was built under development approval obtained before 8 December 2015. Only land within 20 metres of those buildings can become a risk treatment area. (See definitions in cl. 3 and cl. 5(1).)\n- The Standards apply only inside areas the State has designated as bush‑fire‑prone. (See cl. 4(1), referring to the Fire and Emergency Services Act.)\n\n**Key exclusions (land where the Standards do not apply)**\n\nThe Standards do not apply to land that falls into any of these categories (cl. 4(2)–(3)):\n- within 100 metres inland from the State coastline high‑water mark;\n- riparian vegetation of wetlands or watercourses; \n- land identified as a Bush Forever area under the Metropolitan Region Scheme or certain redevelopment schemes;\n- land subject to biodiversity conservation covenants or certain conservation covenants/agreements under the Soil and Land Conservation Act;\n- land subject to restrictive covenants or National Trust covenants that limit clearing;\n- Aboriginal sites (Aboriginal Heritage Act) and certain heritage‑protected land (Heritage Act 2018);\n- reserves under the Land Administration Act; nature strips (Road Traffic Code); lots containing threatened flora or threatened ecological communities (Biodiversity Conservation Act). (See cl. 4(2)–(3).)\n\n**Who pays, who decides, and what behaviour changes**\n\n- Who pays: the landowner or occupier who chooses to exercise the clearing powers pays for any clearing, pruning, and any required consents.\n- Who decides: the owner/occupier decides to clear or prune within the rights set out in the Standards. Consent is needed where work affects a tree principally located on a neighbour’s land. Local government registers of significant trees can prevent removal/pruning (cl. 6(4)). Other statutory instruments (heritage listings, biodiversity covenants, etc.) remove land from these Standards entirely (cl. 4). \n- Behaviour change: the Standards lower regulatory barriers for owners/occupiers of qualifying older buildings in bush‑fire‑prone areas to remove or prune vegetation within 20 metres of the building, subject to the listed exclusions and neighbour consent requirements.\n\n**Why the rule exists (stated purpose) and practical trade‑offs**\n\n- The Standards are presented as a risk‑reduction tool: they give owners/occupiers clearer authority to remove vegetation close to certain buildings in bush‑fire‑prone areas (see cl. 6). That is the stated purpose in the instrument’s structure and powers.\n\n- Trade‑offs and implementation matters to watch:\n  - Concentrated benefits to property owners: owners/occupiers gain a clearer legal pathway to reduce vegetation near qualifying buildings (cl. 6). The immediate private benefit is reduced fuel near the building.\n  - Diffuse ecological and amenity costs: the ability to clear and remove trees may reduce local vegetation, with ecological and visual impacts unless the land is protected by one of the many exclusions in cl. 4. The Standards themselves do not set ecological offsets or restoration requirements; other laws cited in the exclusions do that work instead.\n  - Uneven coverage by building age: only buildings with development approval before 8 December 2015 are covered (definition of “relevant building” in cl. 3). Owners of newer buildings do not get the same clearing rights under these Standards, which can cause differences between neighbouring lots.\n  - Boundary and consent friction: the Standards allow removal only where the tree is on the owner’s land or where the owner obtains neighbour consent; trees that straddle or have trunks just above the ground near the boundary can create disputes about who pays and whether consent is required (see cl. 6(5) for the rule about a tree being located on land if any part of its trunk meets the ground there or is above the land at less than 2 metres). \n  - Interaction with other statutory protections: the Standards operate alongside multiple other Acts (Planning and Development Act, Biodiversity Conservation Act, Heritage Act, etc.). Where those other instruments apply, they either remove the land from these Standards or impose additional controls (cl. 4). That means implementation requires checking several registers and statutes before action.\n\n**Practical effects in one sentence**\n\nOwners/occupiers of land in bush‑fire‑prone areas adjacent to certain older buildings (built with approval before 8 Dec 2015) can clear vegetation and, in many cases, remove or prune trees within 20 metres of the building — except where the land is subject to specified conservation, heritage, coastal, or other statutory protections or where a tree is on a local government register of significant trees (see cls. 3–6)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not available. No comparison between original intent and enacted provisions is possible."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was retrievable — only an error page was provided","Cannot assess complexity of provisions, definitions, obligations, or enforcement mechanisms","Title alone provides insufficient detail to evaluate structural or interpretive difficulty"],"plain_english_summary":"Likely a Western Australian legislative instrument setting minimum standards for treating bush‑fire risk — e.g., fuel management, prescribed burning and property-level measures — it would affect landowners, local councils, DFES and other land managers across WA. The instrument’s text wasn’t retrievable here, so its precise duties and obligations can’t be confirmed."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears to maintain its original scope. The amendments shown in the compilation table (2023 and 2024) appear to be technical or minor adjustments rather than significant expansions. The core purpose — setting standards for bushfire risk treatment around existing buildings — remains consistent with the original 2020 standards."},"complexity_factors":["12 defined terms in clause 3, many referencing external legislation (Building Code, Planning and Development Act, etc.)","Layered geographic application: applies to bush fire prone areas, then excludes 12 specific categories of land in clause 4(2)-(3)","Nested conditional logic in clause 6: different rules for inner zone vs outer zone, with further distinctions based on tree ownership and neighbour consent","Cross-references to 10+ other Western Australian Acts for definitions and exclusions","Height-based measurements (2 metres, 5 metres, 10 metres, 20 metres) creating spatial boundaries that require physical assessment","Temporal limitation: only applies to buildings approved before 8 December 2015, creating a cutoff date requiring historical record checking"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this is:** These are rules made under Western Australia's Bush Fires Act 1954 that tell property owners when and how they can clear vegetation and trees around their buildings to reduce bushfire risk.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Property owners and occupiers** in Western Australia whose land is in a designated \"bush fire prone area\"\n- **Only applies to older buildings** — specifically those built before 8 December 2015 (classified as Class 1, 2, 3, 9, 10c, or certain Class 10a buildings under the Building Code)\n\n**What it allows:**\nIf your land is within 20 metres of a relevant building, you can clear vegetation and trees without needing extra permits, subject to specific rules:\n\n- **Inner zone (within 10m of building):** You can remove whole trees (with neighbour consent if the tree straddles boundaries) and prune overhanging branches back to where they meet the trunk (the \"collar\")\n- **Outer zone (10-20m from building):** You can only prune branches that hang below 2 metres in height\n- **Significant trees:** You cannot touch trees listed on your local council's significant tree register\n\n**Important exceptions — these standards do NOT apply to:**\n- Land within 100m of the coast\n- Wetlands, waterways, and their vegetation\n- Bush Forever areas, Aboriginal sites, heritage-listed land, nature reserves\n- Land with biodiversity or conservation covenants\n- Properties with threatened flora or ecological communities\n\n**Why it matters:** This creates a streamlined, permit-free way for people in high-risk areas to protect their properties from bushfires, while balancing environmental protection by excluding sensitive ecological and cultural areas."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/bush-fire-risk-treatment-standards-2020","history":"/api/acts/bush-fire-risk-treatment-standards-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/bush-fire-risk-treatment-standards-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/bush-fire-risk-treatment-standards-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/bush-fire-risk-treatment-standards-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/bush-fire-risk-treatment-standards-2020/documents"}}