The extent of the 2019-2020 bushfires highlighted the urgent need for a national smoke forecasting system to help protect the health of Australians. In response, the Australian Government provided funding in 2021 to develop a national prototype smoke forecasting system – AQFx.

This initiative builds on the operational AQFx system, which has been run by the Bureau of Meteorology in Victoria for the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA, formerly DELWP), and in New South Wales for the Rural Fire Service (RFS).

The prototype system was developed through a collaborative research partnership involving CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology, the University of Tasmania, the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne, and DEECA.