The January 2016 Waroona Fire caused significant damage, particularly to the town of Yarloop, and resulted in the tragic loss of life. The Government of Western Australia committed to managing bushfire-related risk and continuously improving the state’s capabilities to prevent, mitigate and respond to major bushfires to protect the Western Australian community and the assets it values.

For this purpose, the Government committed to the establishment of an open and independent review of the management of the fire, with broad terms of reference, that allowed for consideration of what has been learned from previous major bushfires, what can be learned from the Waroona Fire, and strategies for future reforms and capability enhancements to efficiently and effectively manage bushfire-related risk.