To construct a private bushfire shelter in South Australia, you are required to obtain approval.
Private bushfire shelters (commonly referred to as fire bunkers) are classified by the Building Code as class 10c buildings, which are structures that are associated with a house (class 1a building) and that may, as a last resort, provide shelter for occupants from immediate life threatening effects of a bushfire.
There is no guarantee that a private bushfire shelter will save your life – priority should always be given to leaving early in a bushfire event. Private bushfire shelters should never be considered as a stand-alone measure against the hazards of a bushfire and are not an alternative to having a current bushfire survival plan.
Given the grave danger posed by unsuitable shelters, in South Australia all private bushfire shelters must be built according to the Building Code Performance Requirements and must not be issued building consent without the concurrence of the Building Technical Panel – which is a committee of the State Planning Commission.
All private bushfire shelters require development approval. The approval process is detailed below.
Further information on bushfire survival can be found on the SA Country Fire Service (CFS) website.
No pre-approved products in South Australia
There are currently no accredited or “pre-approved” products (or designs) available in South Australia relating to prefabricated private bushfire shelters. Every shelter must be assessed and approved on a case-by-case basis.
Why it’s important that a shelter is ‘approved’
If a private bushfire shelter has been installed and not appropriately assessed, there is a serious risk that it may not meet the Building Rules or Performance Requirements of the Building Code. This means the building may not function in the way anticipated, posing further risk to anyone who uses it.
Furthermore, the performance of the shelter may be compromised if it is inappropriately sited or maintained (if it’s located too close to vegetation or other combustible structures, for example).
Due to the unpredictable nature of bushfires, a private bushfire shelter is not guaranteed to be an adequate refuge place and should only ever be used as a last resort.
The CFS does not endorse the usage of private bushfire shelters or bunkers that are not built to the private bushfire shelter Performance Requirements.
If you suspect that a private bushfire shelter may not have been assessed and issued the relevant development authorisations, it is recommended that you contact the local council to investigate.
Obtaining approval
The Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (PDI Act) requires development approval for all private bushfire shelters. Lodge a Development Application.
The relevant authority (usually council) will only issue a final development approval after all relevant development authorisations have been obtained.
For a private bushfire shelter this involves:
- planning assessment and consent (sometimes required)
- building assessment (always required)
- approval by the State Planning Commission’s Building Technical Panel (always required)
- building consent (always required).
Relevant building work, including installation or construction of a private bushfire shelter, may only proceed after receiving development approval.
At completion, a Statement of Compliance is required for all private bushfire shelters.
Some applications for a private bushfire shelter may be classified as ‘accepted development’, which means they will not require planning consent under section 104 of the PDI Act. Each zone identified in the Planning and Design Code contains a table – Table 1 – which specifies the classes of development which will be classified as 'accepted development' if all of the corresponding criteria in the table are satisfied in that zone.
A private bushfire shelter development always requires building consent.
A relevant authority (which can be a council or a private building certifier) must not grant a building consent without first obtaining concurrence of the State Planning Commission. This step is unique compared to most developments.
Building consent requires a technical assessment of the proposal against the Building Rules, including the Building Code and its mandatory Performance Requirements. As a general guideline, designers and building certifiers may consider the Australian Building Codes Board’s Performance Standard on private bushfire shelters. Further information related to the requirements for private bushfire shelters is also available on the PlanSA website, Advisory Notice Building – 07/20 (PDF, 273 KB) and Advisory Notice Building – 02a/22 (PDF, 222 KB).
Noting the complex and high-risk factors relating to the assessment and use of private bushfire shelters, the PDI Act and its Regulations require that building work comprising or including the construction or installation of a private bushfire shelter must not be granted a building consent unless the State Planning Commission concurs in the granting of the consent.
The State Planning Commission has delegated its building rules concurrence functions, including those mandatory for private bushfire shelters, to the Building Technical Panel (BTP). The BTP consists of technical experts in the building and construction industry.
Concurrence will only be issued where the BTP is satisfied that the assessment undertaken complies with Performance Requirements of the Building Code. Compliance with the Building Code forms part of the Building Rules that the relevant authority must consider when assessing for building consent (see above).
In August 2024 a review of the development approval process for private bushfire shelters in South Australia (PDF, 460 KB) was undertaken by an independent consultant. The review considered the appropriateness of the current process given the high-risk nature of shelters, the quality of design and certification documentation required for assessment purposes and identified a number of other opportunities to improve the current system. Several key stakeholders were interviewed including shelter manufacturers, assessing authorities, interstate regulatory bodies and fire authorities.
The review is currently being considered by the Department.
Documents
If you can't find a document, try searching the PlanSA resources library.
Contact us
For any enquiries, please phone the PlanSA Service Desk on 1800 752 664 or email plansa@sa.gov.au.
