I think it depends on what part of Oz you are heading to - water restrictions aren`t so bad here in WA as they are elsewhere. We try use as little as possible- no taps running when cleaning teeth, making sure you have a full load of washing, having a front loader to use less water, keeping showers to 4 mins,I`d also like a water tank for the garden or be able to recycle grey water eventually, but this is all personal choice and voluntary here. At the mo the only restrictions are on retic use - twice a week you can put the retic on or 3 times a week if you have your own bore (which we do). Personally I thnk Australia would use a lot less water if it didn`t have so many lawns!!
As for bush fires you do get them , we had one where we are just a few weeks back, luckily it was at the bottom end of our suburb. It was a bit nervewracking, watching the helitacs pick up water from the local lakes and then dump it on the fire, we just closed all doors & windows (the smoke was pretty bad) and switched off the aircon. We sat listening to updates on the local ABC radio station which kept us informed. This was all because of some idiot who deliberately started the fire!!
You just have to try and keep it in perspective, yes it can happen, yes it helps to have a plan in place as to what you will do if it does.