1. How to find an Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety)?
Accredited Practitioner Fire Safety (APFS) are suitably qualified individuals. They must have a current Accreditation Number. To find an APFS near you; go to the FPA Australia 'Find a Provider of Choice' page.
2. When is my Annual Fire Safety Statement due?
The due date for the submission of your AFSS is 12 months from the date the final fire safety certificate for the building or the last AFSS was issued (the date signed in Section 8) – whichever is more recent.
3. How do I contest a Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN)?
To have a Fine reviewed, please contact Revenue NSW via this link. https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/fines-and-fees/request-a-review
(Please note, the PIN review request must be made via Revenue NSW and not directly to Council.)
If you can't find the answer to your question, please contact Council via council@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
4. What Buildings require an AFSS
All building owners and property managers must maintain essential fire safety measures in their buildings, as outlined in the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021.
There is no requirement to submit an annual fire safety statement for single dwelling houses classified as 1a under the Building Code of Australia. Typically, Class 1a refers to single dwelling houses, terraces or villa houses. If in doubt, ask.
Clause 81 of the Regulation requires the owner of a building maintain each essential fire safety measure in that building in accordance with relevant standards of performance. The standards of performance are found in the Fire Safety Schedule for the building. The Fire Safety Schedule for the building forms part of either a change of use development consent, construction certificate, complying development certificate or fire safety order.
This clause places ultimate responsibility for the maintenance of fire safety measures on the building owner.
Apart from legal requirements, other vital reasons for maintaining fire safety measures include:
- ensuring safety of building occupants;
- preserving the function and performance of fire safety systems and equipment;
- maintaining and protect assets – proper preventative maintenance can save money; and
- avoiding business interruption and disruption to activities/operations in the event of fire.
An annual fire safety statement is a statement issued by or on behalf of the owner of a building to the effect that:
a) each essential fire safety measure specified in the statement has been assessed by a properly qualified person and was found, when it was assessed, to be capable of performing:
i) in the case of an essential fire safety measure applicable by virtue of a fire safety schedule, to a standard no less than that specified in the schedule, or
ii) in the case of an essential fire safety measure applicable otherwise than by virtue of a fire safety schedule, to a standard no less than that to which the measure was originally designed and implemented, and
b) the building has been inspected by a properly qualified person and was found, when it was inspected, to be in a condition that did not disclose any grounds for a prosecution under Part 15 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021.
Generally, what will happen every year is that you may have several different contractors attending the premises at specific intervals throughout the year to provide a maintenance service for several different fire safety measures.
Each contractor should then give you some type of certification in relation to the assessment they have carried out, listing the specific measure/s they have serviced and referencing a particular Standard of Performance that the installed measure is achieving. Once you have obtained and gathered all this together, you are then required to consolidate all this information and transfer it collectively onto one document known as an annual fire safety statement.
An annual fire safety statement for a building must certify all essential fire safety measures on the buildings premises.
It must be submitted within 12 months after the date on which the previous statement or the final fire safety certificate was given, and it must be lodged within 3 months of the date of inspection and assessment. The statement must be submitted to Council and the Commissioner of NSW Fire and Rescue.
What will happen if I do not submit an annual fire safety statement?
Council treats fire safety very seriously. Where required under legislation to provide a statement, the owner is responsible to ensure lodgement, regardless as to whether the property is tenanted or vacant.
Please consider the following:
- Incomplete or late fire safety statements may result in a fine.
- If the fire safety statement is not completed satisfactorily you will be required to submit a corrected statement.
- Failure to provide an annual/supplementary fire safety statement can result in on-the-spot fines ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 per week.
- If a fine is issued, it will not excuse you from the need to submit an annual fire safety statement.
- If you fail to meet your statutory requirements, Council may take legal action against you and/or continue to issue on-the-spot fines. "Failure to maintain essential fire safety measures" (which is a separate offence) can also result in a fine. The penalty in this instance is from $3,000 to $6,000 and Council will impose this as necessary.
- The legislation does not permit Council to issue an extension of time to submit an annual fire safety statement.
