Hi Deanne,

Here are some articles which may be of use for you, looking at energy efficient design outcomes (mainly from policy) rather than bushfire implications but you may be able to draw out some lessons from these. Hope they help.

Beerepoot, M., & Beerepoot, N. (2007). Government regulation as an impetus for innovation: Evidence from energy performance regulation in the Dutch residential building sector. Energy Policy, 35(10), 4812-4825. doi: 0.1016/j.enpol.2007.04.015

Ekins, P., & Lees, E. (2008). The impact of EU policies on energy use in and the evolution of the UK built environment. Energy Policy, 36(12), 4580-4583. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2008.09.006

Gann, D. M., Wang, Y., & Hawkins, R. (1998). Do regulations encourage innovation? - the case of energy efficiency in housing. Building Research & Information, 26(5), 280 - 296. doi: 10.1080/096132198369760

Geller, H., Harrington, P., Rosenfeld, A., Tanishima, S., & Unander, F. (2006). Polices for increasing energy efficiency: Thirty years of experience in OECD countries. Energy Policy, 34(5), 556-573. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2005.11.010

Hamza, N., & Greenwood, D. (2009). Energy conservation regulations: Impacts on design and procurement of low energy buildings. Building and Environment, 44(5), 929-936. doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2008.06.010

Henryson, J., Håkansson, T., & Pyrko, J. (2000). Energy efficiency in buildings through information - Swedish perspective. Energy Policy, 28(3), 169-180. doi: 10.1016/s0301-4215(00)00004-5

Hoppe, T., Bressers, J., & Lulofs, K. (2011). Local government influence on energy conservation ambitions in existing housing sites - Plucking the low-hanging fruit? Energy Policy, 39(2), 916-925. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2010.11.016

Lee, W., & Yik, F. (2004). Regulatory and voluntary approaches for enhancing building energy efficiency. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 30(5), 477-499. doi: 10.1016/j.pecs.2004.03.002

Marsh, R., Larsen, V., & Kragh, M. (2010). Housing and energy in Denmark: past, present, and future challenges. Building Research & Information, 38(1), 92-106. doi: 10.1080/09613210903226608

Based on my experience with passive solar design, it is difficult to convince people of a benefit if they can't actually see it in money terms; similarly with risk. In the UK people are spending a lot of money on PV panels at present. I imagine many would get a better return from insulation, but it wouldn't show up on a meter. You need to show financial return.

Having seen the destruction of Cockatoo, Victoria many years ago and more recent damage in Canberra, I believe Australians are sleep-walking or in denial about bush fires. I cannot believe you are still building timber houses in the midst of resinous gum trees that fill the eaves gutters with highly inflammable dead leaves.

When there is a bush fire risk, people in Canberra now have to pack their car with their most treasured possessions and be ready to flee at short notice, not knowing whether their house will be there when they come back. It is a tragedy (the 'tragedy of the commons?') since the car and the suburban lifestyle are a major part of the problem.

After the Great Fire of London in 1666 a city of timber houses was transformed into a city of brick houses with no timber allowed on facades. This reminds me that after the fire in Cockatoo the only constructions still standing were the brick fireplaces with their slender chimneys. I don't know what you mean by 'mitigation', (and I suppose you are talking mainly about existing houses) but I imagine a lone brick house that survived a bush fire intact would be a massive encouragement. Approach the insurance industry? By the way, passive, masonry construction can work really well in hot climates.