Projects to improve bushfire awareness and safety remain unfinished as the Victorian community returns to complacency, according to the Bushfires Royal Commission Implementation Monitor Neil Comrie.

The recent bushfire season in Victoria was the most dangerous since that of 2009, with 4400 separate blazes and five people killed.

Of 300 actions recommended by the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission after Black Saturday, 250 have been completed, the monitor’s annual report says.

Recent achievements include setting up the Bushfires and Natural Hazards Co-operative Research Centre, progress on the Powerline Bushfire Safety Program and meeting the 250,000-hectare target under the planned burning program.

But the failure to establish a single community fire refuge and the “extraordinary delay” developing a national bushfire awareness campaign remain significant concerns, and the issue of complacency must be addressed.

Mr Comrie’s report says 60% of residents in bushfire areas claimed they would leave their properties when given a code-red warning, but only 1.5% actually did.

“The state has a major challenge in securing the involvement and commitment of Victorians to meet their responsibility to take appropriate measures to reduce the risk associated with bushfires,” the report says.

“Without this commitment from the broader community, the extensive and very costly measures taken by the state in response to the [royal commission] recommendations will have limited impact.”

The report also notes the “satisfactory implementation” of the new council-based fire services rates collection levy, which has replaced the levy on insurance.