The National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) was formed by the Australian States and Territories in July 2003 to provide a cooperative national arrangement for combating bushfires. It achieves this by facilitating the coordination and procurement of a fleet of highly specialised firefighting aircraft that are readily available for use by State and Territory emergency agencies across Australia.

This national aircraft fleet complements aerial firefighting resources that are arranged directly by the States and Territories. The national fleet receives funding support from the Australian Government as well as State and Territory Governments.

NAFC also plays a key role in ensuring the sharing of aerial firefighting resources between fire agencies throughout Australia, and in the development of national protocols and systems for aerial firefighting.