Why we started

It is November 2019 and New South Wales and Queensland are on fire. A North Warrandyte resident hears a media broadcast stating 30% of the affected people have no insurance and 30% are under insured.

A small group organise a public meeting in Panton Hill for late March 2020 to discuss insurance and other bushfire related matters. Then COVID 19 closes down Melbourne. By August it’s clear that having a public meeting in Melbourne before the end of the year is unlikely. So, Bushfire Resilience Inc. is established, webinars are created and delivered during October and November 2020.

Who we are

Bushfire Resilience Inc. is an independent community-led organisation that is not associated with, and does not promote the interests, of any other organisation or community group.

Bushfire Resilience Incorporated (BRI) is a not-for-profit Incorporated Association that complies with the requirements of Consumer Affairs Victoria. The purpose of the association is to facilitate the provision of information about bushfires to the community.

We provide carefully developed webinars that provide information about bushfire preparedness. Our webinar topics are practical, helpful and relevant.

The members of BRI live in bushfire prone localities in Victoria, mainly in the Shire of Nillumbik. Each person has a long association with activity concerning bushfire preparedness and community resilience. They have knowledge and experience. They want to help people.

Our community led group is providing unique information to households. We want to spur people to take action.

Our sponsors and supporters include the local Bendigo Bank Community Bank branches, a community company with a long history of support for CFA brigades and communities that have experienced major bushfires.

Our Objectives

Our objectives are

• To provide bushfire information to households based on science, experience and best practice. This will enable households to acquire knowledge, and by being better informed, empower them to make better decisions in preparing for, and responding to the threat of bushfire.

• To create best practice webinars that include quality topics that are practical, helpful and relevant. Our webinars involve the best presenters and panel members in Australia and include a robust audience engagement.

What we do

BRI provides information to people living with bushfire risk. We have provided 20 free webinars across 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 in addition to a series of interviews with people affected by a major bushfire.

The topics we select are delivered by eminent subject-matter experts who provide thought-provoking, relevant, practical and evidence-based information. We want to raise awareness about risks while at the same time providing information that inspires people to take action. In addition to webinar recordings, a wide range of Bitesize content is available from our website.

The average webinar audience has grown, subscribers trebled in 2021, doubled in 2022 & increased by 67% in 2023, while 11,500 have watched a video or recording.

Our audience engagement model is robust. 42% of the audience responded with feedback in 2023.

BRI’s 20 webinars have been hugely popular. In 2023, 87% of viewers rated them very good or excellent, while 97% were very likely or likely to recommend them to others.

BRI has grown to become a trusted source of bushfire preparedness information.