Court Orders - Fire Prevention

Published on 27 October 2025

Yarriambiack Shire pursues rate payers who fail to comply with fire prevention notices.

On 20 October 2025, Yarriambiack Shire Council successfully prosecuted nineteen ratepayers for ongoing non-compliance with Fire Prevention notices.

The matters were heard in the Magistrates' Court in Horsham in front of His Honour Magistrate Gilligan.

The Magistrate noted that the Council had incurred clearance fees for cleaning up the properties, and that this remains an ongoing matter for the Council to address, particularly as fire season approached when the fire prevention notices were issued.

The Magistrate also observed that the properties continued to be non-compliant.

Chief Executive Officer, Tammy Smith noted, "that this is a significant risk to our community, with the increased risk of fire danger upon us and the broader Wimmera Mallee region".

"We are committed to collaborating with landowners to ensure compliance and effective land management that minimises fire risk.  However, those ratepayers who have been taken through the Court system have consistently failed to mitigate these risks, necessitating Council intervention to manage the properties at the expense of the ratepayer," stated Ms Smith.

The court found the matters presented by Council to be substantiated and imposed penalties of $2,000 (two thousand) and full costs in each case.  Convictions were also recorded for each matter.

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Tammy Smith

Chief Executive Officer