What will you do in the heat of the moment?

CONSENT FORM

1. Description of activity

The Immersive Bushfire Experience (IBE) is a workshop that aims to help you prepare emotionally for bushfire events. This means helping you manage difficult thoughts and feelings (like stress and fear) that might come up during challenging situations like a bushfire.

During the workshop you will be given the option to:

  • Make decisions during activities.

  • Wear a Virtual Reality (VR) headset with headphones to block outside sounds.

  • Experience a virtual scenario of a house on an extreme bushfire risk day.

  • Face loud noises, simulated smoke, and family conflict as part of the experience.

  • Wear a heat vest.

2. Benefits

The Immersive Bushfire Experience may help improve your emotional preparedness in a safe setting by simulating what a bushfire might be like. Emotional preparedness means understanding your thoughts and emotions and being able to plan for and control them so that you can handle challenges and stressful situations.  

It will provide the opportunity to learn about your own responses to a bushfire and develop real-world strategies to help you control your thoughts and emotions and therefore be more effective should it happen.

3. Risks (VR and sensory exposure)

Those who have faced a bushfire may find parts of the experience triggering (stressful or scary). Tell a facilitator if you have any concerns.  You can stop immediately at any time.

You may experience nausea, dizziness, disorientation, motion sickness, eye strain, headache, increased heart rate, breathlessness, panic or distress, or an urge to run.

Loud sounds, simulated non‑toxic smoke, and a heat vest are used.

If you have photosensitive epilepsy, a history of seizures, severe motion sickness, serious heart or respiratory conditions (including asthma), heat sensitivity, are pregnant, or have recently had a head injury or severe anxiety/PTSD, you should not participate in VR or use the heat vest.

4. Safety and support

  • A facilitator will supervise the session. Participation in all activities is voluntary. 

  • All participants will receive a pre-experience briefing video from Dr. Rob Gordon, a clinical psychologist.

  • Dr. Gordon will help you prepare by sharing strategies to manage stress and fear during the experience.

  • You can end the VR experience anytime by removing your headset.

  • You may leave the workshop at any point by stepping outside.

  • Seating is available. First aid is available on site. After the session, a brief debrief will be offered and support resources provided .

  • If an incident occurs during the experience and you have provided us with an emergency contact person then we will contact them to provide you with support.

5. Data collection, storage, and privacy

A. Controller and contact

Immersive Bushfire Experience Foundation (ABN 76 690 959 861) is responsible for your personal information. Contact: contact@ibe.org.au or (+61) 401 649 396 if you have any concerns.

B. What we collect

Registration: name, email, phone, preferred session times, bushfire experience (5 questions) consent to participate, opt in preferences.

On the day: consent form answers about bushfire planning (5 questions), a 4 question anonymous survey, optional comments, optional consent for photography/filming and testimonials. Photos and videos may be taken during the workshop for promotion on the IBE website. Please speak to your facilitator about this if you have any concerns. 

Safety and incidents: if required, emergency contact details and incident notes (kept confidential).

C. Why we collect it

  • To schedule and deliver the workshop safely.

  • To communicate with you.

  • To evaluate and improve the program. 

  • To produce de‑identified reports. 

  • If you opt in, to use testimonials and images for our website or promotional materials. 

  • To contact you for a follow‑up survey at 4 weeks to gather feedback on the impact of the experience on your bushfire preparedness.

D. Required vs optional

Registration and safety data are required to participate. Photography/filming, testimonials, and follow‑up contact optional.

E. Storage, security and retention

Your data will be kept confidential and stored on the Immersive Bushfire Experience website [insert data security  details] and handled according to Victorian privacy laws.

We may share personal information with service providers who assist us (e.g., IT hosting, email, survey tools). Where providers are located outside Australia, we take reasonable steps to ensure comparable protections. We will only disclose de identified information for research/evaluation unless you have consented to be identified .

F. Your rights

Participants can access, correct, or request deletion of their data at any time. You can withdraw consent for optional uses (e.g., marketing, photos) at any time; we will stop future use and, where practicable, remove your content from our channels.

G. Complaints

If you have a concern, contact the Immersive Bushfire Experience Foundation at contact@ibe.org.au 

If we do not resolve it, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: oaic.gov.au, 1300 363 992. 

If we collect health information, you may also contact the Health Complaints Commissioner (Vic): hcc.vic.gov.au, 1300 582 113.

6. Your bushfire fire survival plan right now & informed consent.

7. Contact and questions

If you have any questions or concerns, please check the FAQs below or email us at contact@ibe.org.au for more information.

FAQ

General Information

  • The Immersive Bushfire Experience lets you experience what a bushfire might be like in a safe setting. We look at how people make decisions before, during and after a bushfire. We provide ideas on how to keep your thoughts and feelings calm during a stressful situation. We hope that this will help you become more emotionally prepared for bushfires in the real world. We also hope that the Immersive Bushfire Experience will motivate you to:

    • Make a bushfire survival plan.

