Department resources
Bushfire and grassfire preparedness procedures and checklists
- Bushfire preparedness procedures for education facilities – outline what schools and early childhood services need to do to prepare for bushfires and grassfires
- Pre-season bushfire preparedness for schools – this checklist outlines the activities schools should take prior to the commencement of the high-risk weather season and the extra steps needed to develop a pre-emptive action plan for Category 0 to 2 schools
- Pre-emptive relocation plan template – a template for Category 0 to 2 schools to develop a pre-emptive relocation plan for days of elevated fire danger (High or Extreme FDR)
- Pre-emptive learning from home plan template – a template for Category 0 to 2 schools to develop a pre-emptive learning from home plan for days of elevated fire danger (High or Extreme FDR)
- Pre-emptive closure plan template – a template for Category 0 to 2 schools to develop a pre-emptive closure plan for days of elevated fire danger (High or Extreme FDR)
- Enacting your pre-emptive action plan (relocation, learning from home or closure) checklist – a checklist for Category 0 to 2 schools to enact their pre-emptive action plan (relocation, learning from home or closure) on a day of High or Extreme FDR in their local government area
- Enacting your Catastrophic FDR school closure checklist – a checklist for all BARR and Category 4 schools to support closure on a day of Catastrophic fire danger in their forecast district
- Enacting your Catastrophic FDR service closure checklist – a checklist for all BARR and Category 4 early childhood services to support closure on a day of Catastrophic fire danger in their forecast district
Annual site readiness checklists
Schools and early childhood services can use the site readiness review checklists to help guide their preparations for the start of the bushfire season each year. This can also assist schools on the Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR) to comply with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA)’s Guidelines on bushfire .
- School bushfire site readiness review checklist
- Early childhood services bushfire site readiness review checklist
Communication templates for schools
- Presentation: Ensuring our school is bushfire ready – a PowerPoint presentation for schools to use in communicating about bushfire preparedness with their school community
- Newsletter article: Communications to parents on fire preparation for category 0, 1 and 2 schools – a template for schools to publish in a newsletter or on their website to communicate their school’s fire risk and preparations
- Newsletter article: Communications to parents on fire preparation for category 3 and 4 schools – a template for schools to publish in a newsletter or on their website to communicate their school’s fire risk and preparations
- Letter – socialise your school’s and Short form – socialise your school’s EMP - sample communications to share key messages regarding your plan and procedures with your school community
Posters for schools
The following posters are designed to be printed by individual schools and children’s services and prominently displayed throughout the school, including all entrances.
- Poster: School will be using pre-emptive action plan (relocation, learning from home or closed) due to elevated fire danger – a template for schools in Categories 0 to 2 to use when activating their pre-emptive action plan
- Poster: School will be closed due to Catastrophic fire danger – a template for schools in Categories 0 to 4 to use when closed due to Catastrophic fire danger in their fire weather district
Letter and notification templates for schools
These letter and notification templates have been developed to assist schools in communicating with their community about their bushfire preparedness arrangements on days of elevated fire danger. Schools can use this text as the basis for a letter on their own school letterhead, for other messages and notifications, or for their website. Schools will need to review and update the text each time it is used to ensure it is relevant.
- Letter template: confirmation of activation of pre-emptive actions – for Category 0 to 2 schools, use this letter to confirm to your school community that your school is activating your relocation, learning from home or closure plan due to elevated fire danger closed due to a Catastrophic FDR day
- Letter template: advice regarding potential school closure on Catastrophic FDR day – use this letter to advise your school community of a potential Catastrophic FDR day in your weather district
- Letter template: cancellation of potential Catastrophic day school closure – use this template only if you have previously sent out the Letter template: advice regarding potential school closure on Catastrophic FDR day. This letter confirms to your school community that a potential Catastrophic FDR day forecast has now been downgraded and that your school will remain open
- Letter template: confirmation of school closure on Catastrophic FDR day – use this letter to confirm to your school community that your school is closed due to a Catastrophic FDR day day in your weather district
- Letter template: cancellation of school bus service for schools that remain open on Catastrophic FDR – use this letter to confirm to your school community that your school is open but your bus service is cancelled due to a Catastrophic FDR day in your weather district
- Letter template: cancellation of off-site activities due to elevated or Catastrophic fire danger day – use this template to confirm to your school community that off-site activities are cancelled due to elevated or Catastrophic FDR
- Letter template: not enacting pre-emptive actions plans – for Category 0-2 use this letter to remind your community that your school’s threshold for pre-emptive action has not yet been triggered. This is useful when the LGA and district FDR ratings are not the same
- Letter template: No action required for Category 5 and 6 schools on Catastrophic FDR day – for schools in Categories 5 and 6, use this to remind your school community that you are not required to close on a Catastrophic FDR day
- Notification and social media template: pre-emptive actions on days of elevated fire danger – use this template to update your community about activation of pre-emptive actions, potential activations, or cancellation due to a change in forecast via your notification app or social media channels
Phone script for schools
Telephone script: pre-emptive action or catastrophic closures – use this script to leave a recorded message on your school main telephone line when enacting pre-emptive action plans or a Catastrophic FDR closure
eLearning modules
All school staff can now enrol in and access an eLearning module which provides a short, accessible introduction to bushfire preparedness. This self-directed online learning module is titled ‘Emergency Management: Bushfire At-Risk Register’ and can be accessed at any time through the eduPay (staff login required).
The department has also developed eLearning modules about other key emergency and critical incident management topics including emergency planning, conducting drills, managing risks and more. These can be accessed through LearnEd on the eduPay portal by searching for the keywords ‘Emergency Management’.
Further resources
- AFDRS information sheet – a factsheet with information about the new Australian Fire Danger Rating System which came into effect 1 September 2022
- Bushfire At-Risk Register
- Schools and early childhood services at risk of grassfire – Category
- Bushfire Preparedness (Vegetation) Program factsheet – information and guidance on how schools can utilise and acquit Bushfire Preparedness (Vegetation) Program (BPVP) funding
- Vegetation management plan template – a template designed to assist schools with site management
External resources
Country Fire Authority (CFA)
The CFA has a variety of resources and information that can support your school and broader school community:
- Plan and
- Your Guide to
- Fire Ready
- Resources for Schools at Risk of
- Lesson plans for primary, secondary and EAL
- For CFA information in languages other than English in text and audio file formats, refer to: Fire Safety
Other resources
- Bushfire Management – Department of Transport and Planning
- Guidelines for Bushfire – Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority
- (Department of Transport and Planning) – a tool that can be used to view, query and create property reports.
Reviewed 12 September 2024