A Bundanoon family has revealed the media were able to access their house before them after it burnt down.
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This concern was raised as a part of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, which was made public on the commission's website.
"We found out that our house had gone from the news coverage. That is not how you should be informed," the submission said.
"We weren't allowed back to our property for around five or six days. Yet the media were there. That is not acceptable."
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The submission did not state which media organisation/s gained access to the family's street.
The family also praised the "exemplary" work of Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters.
"We had three community sessions in our memorial hall. [RFS community safety officer] Dave Stimson was excellent, he called it as he saw it," they said.
"When he said it wasn't a case of would Bundanoon be hit with bushfires but a case of when Bundanoon would be hit resonated immediately in the community."
The family said Bundanoon prepared "like never before" and "everyone helped everyone else".
As a fleet of fire trucks assembled at Exeter on January 4, the preparation and communication were "excellent".
"But luck was not on our side," they said.
"When the 'ember tornado' struck around 10pm all units had been dispatched to areas already under attack. The nearest fire to us was around 10 kilometres away.
"I have heard people complaining that there were no units to defend Bundanoon when it attacked. We lost our house that night. We bear no ill-will.
"The correct decisions were made to attend existing fires. It was just pure bad luck that when the [pyrocumulus] cloud collapsed it... destroyed our house. "
The family has called for quicker, supervised homeowner access for those who lose their homes to bushfires.
"It is distressing to lose your home," they said.
"To be denied access for an extended period of time extends the distress."
The Royal Commission team is due to deliver its findings by October 28.