FORTIS House was developed in response to community requests for help to build better. Every year, the Bushfire Building Council of Australia (BBCA) is contacted by thousands of people asking for help to make their homes more resilient to bushfire and other disasters. The number of people asking for help is rapidly increasing as disasters become more frequent, intense and widespread.

BBCA created FORTIS House in response to the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires and subsequent floods to help recovering communities re-build. The project has delivered house designs and a set of building principles for extreme weather and disaster resilience, sustainability, self-sufficiency and quality.

FORTIS House sets a new benchmark for better building to protect people, homes, communities and the environment – no matter where you live.

“FORTIS is a wonderful gift from a community that went through bushfires and floods and suffered, and their response has been total generosity. They’ve helped design something for themselves, for their community and for the country.”

– Kate Cotter, BBCA CEO