Good News for regulators, manufacturers, sellers and consumers alike! The potential is now here for a nationally consistent basis to be developed for regulating the construction of these types of structures across all the states of Australia. The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has released a draft of the proposed national technical standard for private bushfire shelters.
A private bushfire shelter is defined in the Victorian Building Regulations 2006 as “a building or part of a building that may, as a last resort, provide shelter for people from the immediate life threatening effects of a bushfire”.
There is anecdotal evidence that what was identified as a significant market failure in Victoria is now being dealt with by legislation. We understand one seller of “bunkers” has now re-branded their product as a “bushfire valuable safe”.