Graduate Certificate in Bushfire Planning and Management

Plan smarter. Work safer. Help communities face fire with confidence.

Bushfire risk is changing, and so is our need for people who know how to manage it. The Graduate Certificate in Bushfire Planning and Management extends your existing knowledge of fire’s role in the Australian environment and allows you to further specialise with two available streams: bushfire planning and fire management. Developed alongside industry and designed for fire professionals, this course is designed to help you address and respond to risk across communities, biodiversity, and the built environment.

Key features

• Choose your fire path. Select the bushfire planning stream and focus on planning, maintaining and regulating bushfire-prone environments, or choose the bushfire management stream and build specialist knowledge for environmental management consulting roles.
• Trade theory for fieldwork. Build a practical understanding of fire risk and management through intensive classes, laboratory visits, and weeklong immersive residential study experiences at Creswick.
• Industry-informed learning. Developed with input from government and fire authorities, this course connects bushfire science with planning, design, construction and fire management to enable safer decisions and managed risk.

Why study bushfire planning and management at Melbourne?

• Build skills for a hotter, riskier, more fire-prone future. Population growth and climate change have reshaped how bushfire risk is managed across communities, biodiversity and the built environment, increasing demand for professionals with specialised bushfire knowledge.
• Learning that goes beyond the textbook. Residential intensives, field visits and laboratory experiences help connect theory with practice, giving you opportunities to explore bushfire management within real landscapes and environments.
• Study with professional recognition in sight. Complete the bushfire planning stream to be eligible for accreditation under the Bushfire Planning and Design scheme administered by Fire Protection Association Australia.

Student support

This course is connected to government, industry and fire authorities, and contains opportunities to build your professional network throughout your study. Industry events, mentoring opportunities, immersive intensive and field-based learning experiences will help expand both your practical knowledge and your professional connections.

As a Melbourne student, you'll be supported to succeed — in your studies, your wellbeing and your finances.

• International student support. Visa and arrival help when you need it.
• Academic skills and advice. Meet an advisor or join a workshop to get the most from your studies.
• Global exchange. Study overseas through our network of global partners.
• Mentoring and community. Explore student life and student and alumni mentoring programs.
• Wellbeing and accommodation. Access health, counselling and accommodation support.
• Fees and scholarships. Find scholarships you're eligible for and manage your finances.

See all the ways Melbourne supports you.