The Victorian Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee tabled its final report for the inquiry into the 2026 summer fires Victoria in parliament on Tuesday.
The report makes 93 findings and 80 recommendations to the state government. The government has six months to respond to the report.
In preparing the report the committee visited numerous communities to hear firsthand from those impacted, including Harcourt, visited fire grounds, and received evidence from agencies including Emergency Management Victoria, the Country Fire Authority and other organisations, alongside experts and sector representatives. The inquiry received a total of 337 submissions.
Committee chair Michael Galea told parliament that the 2026 summer fires had a devastating impact on communities across Victoria.
“More than 440,000 hectares of land were burnt – an area larger than that affected bythe Black Saturday fires of 2009. 451 homes were destroyed, a further 1,110 outbuildings lost, and businesses were severely affected. It is estimated that more than 45,000 livestock deaths were recorded, as well as an incalculable loss of wildlife.
“Tragically, one individual, Maxwell Hobson, lost his life. I extend my condolences to his family.”
Mr Galea said Victoria entered the 2026 fire season with a clear understanding of the heightened risks in conditions.
“Catastrophic conditions on January 9, 2026 saw the creation or major expansion of numerous fires. Fire agencies and communities were overall well–prepared, and through a combination of the tireless work of agencies, firefighters and communities, the response was strong and saved many lives. “Considering the conditions, it is remarkable that we did not see mass fatalities as was seen in 2009,” he said.
“This is an achievement on which credit can rightly be given to Victoria’s dedicated firefighters, including career full–time firefighters, volunteers and private landholders, and the incident control teams which responded to protect Victorians.
“Importantly, it is also a reflection on the lessons learnt from the Black Saturday fires and major fire events after.
“This includes technological improvements including the VicEmergency app and other measures. In particular, it shows the importance of ‘leave early’ messaging,” he said.
Nevertheless, the committee observed many patterns of concern from communities, agencies and other stakeholders.
The resilience of critical infrastructure, most particularly telecommunications, was a recurring theme of evidence, as was a greater need for the utilisation of local knowledge in incident response centres.
Mr Galea said the transcripts of evidence from the regional hearings powerfully articulate the energy, dedication and resilience of Victorians who have been through circumstances which are at once both unimaginable and all too common.
“This report’s strength lies in the vast and detailed evidence from communities about the preparation and response to the fires, as well as time–in–place evidence about relief and recovery efforts, which remain ongoing.
“The relative success of the response to the 2026 summer fires in terms of loss of life, should not permit anyone to underestimate the severe and widespread impacts that these fires both had and continue to have on many communities,” he said.
“We know that it is a question of when, not if, we will experience our next bushfire disaster. We hope this report will shape the improvement of systems so that we as a state are better prepared for when the next critical bushfire event arrives,” he said.
Fire agencies have also been conducting their own agency after reviews, as is customary after such a large fire event.
In addition, the Minister for Emergency Services has instructed the Inspector–General for Emergency Management to conduct a full review into the fires. That review is scheduled to take place after the tabling of this latest report, in order for the IGEM to be able to draw from the evidence given to this committee, most particularly from the large base of evidence outlining the perspectives of regional communities in the immediate months after the fires.
You can read the full report at https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/inquiries/2026firesinquiry/reports