    • Write it down.

    • Rehearse the plan with every member of your household.

    • Rehearse the plan under different conditions.

    By the end of the workshop, we hope you will:

    • Understand what emotional preparedness (see below) means and how to improve your own emotional preparedness.

    • Understand what triggers are in bushfire survival planning, and know your triggers for when to leave when facing bushfire risk.

    • Know where and how to seek support when needed.

  • Emotional preparedness is how well you can predict and manage your thoughts and feelings during highly stressful situations. During a bushfire there will be lots of factors in the environment around you (e.g., heat, noise, smoke, other people) and inside your mind (e.g., negative self-talk, panic, indecision) that may cause you stress and fear. Being emotionally prepared is about thinking before a bushfire how you might react and having a plan for how to manage your thoughts and feelings. People who are emotionally prepared are more likely to survive a bushfire and recover more easily than those who are not emotionally prepared.

  • Often bushfire plans focus on physical preparations like clearing gutters, slashing paddocks, stocking up on fire-fighting equipment and clearing debris. People who have experienced a bushfire say that they wish they had known before the event how much the bushfire would impact their thoughts and feelings. People who have survived bushfires describe having been overwhelmed by fear and stress – which means they might make poor decisions, make decisions too quickly or slowly, freeze and do nothing, or lose their cool with family members. In the heat of the moment, not being able to settle your thoughts and feelings can be the difference between life and death. Emotional preparedness is just as important as physical preparedness.

  • The IBEF was founded by Carol and Dave Matthews, who survived the Black Saturday fires in 2009. Tragically, their son Sam did not. Carol and Dave have worked tirelessly for over 16 years to advocate for the importance of emotional preparedness in bushfire education. Carol and Dave and their family did everything right to prepare physically for Black Saturday, but they now believe that if someone had spoken with them about emotional preparedness, their son Sam may still be alive. The IBE is dedicated to Sam Matthews and hopes to save other families from the same devastating loss that Carol, Dave and Ellie experienced.

Workshops and Programs

  • Our workshops are for people aged over 15 years old*, including:

    • Community members in bushfire-prone areas.

    • Schools and students learning about bushfire safety.

    • Bushfire educators and emotional services personnel.

    • Local governments and policymakers.

    • Researchers focused on disaster preparedness.

    * Due to the potential for strong impacts, the IBE Workshop is rated Mature Accompanied (MA 15+) and is restricted to people aged 15 and over. A person may be asked to show proof of age before participation.

  • Workshops typically last between 60 and 90 minutes, based on the audience and discussion depth.

  • Each workshop is tailored to the specific audience. An IBE workshop may include:

    A briefing from a clinical psychologist about how to manage your stress and fear before, during and after a bushfire.

    • Interactive activities about decision-making.

    • A Virtual Reality (VR) experience, where you wear a VR headset to watch a short scenario of a family on a high-risk bushfire day.

    • Discussions about the VR experience.

    • Practical advice on bushfire survival planning and plan rehearsal.

  • We hope that you will go home and feel motivated to write down, discuss and rehearse your bushfire survival plan with every member of your household. We also hope you will start conversations with your neighbours and other community members about their bushfire survival plans and the importance of emotional preparedness. We will check in with you via email or phone four weeks after the workshop to see how you are going. We may also contact you six months after the workshop to see whether your bushfire survival planning has changed at all.

  • To organise an IBE workshop, contact us through our website’s registration form. We customise the experience for communities, schools, and organisations.

  • Yes, the IBE can be scary for some people just as real bushfires can be. We aim to help you feel safe with trained facilitators who can help you process your emotions. Those with past trauma should speak to a GP or mental health professional about their needs prior to signing the online consent form.

  • Yes, we provide online sessions with interactive discussions, storytelling, and preparedness advice. However, the full immersive VR experience is only available in person.

Community Education

  • Communities gain awareness, improved preparedness strategies, and stronger social ties, which are essential for effective disaster response and recovery.

Getting Involved

13. How can I support IBEF?

You can support IBEF by:

  • Donating to expand our programs and to help us keep Victorians safe during during the bushfire season.
    The Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal (FRRR) supports selected, not for profit charitable organisations, helping them to maximise their fundraising dollars. The Immersive Bushfire Experience Foundation (IBEF) through its partnership with FRRR, means that you can make a tax-deductible donation directly to our foundation and FRRR will forward the money into our account. For more information about the work of FRRR their website is: frrr.org.au

  • Partnering with us to reach new audiences.

  • Raising awareness about emotional preparedness.

  • Requesting an IBE Workshop for your local community if you are in a high-risk bushfire area.

DONATE

  • We welcome research partnerships in disaster preparedness, psychology, and immersive learning. Contact us to explore collaboration opportunities.

  • Visit our website for details on upcoming workshops, research insights, and resources on bushfire education.

    For any questions, please contact us at contact@ibe.org.au or (+61) 401 649 396