Managing bushfire in the NT

Within the Northern Territory (NT), there are administrative boundaries which determine:

• the fire management authority
• legislative requirements
• restrictions on what fire management activities you can do and when.

For more information, get the fire management boundaries within the NT PDF (745.8 KB).

Emergency response areas (ERA)

ERA are established for the  purpose of managing urban and urban-fringe development around major population centres in the NT.

It is managed by the NT Fire and Emergency Services (NTFRS).

Find the ERA command and stations on the NTFRS website.

Fire management zones

The NT has 5 fire management zones, each zone has a bushfire management plan in place. The plans are developed by the Regional Bushfire Committees in each region.

Bushfires NT is the lead government agency for these zones. Read more about Bushfires NT.

The plans aim to:

• assess what kind of danger exists in different areas
• help decide how to use resources and make decisions to keep us safe.

Read the management plans:

• Alice Springs PDF (2.1 MB)
• Arnhem PDF (3.2 MB)
• Barkly PDF (2.3 MB)
• Savanna PDF (6.5 MB)
• Vernon Arafura PDF (2.6 MB).

To prepare yourself for the bushfire season, read about survival plans.

Fire protection zones (FPZ)

Certain areas in the NT have been declared fire protection zones.

The zones are boundaries that typically exist around the population centres of the NT.

Within an FPZ, there are different responsibilities for landholders.

These include the requirement to prepare firebreaks, manage fuel loads, and permits to burn.

Check if you're within a FPZ using the Natural Resource Maps:

• Northern protection zone
• Alice Springs protection zone
• Katherine protection zone
• Tennant Creek protection zone.

Fire management area

Temporary fire management areas are set up, requiring properties within them to create a fire management plan.

These plans should outline how the landowner or occupier will effectively manage fires through:

• mitigation
• management
• suppression.

Fire danger area

A fire danger period can be declared for either the whole or part of the NT for a specific period of time.

Read more about fire bans and fire danger periods.