Overview
- Defence announced the tightened protocol on Tuesday after several large fires broke out on military ranges in late April and prompted a review of exercise safety.
- The new rules require firefighting equipment to be available within 25 metres of certain live-fire activities so teams can respond immediately if sparks or hot fragments land in vegetation.
- Site supervisors now have explicit authority to postpone or stop planned or already-started exercises when fire danger is high, shifting day-to-day decisions to officers on the ground.
- Explosive training in nature areas, which was paused after the April incidents, was allowed to resume in the third week of May but will continue only under the revised, conditional measures.
- The changes also add more training on wildfire prevention for troops and aim to reduce risks to heathlands, nearby residents and emergency services during dry, warm periods.