What is an asset protection zone, and how is it maintained?

A great deal of NSW sits right next to bushland. Schools, homes, depots, reserves and water infrastructure all border vegetation that can carry a fire.

An asset protection zone, or APZ, is the buffer between the two. It is an area kept low in fuel, so a fire coming out of the bush has less to burn as it gets near the asset.

What the zone does

An APZ does not stop a bushfire. It cuts down the heat, the flame height and the ember attack that reach a building, and it gives firefighters a safer space to work from.

The NSW Rural Fire Service sets out how APZs are planned and managed, including in its guideline Planning for Bush Fire Protection. A zone is usually split into an inner protection area next to the building, where fuel is kept to a minimum, and an outer protection area further out, where trees stay but the fuel beneath them is cut back.

What maintenance involves

Most APZ work is careful, repeated vegetation management, not clearing. The usual tasks are:

• mowing and slashing grass to keep it short
• removing fallen branches, bark and leaf litter
• thinning shrubs so they do not form a continuous layer of fuel
• pruning low branches so fire cannot climb into the tree canopy
• keeping gutters, paths and access tracks clear

The work runs on a cycle, because the fuel grows back. A zone cleared once and then left alone soon stops doing its job.

Public land and protected bush

APZs on public land often sit in reserves, on Crown land and in water catchments, where the bushland beside the zone is protected. The work has to reduce fuel inside the zone without harming the bush outside it.

That means clear boundaries, the right plant for the slope and the ground, and care around trees and waterways. The same care for existing trees applies on any site, as covered in tree protection on construction sites.

Monument's asset protection work

Monument has carried out Crown land ground maintenance and asset protection zone works across NSW for the NSW Office of Strategic Lands. Its company timeline records that Crown land work from 2015.

In 2014 it delivered catchment vegetation and asset protection works for the Sydney Water Catchment Authority, including at Avon Dam. Asset protection sits in the same Monument capability as playgrounds, softfall and whole-of-school outdoor works. More on that work is in who does grounds maintenance and asset protection on NSW Crown land.

Safety on the job

APZ work uses brushcutters, chainsaws, mowers and slashers, often on slopes and in hot weather. Each task needs a safe work method, trained operators and fire-safe practice on high fire danger days.

On public land, walkers and visitors are part of the picture too. The work area is signed and controlled so people using the reserve stay clear of the machinery. The wider set of site controls is described in environmental controls on a construction site.

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