Bushfire risk, messaging and older people: setting a research agenda

Intense bushfires are going to become more prevalent in Australia because of changes in the climate. Also, the population of older people in bushfire areas is increasing. Under the new Australian Fire Danger Rating System, ‘catastrophic’ bushfire danger days are those when houses may not be able to be defended and, as such, the advice from authorities is that people should leave early, prior to the advent of fire. Leaving early is particularly important for vulnerable groups in communities, including older people. Experience from Australia’s summer bushfires in 2019–20 suggests that leave-early messages were not communicated effectively and were not enacted. This paper presents an overview of bushfires and bushfire messaging in the Australian context and the associated risk to older people. It identifies gaps in the current understanding of the intersection of these issues and lays out a plan for future research in this area.