This page presents information and links to national forest fire area data for 2016-17 to 2020-21, presents data for the 2019-20 summer bushfire season in southern and eastern Australia, and provides links to national forest fire area data for 2011-16.
National forest fire area data for 2016-17 to 2020-21
Over the period 2016-17 to 2020-21:
- a total of 46.9 million hectares (35%) of Australia’s total forest area was burnt. The balance (65%) did not experience fire.
- the largest national annual area of forest fire was 21.1 million hectares in 2019-20, of which 8.5 million hectares was burnt by the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires in southern and eastern Australia.
- the area proportion of fire that was unplanned fire was highest (79%) during 2019-20, driven by unusually large forest areas burnt by bushfires in southern and eastern Australia.
- the lowest national annual area of forest fire was 10.5 million hectares in 2020-21.
Fire area data across Australia for 2016-17 to 2020-21 are available in
- Indicator 3.1b: Area of forest burnt by planned and unplanned fire. This indicator presents information on the impacts of forest fire, and national data and maps of fire in Australia's forests.
- Fires in Australia's forests 2016-21. This is a continental spatial dataset of the extent and frequency of planned and unplanned fires occurring in forest in Australia over the period 2016-17 to 2020-21.
Forest fire area data for the 2019-20 summer bushfire season in southern and eastern Australia
During the 2019-20 bushfire season, the southern and eastern parts of Australia experienced multiple large-scale and intense fires. This set of data tables shows the area of Australia's forests in the fire extent area during this bushfire season in southern and eastern Australia, by jurisdiction, forest category and forest tenure.
The data tables using fire extent data as at 28 April 2020 are available for download in Excel workbook format [76 KB].
Fire extent area during 2019-20 summer bushfire season in southern and eastern Australia as at 28 April 2020, and the area of forest in this extent, by jurisdiction
| Jurisdiction | Fire area ('000 hectares) | Forest area in fire area ('000 hectares) | Proportion of fire area that is forested (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | 90 | 83 | 93 |
| New South Wales | 5,682 | 5,123 | 90 |
| Northern Territory | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Queensland | 574 | 514 | 90 |
| South Australia | 313 | 137 | 44 |
| Tasmania | 45 | 30 | 65 |
| Victoria | 1,583 | 1,457 | 92 |
| Western Australia | 2,044 | 1,143 | 56 |
| Total | 10,331 | 8,486 | 82 |
Source: Fire extent derived from the National Indicative Aggregated Fire Extent Dataset (v20200428) current to 28 April 2020.
Preliminary Area for Environmental Analysis – 2019/20 Fires
Forest area derived from the National Forest Inventory Forests of Australia (2018) spatial dataset.
Notes: Refer the National Indicative Aggregated Fire Extent Dataset metadata statement for information on the purpose, lineage, known issues and data limitations of the fire extent dataset.
Totals may not tally due to rounding.
Area of Australia's forests, and the area and proportion in the fire extent area during the 2019-20 summer bushfire season in southern and eastern Australia as at 28 April 2020, by forest category and jurisdiction
| Jurisdiction | Total forest area, by forest category | Forest area in fire area, by forest category ('000 hectares) | Proportion of total forest in fire area, by forest category (%) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native forest | Commercial plantation | Other forest | Total forest | Native forest | Commercial plantation | Other forest | Total forest | Native forest | Commercial plantation | Other forest | Total forest | |
| Australian Capital Territory | 130 | 7 | 5 | 142 | 83 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 64 | 0.2 | 2.7 | 58 |
| New South Wales | 19,925 | 380 | 62 | 20,368 | 5,015 | 92 | 16 | 5,123 | 25 | 24 | 26 | 25 |
| Northern Territory | 23,686 | 45 | 4 | 23,735 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Queensland | 51,580 | 229 | 21 | 51,830 | 510 | 4 | 0 | 514 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
| South Australia | 4,856 | 178 | 25 | 5,060 | 118 | 17 | 2 | 137 | 2.4 | 10 | 7.9 | 2.7 |
| Tasmania | 3,342 | 311 | 46 | 3,699 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.8 |
| Victoria | 7,645 | 415 | 162 | 8,222 | 1,444 | 10 | 3 | 1,457 | 19 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 18 |
| Western Australia | 20,450 | 383 | 148 | 20,981 | 1,140 | 4 | 0 | 1,144 | 5.6 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 5.5 |
| Total | 131,615 | 1,949 | 474 | 134,037 | 8,336 | 130 | 22 | 8,488 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 4.7 | 6.3 |
Source: Fire extent derived from the National Indicative Aggregated Fire Extent Dataset (v20200428) current to 28 April 2020.