Vacant buildings
All fire safety measures listed on the annual fire safety statement and fire safety schedule including egress paths and exits must be maintained at all times even when the building becomes vacant.
Vacant Buildings should also be the subject of regular security checks and ongoing maintenance to prevent the premises falling into disrepair and possible unauthorised access by squatters and vandals. Maintaining the fire safety measures and ongoing maintenance will promote the safety of persons who are nearby the premises or who access vacant buildings (e.g. security, Fire and Rescue NSW, police, building owners, Council staff, real estate agents, etc.).
New buildings
A fire safety schedule will be issued with the construction certificate listing the essential fire safety measures that are to be installed in the building. A fire safety certificate must be submitted prior to the issue of an occupation certificate. This certifies that each of the specified essential fire safety measures are capable of operating to the performance listed in the fire safety schedule. Subsequently, an annual fire safety statement must then be submitted to Council and Fire and Rescue NSW as well as prominently displayed within the building every year.
Old buildings
Old buildings and buildings built before current Building Code of Australia standards are not exempt from fire safety requirements, and it is the obligation of the owner to ensure that sufficient fire safety measures are in place.
It is necessary for owners to work with Council to achieve acceptable fire safety compliance and to undertake voluntary upgrades as needed by engaging the services of private fire safety consultants and engineers. Where current BCA compliance is not achievable without substantial demolition and/or redevelopment, performance solutions may be proposed to Council by accredited professionals who have undertaken a detailed assessment of the building.
Owners of heritage buildings can contact the Heritage Council of NSW for guidance with fire safety compliance.
5. The annual fire safety statement due date does not match my contractor's maintenance cycle?
Your contractor may need to attend your property at different times of the year, as certain fire safety measures require a greater frequency of testing. However, you are only required to submit an annual fire safety statement to Council once a year. Please note that for a statement to be valid the assessment/inspection date of all fire safety measures in the building and the date when the statement is issued i.e., signed, must not be more than 3 months apart. If they are the submission is considered invalid under the regulations and the measures will need to be reassessed/reinspected and a new Statement issued.
6. What happens if I have multiple contractors servicing my fire safety measures?
On larger more complex buildings you may have multiple contractors supplying you with certificates. These certificates must be combined into one annual fire safety statement and submitted to Council. You may attach the individual certificates to the back of the statement for Council’s records. NB: Council won’t accept the submission of an individual certificate unless it is a final or interim fire safety certificate – otherwise it must all be completed on one annual fire safety statement.
7. My contractor has sent me a test report / invoice that does not look the same as the annual fire safety statement form - will you accept this?
No. A test report, invoice or similar paperwork is not a substitute for an annual fire safety statement and will not be accepted by Council. What you should seek from your contractor is correspondence which specifically lists what fire safety measures they’ve tested/inspected, together with what standard of performance those measures have been tested/inspected against. This is the kind of supporting documentation you will need to obtain to assist in the proper preparation and submission of an annual fire safety statement.
8. What is a standard of performance?
This is something that the operational capacity and effectiveness of a fire safety measure is measured against and is usually a standard that specifies how a fire safety measure is to perform/be installed. This must be included in the annual fire safety statement.
9. What is a fire safety schedule?
A fire safety schedule is a document specifying the fire safety measures installed or to be installed in a building and can form part of any of the following:
- A Development Consent for change of use
- A Complying Development Certificate
- A Construction Certificate
- An Occupation Certificate
- A Fire Safety Order
10. Are annual fire safety statements compulsory?
The preparation and submission of an Annual Fire Safety Statement is mandatory for all buildings issued with either a Development Consent for a change of use, complying development certificate, construction certificate or Fire Safety Order on or after 1 July 1988.
11. I am the owner of one (1) unit in a strata titled property. How do I manage the annual fire safety statement process?
In a strata titled property, one annual fire safety statement covering the entire building must be submitted to Council. It is the agent responsible for managing the strata or the executive committee's/body corporate's responsibility to arrange the assessment and submission of an annual fire safety statement, not the individual lot/unit owners.