Firefighters in Tasmania will be granted a raft of new powers, including the ability to issue spot fines, under legislation which has cleared the state's Upper House.

Key points: Fire infringement notices would be "just like getting a speeding ticket"

Fire infringement notices would be "just like getting a speeding ticket" They would not necessarily be issued to first-time offenders

They would not necessarily be issued to first-time offenders Police Minister believes fewer small-scale fire offences will result

The bill from Legislative Councillor Mike Gaffney proposes giving senior firefighters the power to issue cautions and infringement notices for small-scale fire offences.

It also gives them the power to direct offenders to undergo a fire safety course known as Firesafe.

Mr Gaffney, the independent member for Mersey, said he envisaged the caution and course options would be used significantly more than the monetary infringement.

"I don't think all legislation has to be about punishment, I think legislation should be about learning, and that's why I've gone down the warning [path], the Firesafe course and then the penalty," he said.

"It will be a fine infringement notice which doesn't then have to go through the courts, it's just like getting a speeding ticket."

The legislation related to offences like lighting fires on total fire ban days and lighting a camp fire within three metres of a tree.

Mr Gaffney said infringements would be issued on a discretionary basis and stressed it would not apply to first-time offenders who had made an honest mistake.

"The people at the issuing officer level are going to say 'well, no other prior records of this happening before, fine', it will be on report, they probably won't act on it but if they do it two or three times they will act on it," he said.

The exact dollar figure is still unclear, but is expected to be within 5 to 10 per cent of the maximum penalty for each offence.

The legislation has taken almost four years of consultation to reach its current form, and is a rare example of a private member's bill from the state's Upper House.

State Government backs plan

Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Rene Hidding said the State Government would support the proposal.

"We saw in the lead up to the fire season just this year there were circumstances where somebody innocently thought they could tip some hot coals over the back fence and it actually started a fire than could have threatened all of Launceston," he said.

"The question in everybody's mind were the penalties or the penalty provisions, and how you actually apply those, were they actually appropriate for this day and age and on balance we've accepted that they're probably not."

After a busy fire season, Mr Hidding is confident these new powers will mean fewer small-scale fire offences next season.

"I'm confident that will occur. Legislation is often educative, and in this case if you are a landowner you wouldn't really want to be asked to go off and do some training," he said.

"Neither would you want an infringement notice with a financial penalty."

The support of the State Government means the legislation looks set to clear the Lower House.