01/10/2025
Fire Permits are now required from 1st October 2025. Permits are required until the end of the bush fire danger period – generally from now until 1st April next year.
There are 2 ways to obtain a fire permit from the RFS:
1. You can apply for your fire permit online on the RFS website at https://nswrfsprod.service-now.com/guardian_csp , or,
2. You can contact one of our fire permit officers to get a paper permit - the process is the same as before.
We are encouraging people to use the online option if possible, to save everyone time and double-handling of paper permits. Lodging an online permit is quite simple and straightforward.
The only part of the process which can be a bit confusing is when you are asked: ‘What is the purpose of the burn?”, so to make it easy, follow these steps (this part has recently changed, but it's still pretty simple):
1. If you ARE a farmer or working on a farm and want to burn grass for a fallow or burn grass for pasture regeneration, you need to select “Agriculture”, and then in the “Sub category” box, select “Pasture regeneration”. These permits can only be issued for up to 7 days.
2. If you ARE a farmer or working on a farm and want to burn piles of timber or vegetation, you need to select “Agriculture” and then in the “Sub category” box, scroll down and select the most appropriate reason (eg. Vegetation - Pile Burns) from the various options. These permits can only be issued for up to 21 days.
3. If you are NOT a farmer and want to burn piles of timber or vegetation, you need to select “Other” and then in the “Sub category” box, scroll down and select the most appropriate reason for what you are doing from the various options. Again, these permits can only be issued for up to 21 days.
4. The “Hazard Reduction” option generally won’t apply to most private landowners.
Please indicate clearly what you are planning to do in the section which asks: "Provide more information on what you are planning to burn". If you upload photos of the area you intend to burn, and/or provide a clear description of what you intend to do, this will generally remove the need for a site visit and will make it simpler and quicker for us to approve.
After you have lodged your online permit request, one of our permit officers will review it, and as with the traditional paper permit, may contact you to ask for more information or to visit the site of the proposed burn.
Your permit will be approved electronically by the permit officer and then a copy will be sent to you by email, please read and follow the conditions on the permit carefully.
Importantly, after your permit has been approved and issued, you also then need to give 24 hours notice to all your neighbours and the RFS before you light any fires.
To notify the RFS, again go to https://nswrfsprod.service-now.com/guardian_csp and fill in the simple “Notify us of your planned burn” form. You can also call 02 6644 5127 to notify the RFS.
Remember to check your BOM Weather app for the forecast fire danger ratings (Moderate, High, Extreme or Catastrophic), and the forecast weather conditions generally for the upcoming days before you light up. Generally fire permits will be suspended when fire danger ratings are High or above.
If in doubt, don't light it up. If the weather isn't suitable to burn during the period of your permit, simply apply for another permit. Please don't burn if it's not safe to do so.
From time to time, permits may be suspended temporarily by the RFS due to adverse weather conditions, please do not light any fires during this time.
If you have any other queries, please contact one of our local permit officers or the Clarence Valley District RFS office on 02 6644 5135.