BAL or bowel? Clearing up the acronym confusion that could save your home
When you’re building or renovating in a bushfire-prone area, one of the first things you’ll hear from the CFS is: “You’ll need a BAL rating.” Cue the confused look. “Wait… did you just say bowel rating?”
It happens more often than you’d think. Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) is a rating system used for various situations, but in particular during building design to assess the intensity of a property’s potential exposure to bushfire. It considers how much radiant heat, ember attack, or even direct flame contact your building might face in the event of a bushfire. But when spoken quickly over the phone, BAL can sound suspiciously like “bowel.”
And here’s the twist: BAL has become such a buzzword that it’s even in the running for Macquarie Dictionary’s 2025 People’s Choice Word of the Year. Not bad for an acronym that sometimes gets mistaken for digestive health!
What does the BAL assessment check?
In South Australia, the CFS Development Assessment Service (DAS) assesses a development’s BAL when you apply for development approval in a bushfire-prone area.
When CFS does the BAL assessment, there are several factors that are considered, including:
- vegetation type and arrangement adjacent your home (what kind of plants or trees are nearby that may be a hazard)
- how close that vegetation is to your building
- slope of the land under the vegetation
- proximity to boundaries and if you can manage the hazard yourself.
These things help the CFS DAS calculate exactly how much risk your building might face in a bushfire.
Can you lower your BAL rating?
Yes, sometimes. By reducing vegetation around your house, or moving your new home’s placement on the block, you might be able to reduce your BAL. But only if the vegetation is within your own property. BAL assesses vegetation up to 150m of the land so if vegetation is on a neighbouring property and you can’t change the house placement you may not be able to reduce the BAL.
Water, tanks, and firefighting readiness
The assessment done by our officers also includes extent of required vegetation management, access for emergency vehicles on to the property and to a water supply.
If you’re in a bushfire-prone area, the type and size of your water tank matters and it may vary dependent on the BAL rating. The CFS requires non-combustible tanks (like steel or concrete) for bushfire safety. Plus, depending on your BAL and the size of your allotment, you may also need a pump and firefighting equipment that meets certain standards.
Why BAL is so important
Balancing design, safety, and building cost is tricky — but BAL assessments can make the difference between a standard house and one that’s more likely to be resilient in a bushfire. The CFS uses your BAL to guide building standards, fire safety infrastructure, and even how much vegetation you can keep around your home.
CFS recommend you prepare and practice a plan to leave early, but this may not always be possible, so having a well-prepared home for you to take shelter in, might be a better option than getting caught on the roads and may save your life.
So next time someone tells you that you need a BAL rating, don’t panic — they’re not asking about your stomach. They’re helping protect your home and family from bushfire risk. And who knows, maybe this little acronym will take out Word of the Year while it’s at it.
Learn more about BAL at https://cfs.sa.gov.au/plan-prepare/planning-building/planning-building-in-bushfire-areas/