Firebreak Notices Across WA: Deadlines, Widths and the Machine That Does It
Every WA local government issues a firebreak notice under the Bush Fires Act. What they ask for from the Kimberley to Esperance, when they fall due, and how a skid steer or excavator meets them in a morning.
Under section 33 of the Bush Fires Act 1954, every local government in Western Australia can require landowners to install and maintain firebreaks, and almost all of them do. The notice arrives with the rates, and the deadline is usually in November or December.
What the notices ask for
Details vary by shire, but the pattern is:
- Mineral-earth firebreaks inside boundaries, commonly 3 m wide (some shires 2 m, some more on larger lots), cleared to bare earth.
- Low-fuel zones around buildings, sheds, haystacks and fuel, typically 20 m, with grass short and dead material removed.
- Access for fire appliances: driveways clear to a set width and height.
- Alternatives such as slashed or sprayed breaks, or a variation for erosion-prone slopes, if you apply before the deadline.
Deadlines by region
| Region | Typical due date |
|---|---|
| South West, Great Southern, Perth Hills | 1 November to 1 December |
| Wheatbelt | 1 November, with harvest bans through summer |
| Mid West, Gascoyne | 1 November to 1 December |
| Goldfields, Esperance | 1 November to 15 December |
| Pilbara, Kimberley | Often before the dry-season fire period, April to June |
Read your own notice; the dates and widths in it are the ones that apply.
Bans
On Total Fire Ban days, and during Harvest and Vehicle Movement Bans in the Wheatbelt, using machinery in paddocks and bush is prohibited. Check Emergency WA before starting a machine in grass from November on.
The machines and attachments
Skid steer with a brush cutter for slashing low-fuel zones and slashed breaks; the fastest way to meet the notice on a lifestyle block. Skid steer with a 4-in-1 bucket or dozer blade to scrape a bare-earth break and grade it. Excavator with a rake for steep or rocky ground and for windrowing debris, and a grapple for fallen timber.
Method for a bare-earth break
- Mark the line at the required offset and locate services.
- Slash first if the grass is long.
- Scrape 50 to 100 mm only, blade flat; deep scraping causes erosion.
- Windrow the spoil inside the break and remove or spread it.
- Check the width at the corners with a tape.
- Maintain after regrowth.
Timing
Do it in spring while grass is green and the ground is soft; touch up before the deadline. In the north, do it at the end of the wet.
See the attachment finder for brush cutters, buckets and rakes by model, and the WA region pages for your district.