Bushfire bill blows out to $6b a year as climate warms

Major bushfires could cost $16.1 billion every three to four years, a report has found. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Bushfires could cost Australia more than $181 billion over the next 30 years, economic modelling has found, as global warming increases their frequency and intensity.

But investments in early fire-detection technology, resilient housing, firefighting aircraft and critical infrastructure could significantly reduce losses.