Neighbourhood safer places are still weeks away from being finalised for three of Cardinia Shire's most at-risk townships.

Last week, Phil Craig, the CFA's township protection project officer for Cardinia Shire, said protection plans had been released for Gembrook, Cockatoo and Upper Beaconsfield.

But NSPs in the three townships, and possibly in Maryknoll and Pakenham Upper, were still in the process of being assessed, he said.

Mr Craig stressed that NSPs were places of last resort.

"These places are to be used as a backup plan - when plan B, C and D has failed," he said.

"They are not necessarily in a building. There would be no sustenance or comfort and so they are not necessarily very nice places."

Mr Craig said there was no guarantee NSPs would be set up in the named townships.

The shire's municipal emergency resource officer, Paul Dickson, said,

while the matter was still under discussion, the council had reduced the options down to "a number of sites".

"We are assessing the sites chosen by the CFA and working through a number of scientific assessment tools -if deemed suitable, residents in those towns would be notified."

Mr Craig said this year township protection plans had been extended to include all towns in the shire north of the Princes Highway and many towns south of the highway.