What SIRNSW Says About Bush Fire Management for Your Service Line

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What do the NSW service rules require for your service line in a bush fire area? If your property is in a bush fire prone area, the Service and Installation Rules of NSW require overhead lines on your side of the connection point to be installed and maintained with bush fire risk in mind, and they give your distributor teeth: it can order you to fix defective lines or clear vegetation, do the work itself at your cost, or disconnect an unsafe installation. Here is what that means in practice before the next fire season.

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1. Where your responsibility starts

The network owns and maintains the street mains, but everything past the connection point belongs to you. On many Sydney fringe and acreage properties that includes aerial consumer mains, a private power pole or two, and the wiring to the house. Those privately owned lines carry the same fire risk as network lines, which is exactly why the rules reach across the boundary onto your side.

2. What SIRNSW actually requires

The Service and Installation Rules require electrically unprotected aerial consumer mains in bush fire areas, as defined by the Rural Fire Service, to be installed with bush fire risk mitigation in mind, following the distributor's safety procedures and AS/NZS 3000. In practice that shapes cable choice, span lengths and clearances, and it is why installers are told to get the distributor's requirements before stringing overhead mains in rural areas. Behind it sits a broader obligation: NSW distributors must run a safety management system that covers bush fire risk from electricity lines, including customer owned lines connected to their network.

3. The distributor's powers when things are not safe

This is the part that surprises property owners. In bush fire prone areas, under the Electricity Supply Act your distributor can require you to rectify a defective installation, including overgrown vegetation near your lines. If the work is not done, the distributor may carry it out at your cost, or disconnect the installation entirely. A defect notice about your private line is not a suggestion, and our defect notice rectification service deals with exactly these orders. If you have received one, our comparison of how Ausgrid and Endeavour handle defect notices explains the clearance process.

4. Vegetation: the clearances that matter

Trees cause a large share of fire starts around powerlines, so the rules lean on industry vegetation guidance with hard minimums: no vegetation closer than 1.5 metres to bare conductors or 0.5 metres to insulated conductors, with allowance for regrowth and conductor swing in wind. Who trims what differs between network and private assets, and we broke that down in vegetation near powerlines in Ausgrid areas. On your side of the connection point, the trimming and the cost are yours. Requirements also differ by distributor, so check your network area in seconds with our postcode checker before booking anything.

5. A sensible pre season routine

Before each fire season: look up at your aerial mains for sag, fraying or trees inside the clearance space, check private poles at ground line for rot or termite damage, and book an electrical safety inspection if anything looks doubtful. Storm season overlaps fire season, and a line that is marginal in October is the one that comes down in a December southerly. If a line does come down, treat it as live, keep everyone at least eight metres away, and call your distributor, then our emergency make safe team for the repair.

Why it's Level 2 ASP work

Repairing or replacing aerial consumer mains, private poles and service lines is Level 2 ASP work, because it involves conductors that connect to the live network. A general electrician cannot legally restring your service line. Our post on the wider rulebook, what the Service and Installation Rules of NSW cover, explains where these boundaries come from.

How High Demand Electrical helps

High Demand Electrical inspects and rebuilds the private side of bush fire prone connections: replacing tired aerial mains with insulated cable, upgrading private power poles, correcting clearances and clearing defect notices with the distributor. We work to both Ausgrid's and Endeavour Energy's requirements, and where a property is better served by moving overhead wiring underground we quote underground service mains as an alternative so you can compare both options.

Bush Fire Service Line FAQs (Sydney)

How do I know if my property is bush fire prone?

Check the NSW RFS bush fire prone land map through your council or the RFS website. Much of Sydney's urban fringe, the Hills, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains is mapped.

Is putting the service underground worth it in a bush fire area?

Often, yes. An underground service removes the aerial fire risk, the vegetation clearances and most storm damage exposure in one job. See our underground service mains service for what is involved.

Who pays if the distributor trims trees near my private line?

If the vegetation is on your side of the connection point and you were ordered to clear it but did not, the distributor can do it and bill you. Doing it on your own schedule is always cheaper.

Can I clear vegetation near the wires myself?

Only well clear of the conductors. Work close to live lines requires trained and authorised people, and hiring a qualified crew costs far less than an accident. When in doubt, get advice first.

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Got an overhead line that has not been looked at in years? Book an electrical safety inspection or call 0402 559 777. Every job starts with a site assessment so scope and pricing are confirmed before any work begins.