Preliminary Area for Environmental Analysis – 2019/20 Fires
Forest area derived from the National Forest Inventory Forests of Australia (2018) spatial dataset.
Notes: Refer the National Indicative Aggregated Fire Extent Dataset metadata statement for information on the purpose, lineage, known issues and data limitations of the fire extent dataset.
Totals may not tally due to rounding.
Area of Australia's native forest, and the area and proportion in the fire extent area during the 2019-20 summer bushfire season in southern and eastern Australia as at 28 April 2020, by forest tenure and jurisdiction
| Total forest area, by jurisdiction | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest tenure | ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas. | Vic. | WA | Total | |
| Native forest area ('000 hectares) | ||||||||||
| Leasehold forest | 8 | 4,249 | 9,318 | 28,135 | 1,447 | 0 | 0 | 4,089 | 47,246 | |
| Multiple-use public forest | 5 | 1,856 | 0 | 2,881 | 22 | 612 | 3,052 | 1,344 | 9,772 | |
| Nature conservation reserve | 113 | 5,569 | 15 | 4,378 | 1,698 | 1,544 | 3,367 | 5,035 | 21,719 | |
| Other Crown land | 5 | 755 | 881 | 1,308 | 91 | 380 | 241 | 7,382 | 11,042 | |
| Private forest | 0 | 7,414 | 13,435 | 14,213 | 1,580 | 806 | 984 | 2,600 | 41,031 | |
| Unresolved tenure | 0 | 81 | 38 | 666 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 805 | |
| Total native forest | 130 | 19,925 | 23,686 | 51,580 | 4,856 | 3,342 | 7,645 | 20,450 | 131,615 | |
| Native forest in fire area ('000 hectares) | ||||||||||
| Leasehold forest | 3 | 19 | 0 | 18 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 111 | |
| Multiple-use public forest | 0 | 880 | 0 | 162 | 0 | 10 | 878 | 31 | 1,963 | |
| Nature conservation reserve | 80 | 2,750 | 0 | 169 | 62 | 3 | 496 | 286 | 3,845 | |
| Other Crown land | 0 | 109 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 749 | 926 | |
| Private forest | 0 | 1,254 | 0 | 110 | 33 | 7 | 57 | 22 | 1,484 | |
| Unresolved tenure | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Total native forest in fire area | 83 | 5,015 | 0 | 510 | 118 | 27 | 1,444 | 1,138 | 8,334 | |
| Proportion of native forest in fire area (%) | ||||||||||
| Leasehold forest | 33 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 0.2 | |
| Multiple-use public forest | 5.1 | 47 | 0 | 5.6 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 29 | 2.3 | 20 | |
| Nature conservation reserve | 71 | 49 | 0 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 0.2 | 15 | 5.7 | 18 | |
| Other Crown land | 8.0 | 14 | 0 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 5.3 | 10 | 8.4 | |
| Private forest | 0.0 | 17 | 0 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 5.8 | 0.8 | 3.6 | |
| Unresolved tenure | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 13 | 0.0 | 0.7 | |
| Total | 64 | 25 | 0 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 19 | 5.6 | 6.3 | |
Source: Fire extent derived from the National Indicative Aggregated Fire Extent Dataset (v20200428) current to 28 April 2020.
Preliminary Area for Environmental Analysis – 2019/20 Fires
Forest area derived from the National Forest Inventory Forests of Australia (2018) spatial dataset.
Notes: Refer the National Indicative Aggregated Fire Extent Dataset metadata statement for information on the purpose, lineage, known issues and data limitations of the fire extent dataset.
Totals may not tally due to rounding.
Data tables of the forest fire area for the 2019-20 bushfire season using fire extent data as at 23 March 2020 are available for download in Excel workbook format [76KB]
National forest fire area data for 2011-16
Fire area data across Australia for 2011-16 are available in
- Australia's State of the Forests Report 2018 Criterion 3 Indicator 3.1b: Area of forest burnt by planned and unplanned fire. This indicator presents information on the impacts of forest fire, and national data and maps of fire in Australia's forests for the five year period from 2011 to 2016.
- ABARES Insights Stocktake Fire in Australia's forests, 2011 to 2016. This Stocktake covers where and how often fire occurred in forests over this period, the land tenures and forest types on which the fire occurred, and whether the fire was planned or unplanned. The data workbook containing the data and figures in the Stocktake is available here. The maps in the Stocktake are available here.
- Fire in Australia's forests 2011-16. This is a continental spatial dataset of the extent and frequency of planned and unplanned fires occurring in forest in Australia over the period 2011-16.