Harvest and Movement Bans

Harvest & Vehicle Movement Bans (HVMB) are issued by local governments.

It is the responsibility of landowners/occupiers to be aware of any bans in place before harvesting as you could be fined for breaching a ban.

A HVMB is a ban that individual local governments are responsible for issuing under the Bush Fires Regulations 1954 Section 38A, and/or Section 24C.

Local governments will impose the ban when their Bushfire Control Officer is of the opinion that the use of engines, vehicles, plant or machinery during the prohibited burning times or the restricted burning times or both is likely to cause a fire or contribute to the spread of a bushfire.

The prohibited and restricted burning times vary between local governments, see local times below:

All Zones (1-7) Shire of Ravensthorpe

A HVMB may be imposed for any length of time but is generally imposed for the "heat of the day" periods and may be extended or revoked by the local government should weather conditions change.

The responsibility remains on the individual to ensure that any activity undertaken is not likely to start a fire and that a HVMB is currently not in place in their area.

Registered sites

If farmers or land owners would like to continue to load or offload grain or fertiliser and use un-gazetted laneways during a Harvest & Vehicle Movement Ban (Regulation 38A and 38B Bush Fires Regulations 1954),  they MUST have their site registered and approved by the Shire of Ravensthorpe prior to each harvest.

Farmers or landowners are required to fill out the form below and have the site inspected by the nearest Fire Control Officer prior to submitting the form to the Shire of Ravensthorpe.

Loading/Offloading Site Registration Form

Stay up to date

The Shire of Ravensthorpe uses SMS to notify of Harvest and Vehicle Movement bans, which is free of charge.

To avoid penalty, we strongly recommend all landowners/residents/contractors/workers register for the SMS service. 

To register, please complete our online form.

An SMS will be sent to registered users advising when harvest bans are enforced per harvest zone area. A follow up SMS will be sent advising when harvest bans have been lifted per harvest zone area.

Our local ABC radio stations also broadcast Harvest and Vehicle Movement bans. These can be heard during the Country Hour just after 12:35pm on weekdays and at 12:35PM on weekends.

These are the local frequencies:

Ravensthorpe 105.9 FM

Esperance 837 AM

Albany 630 AM

Southern Cross 106.3 FM

Wagin 558 AM

Total Fire Bans 

A Total Fire Ban (TFB) is declared because of extreme weather conditions or when widespread fires are seriously stretching fire fighting resources.  

A TFB is declared by DFES following consultation with local governments and prohibits the lighting of any fires in the open air and any other activities that may start a fire.

The ban includes all open air fires for the purpose of cooking or camping. It also includes incinerators, welding, grinding, soldering or gas cutting.

Exemptions may be allowed for some industries and activities with conditions applied.

On days when a Total Fire Ban and/or a Harvest & Vehicle Movement Ban are in place farmers are still able to check on the welfare of their stock, including moving livestock between paddocks to a water source, providing the vehicle being used in equipped with a portable fire unit carrying a minimum 400 liters of water.

For more info on what you can and cannot do when a Total Fire Ban is declared, please visit: Total Fire Ban information via the DFES website.

Local weather

Hopetoun - The Bureau of Meteorology

Ravensthorpe - The Bureau of Meteorology