The accreditation and training of people as Accredited Level 1 Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) Assessors is being introduced into Western Australia in 2015. It is planned that training courses will be available from March 2015 and be open to anybody with an interest in becoming an Accredited Level 1 BAL Assessor.

Level 1 BAL Assessors will be accredited and trained to:

1) determine the appropriate BAL using Method 1 (simplified method) of Australian Standard AS 3959, Construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas, as referenced by the Building Code of Australia (BCA); and
2) provide general advice on the design construction requirements of AS 3959.

Accredited Level 1 BAL Assessors are required under the draft State Planning Policy 3.7 Planning for Bushfire Risk Management. This requires the use of BAL Assessors to undertake BAL assessments in bushfire-prone areas, which will be identified in the state Bushfire-Prone Area Map. Regulations proposed under the Planning and Development Act 2005 will also require a BAL assessment, as specified in AS 3959, to be undertaken for development applications within the designated bushfire-prone
areas. 

The scheme will be further developed in 2015 to provide for Level 2 Bushfire Planning Practitioners and Level 3 Bushfire Planning and Design Practitioners.

For more details and to register to receive email updates on the initiative and training courses, visit
www.planning.wa.gov.au/publications/7531.asp. You can also download the WA Bushfire Accreditation  Framework.

For queries, email or call Project Manager, Kathryn Lee on 6551 9173.