Property owners who have been unable to attend to their properties due to restrictions on travel, can now apply for a travel exemption for the sole purpose of preparing their property for the upcoming fire season.
An exemption scheme, similar to that which was run in 2020, has now been released by the Victorian Government. This will allow an exemption to the current Chief Health Officer (CHO) directions for some Victorians to travel beyond their existing limits for the purposes of fire preparation activities.
Property owners can apply for a travel exemption and if approved, will able to travel to their property from Monday 11 October.
Exemption holders will be able to attend their properties for a maximum of three days. They must carry their exemption with them, along with a copy of their rates notice for the property they are attending at all times.
Residents in metropolitan Melbourne or other areas in regional Victoria that are in lockdown:
- Are encouraged not to travel to the rest of regional Victoria to undertake fire or emergency preparedness activities unless it is deemed essential
- Are encouraged to use local contractors to undertake preparedness work where possible, to reduce the need for regional travel
- Must comply with lockdown restrictions even when they are in regional Victoria
Residents from areas of regional Victoria that are not in lockdown, must comply with the current restrictions in Mitchell Shire.
Anyone preparing their property for fire and other emergencies is permitted to visit a Resource Recovery Centre to dispose of waste associated with their preparations.
An exemption to travel to Mitchell Shire will only be granted to either a listed owner, or if the owner is unable to attend the property, a nominated representative. If several owners want to go to the property, they can only do so if they live in the same household.
There are two reasons that owners could be eligible for an exemption letter:
- The property has a Bushfire Management Overlay or other hazard overlay
- Council has advised that fire preparation work is required on the property
