An $18 million bushfire training and research facility serving WA will be built about 72km south of Perth.

The Bushfire Centre of Excellence at Nambeelup will feature exercise areas for incident management teams and incident centre personnel, and outdoor training spaces.

It will also engage with the country’s leading scientists and academics, plus WA volunteers and firefighters.

Plans for the centre were announced last April in the state budget for this financial year. A building design is being drawn up.

The budget also included the establishment of an $80 million Rural Fire Division, which will be funded through a rise in the emergency services levy on council rates.