Bushfires — protecting your practice and your patients from the hazards of fire and smoke
As parts of Australia continue to be affected by intense heatwaves and bushfires, triggering air quality concerns and health warnings, the widespread impacts of intense heat, bushfire and smoke are a reminder for all of us to remain aware and cautious during this time.
For general practices located in or near bushfire-affected areas, it’s important to be prepared for an increase in patients presenting with health and wellbeing concerns directly or indirectly related to fires.
Understanding these potential health impacts enables general practices to provide timely, effective care and support the community during and after bushfire emergencies:
radiant heat exposure
dehydration and heat exhaustion
smoke inhalation
burns and other physical trauma
exacerbation of chronic conditions, particularly respiratory, cardiovascular, and renal diseases.
Tips for ensuring your practice is prepared for a bushfire
General practices are encouraged to:
develop an up-to-date emergency management plan to use in the event of a disaster
rehearse emergency management plans on a routine basis
sign up for alerts and access current fire ratings by visiting your local government disaster dashboard/s
connect to your local disaster management group via the Primary Health Network (email [email protected])
contact other practices and primary health providers in your local area and agree on how you can offer mutual support. For example, if your practice is affected by a fire or another emergency and needs to close, you can have a plan in place to direct your patients to a nearby practice until the risk has been averted.
know how to communicate to patients about service disruptions or changes to a practice’s operating hours.
Tips for your patients — reducing the impact of bushfire smoke on your health
Talking with patients who live in or near bushfire-affected areas can help them know how to protect their health in the event of a bushfire.
Because the particles and gases in bushfire smoke can travel deep into the lungs and bloodstream, breathing in smoke can cause serious health problems, especially for:
children
older people
pregnant people
people with existing health conditions.
Safety advice for consumers about bushfires and smoke is freely available from the Australian Centre for Disease Control, and can be readily shared with your patients.
The value of starting a conversation about fire and smoke safety
In the weeks leading up to the 2023 Australian summer wildfire season, a study randomly assigned 12,985 homeowners in fire-prone areas to receive an email message about property protection.
The study then tracked participants’ engagement with the message, including the tracking of visits to a webpage that contained further bushfire preparedness information. The study evaluation showed the initial email about property protection from a trusted source increased participant engagement with bushfire preparedness messages.
Small prompts, like a conversation about the health risks of bushfire smoke can help start the process of behavior change in your patients.
More support for general practices
For practice support, visit our disaster readiness webpage.
Use the RACGP resource to create an emergency management plan for your general practice.
Learn about the Emergency Response Planning Tool (ERPT).
Hear from general practitioners with experience responding to disasters through RACGP’s free online webinar recording from September 2025.
Further information for healthcare providers
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