City of Wanneroo sets 1 November firebreak deadline with $5,000 penalties

Landowners across the City of Wanneroo have until 1 November to have firebreaks and fire mitigation measures in place, and must keep them until 30 April. The requirement is set out in the City’s Important Fire Mitigation Notice for the 2026/2027 fire season, published in the Western Australian Government Gazette No. 136 of 27 October 2026 under official reference LG501, which also lists the officers appointed to enforce it. Failure to comply may incur penalties of up to $5,000, and any works required by the notice will be carried out at the expense of the owner or occupier.

The notice is made under section 33 of the Bush Fires Act 1954, the statute that also provides for the appointment of bush fire control officers, and is signed by Bill Parker, Chief Executive Officer of the City of Wanneroo. It is published in the Local Government section of the gazette, at pages 2443 to 2445, immediately ahead of the City’s separate fire season notice for 2026/2027. The measures apply to all land in the district, including properties covered by an approved bushfire management plan, whose owners must still comply with the gazetted requirements and any additional obligations in that plan.

What property owners must do

Requirements differ by property size, but the central obligation is uniform: works in place by 1 November each year, maintained until 30 April the following year.

• Land under 4,047 square metres (1 acre): keep grasses and inflammable materials, excluding living trees, across the entire property at no more than 50 millimetres; alternatively install a 3-metre-wide trafficable firebreak as close as possible to all external boundaries.
• Land greater than 4,047 square metres: a 3-metre-wide trafficable firebreak free of flammable materials and obstructions along external boundaries, plus a 20-metre bare earth area around all haystacks and fuel storage.
• All vacant land greater than 4,047 square metres: the same 3-metre firebreak, and, for pastoral or grassed rural land of 5 hectares or more, grass kept to 50 millimetres within 10 metres of any firebreak.
• All properties: a minimum vertical clearance of 4 metres along firebreaks so vehicles can pass without obstruction.
• Where boundaries cannot be followed because of natural obstacles, the firebreak may be routed around the obstacle, but a variation is required if it sits more than 5 metres from the boundary.

Officers and enforcement

The gazette names the City’s bushfire control team for the season, headed by Daniel Heptinstall as Chief Bush Fire Control Officer, with Troy Cole and Derek Young as deputies and Jay Dwyer, Paul Humphries, Beau Kendall, Paul Stickels, Aaron York and Jamie Zanatta as operational officers. A further 23 officers are appointed for compliance and enforcement, and 15 for permit issuing only.

Inspections will be carried out by trained Fire Control Officers authorised to enter a property on foot, by vehicle or by drone. Where an officer considers further works necessary to reduce bushfire risk, landowners will be notified by letter sent to the address on the City’s rates record.

Applications for a firebreak variation were due by 1 October each year; a variation is described in the notice as an application to use other methods of property preparedness, not an exemption. Applications are lodged through the City’s website at wanneroo.wa.gov.au/firebreakvariation.

Burning periods and permits

All burning is prohibited from 1 December to 31 March, and on days rated High or above for fire danger, or when a Total Fire Ban or a Harvest, Hot Works and Vehicle Movement Ban is declared. Burning of garden waste is prohibited outright during that period.

Restricted burning periods run from 1 September to 30 November and from 1 April to 31 May, subject to change, and permits are required. Garden refuse may be burnt without a permit during restricted periods if the fire is lit between 6pm and 11pm, fully extinguished before midnight, the material is no more than 1 square metre and only one heap is burnt at a time. Camping and cooking fires are permitted with a 3-metre clearing of bush and flammable material unless the fire danger rating is High or above. Permits are available online and in person at the City of Wanneroo Civic Centre, 23 Dundebar Road, Wanneroo, Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm.

Deadline pressure on households

With the deadline falling on Sunday 1 November, households in one of Perth’s fastest-growing and fire-exposed northern corridors have days rather than weeks to act, and the notice leaves little discretion: compliance is measured in millimetres of grass, metres of cleared boundary and maintained access. Enquiries can be directed to Daniel Heptinstall on 0428 101 132 or the City’s Community Safety and Emergency Management Service Unit on 9405 5000.

Source: Western Australian Government Gazette, No. 136, 27 October 2026, Local Government, p. 2443 (official reference: LG501).