BAL assessment
A single lot, walked and measured, with a signed BAL report your building surveyor can lodge with the permit.
from $680
Mundaring · est. 2016
Ridgeline Bushfire PlanningBushfire planning for the Perth Hills & the metro fringe
BAL assessments, management plans and evacuation plans. We measure the vegetation, not the postcode — fixed fees quoted before we start, and if your lot sits well clear of classified vegetation we will say so and send you away.
BPAD-accredited practitioners
Assessments to AS 3959
We tell you when you don’t need us
- We look the lot up first. The DFES map and current aerial imagery, before anyone quotes anything.
- Then we walk it. Every plot classified, every slope measured, photographs taken from the pad out.
- Then you get a signed report. Straight to your building surveyor or the council, with one round of queries already in the fee.
The Setback
Section A–A · true 1:1 · no vertical exaggeration
Ridgeline · fixed feeCLASS B · 40 m
$680
site visit, vegetation classification and a signed BAL report for your permit
Everything you set here lands in the enquiry form below — ask for the fee and we’ll have the section on screen when we call.
What you need
Lots in the subdivision
12
lots · $95 each
Where the lot is
Vegetation on and around the lot
Separation from classified vegetation
40 m
measured to the vegetation edge
The section, as text
Fees, before you ring
Fixed professional fees. The council’s fees are yours, at cost.
Every fee below is GST-inclusive and fixed to the scope described. Nothing on this page is priced by your BAL rating — the rating is an outcome of the assessment, not an input to our fee.
Bushfire Management Plan — single dwelling
One dwelling or outbuilding: site plan, access, water supply and the construction requirements set out for the certifier.
from $1,850
Bushfire Management Plan — subdivision or DA
Subdivision and development applications, with the plan written against the WA Guidelines and the lot-by-lot assessment attached.
from $4,200 + $95 a lot
Bushfire Emergency Evacuation Plan
Schools, childcare, aged care and caravan parks. Written to the operator’s obligations, with a walk-through on site.
from $2,400
Bushfire Hazard Level assessment
Scheme amendments and structure plans. The hazard extent decides the work, so we scope it at a pre-lodgement meeting first.
scoped with your council first
Peel & South West travel
Mandurah down to Bunbury, added once to the fee. The Perth Hills and the metro fringe carry no travel charge.
$220
Council & certifier lodgement fees
Set by your local government and your certifier, paid by you directly. We never mark them up and never estimate them for you.
at cost
Annual BMP reviews
Across a school or aged-care portfolio, so the plan stays current with the vegetation rather than the filing cabinet.
quoted per site after the first walk-through
Who signs the report
Accredited, insured, and willing to lose the job
The instruments below are real. Our accreditation numbers, insurance and history on this page are demonstration copy.
OperatingSince 2016 out of Mundaring, working the Hills, the metro fringe, Peel and the South West.
AccreditationBPAD-accredited practitioners, Level 1 and Level 2, through FPA Australia. Accreditation BPAD-00000-384.
InstrumentsAssessments to AS 3959 and the WA Guidelines for Planning in Bushfire Prone Areas under State Planning Policy 3.7.
InsuranceProfessional indemnity $2M, public liability $20M. Certificates of currency on request.
Reports accepted byHills and metro-fringe local governments, private certifiers and the WAPC through the usual referral path.
ABN00 000 000 384. Fees are GST-inclusive and fixed to a written scope.
Three jobs
What the last three clients actually wanted
“The shire held the permit until we had a BAL report. Ridgeline walked the block on the Thursday, sent the signed report Monday, and the surveyor lodged it that afternoon. No drama, no upsell.”
“Four lots into twelve, and the BMP was the piece nobody could price. We got a fee in writing before any work started and it did not move. They also answered the council’s two queries without charging us again.”
“They walked the whole centre with our staff, timed the muster, and wrote the evacuation plan around what our two-year-olds can actually do. The department accepted it first time.”
Where we work
Mundaring is the office. The scarp and the fringe are the patch.
Travel across the Perth Hills and the metro fringe is inside the fee. Peel and the South West carry a $220 travel charge, added once. Anything further is quoted.
MundaringChidlowGidgegannupKalamundaRoleystoneSwan ValleySerpentineMandurahPeel, the South West and the Great Southern by arrangement
Questions
Straight answers, including the ones that cost us work
Do I actually need a bushfire assessment?
Only if your lot is in a designated bushfire-prone area, or the council or your certifier has asked for one. The first thing to do is free: look your address up on the DFES Map of Bush Fire Prone Areas. If it is not designated and nobody has asked, you probably do not need us at all.
If it is designated, a BAL assessment is usually a condition of the building permit, and a Bushfire Management Plan is usually a condition of planning approval for a new lot or a development application.
How do I check the DFES map myself?
The Map of Bush Fire Prone Areas is published by DFES and is public. Search your address and the map shows whether the land is designated. It is updated periodically, so a lot that was clear three years ago may not be now, and the reverse also happens after clearing.
The map tells you whether you are in the designated area. It does not tell you your BAL. That comes from measuring the vegetation classes, the slope under them and the distances on the ground.
What is BPAD accreditation, and does it matter?
BPAD is the Bushfire Planning and Design accreditation scheme run by FPA Australia. Level 1 practitioners can prepare BAL assessments; Level 2 practitioners can prepare bushfire management plans and the more complex planning work.
It matters because WA local governments and certifiers generally expect the report to be signed by an accredited practitioner at the right level. A cheap report from an unaccredited author often comes back.
How long does a BAL report take?
Typically a site visit within five business days of booking, and the signed report within three business days of the visit. Bushfire Management Plans run longer because the site plan, access and water supply all have to be drawn and checked — usually two to three weeks.
If your permit is already held up, say so on the enquiry form with the date. We keep a slot each week for permits on the clock.
What if the rating comes back higher than I hoped?
Then it comes back higher. The rating is determined against AS 3959 from what is actually on and around the lot, and we do not have a lever to pull. What we can do is show you what changes it: managed distances, the classification of each plot, and what the standard requires at each level, so you can decide whether to build differently or manage vegetation where you legally can.
We will never write a rating we cannot defend. A report that does not survive the certifier costs you more than the honest one.
Who pays the council and certifier fees?
You do, directly, at cost. Local government application fees and certifier fees are set by them and change; we never mark them up and we never fold them into our fee so you cannot see them. Our fee is the assessment and the report.
Get a fee
Tell us the lot and what was asked for. We’ll tell you the fee.
We’d call you back within one business day with the fixed fee in writing, the council’s own fees named at cost, and a plain answer on whether you need an assessment at all. If the DFES map says your lot is not designated and nobody has asked you for a report, we will tell you that and charge you nothing.
The Setback above has already written your scenario into the message. Change anything you like — it is a starting point, not a quote.
Thanks — we’ve got it.
We’d call you back within one business day with the fixed fee in writing and a plain answer on whether you need an assessment at all. Nothing here is a rating: we don’t rate a lot off a web form.
Demonstration page — nothing was sent. On the real site this posts to the practice’s CRM, attaches the DFES map extract and books the site visit.
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