Wildfires are a key disturbance in most of the world’s terrestrial ecosystems. Moreover, warming and drying climates are increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires and lengthening fire seasons. The increasing incidence, severity and intensity of wildfire poses a threat to global freshwater biodiversity by degrading or destroying habitat, polluting freshwater systems, modification of natural flows, and potentially facilitating species invasions. The effects of wildfire on stream biotic and abiotic components reported in the literature vary widely, and I propose that inconsistencies of findings arise because they do not account for the multiple-mechanisms and stressors through which fires affect streams, and because of the rarity of studies that are able to implement a BACI study design. Using a unique and existing 28-year time series dataset incorporating pre-fire baseline data and unburnt control sites in a BACI-type study design, this presentation explores how water quality and habitat variables changed following the 2003 bushfires in south-eastern Australia, and how long these changes were detectable. The insights gained from this study provide an improved understanding of the importance of local and catchment scale disturbances from fires, and thus may improve management of freshwater systems following bushfires.