Ready
The Bush-Edge Realist
Lives this close to the bush with eyes open — and the gutters already done.
Top risk family = Fire; readiness posture = Ready.
The household types
32 kinds of household. One of them is yours.
Your type isn't a personality quiz result. It's read off your own risk report — the risk family that sits on top of your place, crossed with how prepared your answers show your household to be. Find yours the only way there is: run the check, right here.
No postcode handy? — it asks for the postcode first.
The grid
Six risk families × four readiness postures
Rows: the risk that leads your report. Columns: how ready your household is for it — from genuinely prepared to cheerfully winging it. Types move: finish Stage 1 of your plan and your household is re-typed.
Fire
Getting there
The Ladder-Season Regular
Owns a ladder and uses it every spring. The written plan is next on the list.
Top risk family = Fire; readiness posture = Getting there.
She'll be right
The Calm Bush Neighbour
Knows every track out of the valley by heart. Has never once written them down.
Top risk family = Fire; readiness posture = She'll be right.
Winging it
The Fence-Line Optimist
The bush is basically their back fence, and the whole plan is that it stays friendly.
Top risk family = Fire; readiness posture = Winging it.
Water
Ready
The River-Watch Family
Reads the river gauge the way other people read the news.
Top risk family = Water; readiness posture = Ready.
Getting there
The Sandbag Apprentice
Has lifted the photo albums and met the SES once. Apprenticeship ongoing.
Top risk family = Water; readiness posture = Getting there.
She'll be right
The Creek-Step Local
Twenty wet seasons on this creek. In a bad one the water reaches the third step — they can tell you from the kitchen window.
Top risk family = Water; readiness posture = She'll be right.
Winging it
The Ground-Floor Newcomer
New to the low ground. The creek is about to introduce itself.
Top risk family = Water; readiness posture = Winging it.
Storm
Ready
The Tied-Down Household
Trampoline: tied. Bins: in. Roof: checked. Storms here are weather, not surprises.
Top risk family = Storm; readiness posture = Ready.
Getting there
The Weekend Roof-Checker
Checks the roof twice a year and the radar twice a day in storm season.
Top risk family = Storm; readiness posture = Getting there.
She'll be right
The Old-Roof Optimist
The roof has held through every storm since 1987, and they're betting on the streak.
Top risk family = Storm; readiness posture = She'll be right.
Winging it
The Trampoline Owner
Owns a trampoline, a rotary clothesline and complete faith that both will stay exactly where they are.
Top risk family = Storm; readiness posture = Winging it.
Heat & power
Ready
The Cool-Room Keeper
Has a cool room, a fan plan, and a standing date to check on the neighbours.
Top risk family = Heat & power; readiness posture = Ready.
Getting there
The Blinds-Down-by-Nine
Blinds down by nine, ice stocked, one room that stays liveable. Getting there.
Top risk family = Heat & power; readiness posture = Getting there.
She'll be right
The Shade-Hopper
Spends summer following the shade around the house, one chair-move at a time.
Top risk family = Heat & power; readiness posture = She'll be right.
Winging it
The West-Room Sleeper
Sleeps in the room that bakes all afternoon, every summer, and calls it fine.
Top risk family = Heat & power; readiness posture = Winging it.
Dry & supply
Ready
The Tank-Watch Family
Knows the tank level the way city people know their bank balance.
Top risk family = Dry & supply; readiness posture = Ready.
Getting there
The Half-Tank Optimist
Tank's at half, pantry's at most of the way. Everything here is half — except the confidence.
Top risk family = Dry & supply; readiness posture = Getting there.
She'll be right
The Rain-Will-Come Local
Has survived every dry spell so far by looking at the sky and saying: she'll come.
Top risk family = Dry & supply; readiness posture = She'll be right.
Winging it
The Empty-Tank Optimist
Tank's empty, pantry's optimistic, and the dam is a rumour. Still not worried.
Top risk family = Dry & supply; readiness posture = Winging it.
Home & everyday
Ready
The Shipshape Household
Alarms tested, rails up, kit packed. Quietly the most sorted house on the street.
Top risk family = Home & everyday; readiness posture = Ready.
Getting there
The Half-Railed Household
One grab rail up, one to go. The list is on the fridge, and it's moving.
Top risk family = Home & everyday; readiness posture = Getting there.
She'll be right
The Never-Bit-Yet Local
Thirty years in this house and it's never bitten. They're calling that a safety record.
Top risk family = Home & everyday; readiness posture = She'll be right.
Winging it
The Instinct-Run Household
Runs the home on instinct. The safety checklist is still in its wrapper, somewhere.
Top risk family = Home & everyday; readiness posture = Winging it.
Off the grid
The high-pixel types
Some households don't fit the grid — a rare combination in their answers draws a sharper picture. These types override the grid when their pattern matches; most households never meet one, and that's fine.
The Ember-Edge Address
The bush isn't near this address. It is this address.
Address point signal: vegetation edge < 30 m from the property point, and fire is the household's top family.
The Life-Support Household
Home runs on power in the most literal way — so the outage plan comes first here.
A member depends on powered medical equipment, and power outage is the household's #1 engine-ranked hazard.
The Cold-Chain Household
The most important appliance in this house is a fridge holding medicine at four degrees.
Medication needs refrigeration, and power outage ranks in the household's top 3 engine hazards.
The One-Road Household
One road out — and everybody on the street knows what that means in smoke season.
Single street exit, top family is fire/water/storm, and the top risk index is near the high band.
The Cut-Off Coast Household
The sea is the front yard and the only road out floods first. They know. They plan anyway.
Home within 500 m of the coast, single street exit, and water or storm is the top family.
The Car-Free Leaver
No car, high local risk — and a leaving plan that doesn't need one.
No household car, top family is fire/water/storm, and the top risk index is elevated or higher.
The Solo Watch
One person, one house, and a whole street that checks in. That's the system, and it works.
An older member lives alone with no near fallback lodging, and the top risk index is elevated or higher.
The First-Year Household
A baby runs this household's emergency maths now — everything is measured in feeds and nappies.
A baby under 12 months, the infant-sleep line is high, and the infant-supplies gap is wide open.
How a type is earned — and changed
No type is assigned from demographics, and none is a judgement: the lowest postures are written to be recognised with a grin, not a wince — most Australian households are honestly in them, which is rather the point of checking. Preparation is the only lever: tick off Stage 1 steps and the same household is re-typed one posture up.
The derivation, published in full · See a sample household's type in its report
So — which one are you?
Sixteen questions stand between you and the answer.
withHarmora is an independent information service, not an emergency service, and does not replace official warnings. In an emergency, call 000 — and follow your state fire or emergency service and the Bureau of Meteorology. Terms · Method & sources