Bushfire season in Australia runs roughly October to March. Fires can start earlier in the north and run later in the south. This guide covers how fires are detected, how warnings reach you, and what has changed for the 2026-27 season.
Most people see a warning on their phone. Behind that notification is a chain of systems working together. Understanding the chain helps you know what to trust and how quickly information travels.
Satellite detections can arrive before ground reports. State agencies then verify the fire and decide on a warning level. From there, warnings go out through multiple channels at once.
The Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) replaced the old system in September 2022. Fire danger ratings are set daily by the Bureau of Meteorology based on weather forecasts, fuel conditions, and terrain. They tell you how dangerous a fire would be if one started today.
| Rating | What It Means | What to Do |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate | Most fires can be controlled. | Stay informed. Know your plan. |
| High | Fires can be difficult to control. | Be ready to act. Check conditions regularly. |
| Extreme | Fires will spread quickly and be hard to control. | Take action now to protect life and property. |
| Catastrophic | Fires will be uncontrollable, unpredictable, and fast-moving. | For your survival, leave bushfire-prone areas early. |
On Catastrophic days, no amount of preparation guarantees safety. The safest option is to leave early. This is not a recommendation. It is the official advice from every state fire agency in Australia.
Check today's fire danger rating at bom.gov.au.
Australia uses a three-tier warning system. These levels tell you what is happening and what you should do right now.
| Level | What Is Happening | What You Should Do |
|---|---|---|
| Advice | A fire has started. There is no immediate threat to lives or homes. | Stay informed. Monitor your state's app and local ABC radio. |
| Watch and Act | Conditions are changing. The fire may threaten you. | Decide now: leave or stay and defend. Do not wait for the next level. |
| Emergency Warning | You are in danger. The fire is threatening lives and homes now. | Take immediate action to survive. It may be too late to leave safely. |
For technical details on how these levels map to data fields, see the warning systems guide.
There is no single channel that covers everything. Use multiple sources. Here is every way bushfire warnings can reach you.
| Channel | How It Reaches You | Coverage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AusAlert | Cell broadcast direct to your phone | National | Launches Oct 2026. No app needed. Cannot be blocked. |
| State emergency apps | Push notification and live map | Per state | Download your state's app now (see table below). |
| ABC Emergency | TV, radio, website, app | National | Australia's designated emergency broadcaster. |
| SEWS siren | Distinctive siren on TV and radio | National | Played before emergency broadcasts. Battery radio recommended. |
| Social media | Agency Facebook/X pages | Per state | Not guaranteed delivery. Do not rely on this alone. |
| Triple Zero (000) | You call them | National | For life-threatening emergencies only. |
AusAlert is the only channel that reaches your phone without an app, without a phone number on file, and without an internet connection. It uses cell broadcast technology, the same system used for emergency alerts in the US, EU, and Japan. Read more about how AusAlert works.
Each state has its own emergency app and website. Download the app for every state you live in or travel through. If you are visiting another state during bushfire season, get their app before you arrive.
| State | Emergency App | Website | Bushfire Info Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Hazards Near Me NSW | rfs.nsw.gov.au | 1800 679 737 |
| VIC | VicEmergency | emergency.vic.gov.au | 1800 240 667 |
| QLD | QLD Fires | qfes.qld.gov.au | 13 QGOV (13 74 68) |
| SA | Alert SA | alert.sa.gov.au | 1800 362 361 |
| WA | Emergency WA | emergency.wa.gov.au | 13 DFES (13 33 37) |
| TAS | TasALERT | alert.tas.gov.au | 1800 000 699 |
| ACT | ESA ACT | esa.act.gov.au | 1300 729 900 |
| NT | Secure NT | pfes.nt.gov.au | 1800 246 246 |
For detailed information about each state's emergency data feeds and agencies, see our state guides.
Before a fire is reported by a person on the ground, it can be detected from space. Geoscience Australia runs Digital Earth Australia (DEA) Hotspots, a satellite-based fire detection system. Sensors on multiple satellites (MODIS, VIIRS, Himawari-8) scan Australia for thermal anomalies every 10 to 90 minutes depending on the satellite pass.
A hotspot does not mean there is a confirmed fire. It means a satellite detected something unusually hot at that location. Hotspots can be bushfires, but they can also be planned burn-offs, industrial sites, or sun reflecting off a roof. Fire agencies use hotspot data alongside ground reports to build the full picture.
You can view the live DEA Hotspots map at hotspots.dea.ga.gov.au.
EmergencyAPI includes DEA satellite hotspot data alongside state incident feeds, so you can see both confirmed incidents and satellite detections in one place.
The biggest change this season is AusAlert, Australia's new national emergency warning system. It replaces Emergency Alert, which has been in use since 2009.
Read the full AusAlert overview for more detail on the new system.
This guide focuses on how warnings reach you. For physical preparation (clearing gutters, creating defendable space, packing an emergency kit, writing a bushfire survival plan), your state fire agency publishes detailed checklists. Here are the direct links:
Start preparing before the season, not during it. If you are in a bushfire-prone area, have a written plan and make sure everyone in your household knows what to do.
All the systems above are designed to inform you as an individual. If you need to build something with this data (an app, a dashboard, automated alerts, risk monitoring), EmergencyAPI unifies 33 government feeds from all 8 states and territories into a single standardised API.
Check what is happening right now.
EmergencyAPI provides aggregated emergency incident data for informational purposes only. This data is sourced from official government feeds and may be delayed, incomplete, or inaccurate. Do not use this API as a substitute for official emergency warnings. Always refer to your state emergency service for safety-critical decisions.
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