New South Wales

Act:  Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Regulation:  Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulations 2021

Compliance Certificate:  Annual Fire Safety Statement  (AFSS)

Under the requirements of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulations 2021 , An Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS) is a statement issued by or on behalf of the owner of a building to the Local Council and the NSW Fire Brigade.

The AFSS certifies that all installed Essential Fire Safety Measures have been inspected, have been assessed by a Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety) (APFS) and was found, when it was assessed, to be capable of performing to a standard no less than that specified in the schedule, or to which the measure was originally designed and implemented, and the building has been inspected by a Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety) and was found, when it was inspected, to be in a condition that did not disclose any grounds for a prosecution under Part 15.

A person must not issue an annual fire safety statement unless the assessment and inspection have been carried out within the previous 3 months.

The owner of the building may choose a person to carry out the assessment or inspection.

Councils can impose fines for failing to submit an AFSS by the required due date and for each week thereafter until the AFSS is received.

ESSENTIAL FIRE SAFETY MEASURES TO BE MAINTAINED

The NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulations 2021 state that building owners are required to maintain the EFSM within their buildings regardless of floor area size or whether the building is occupied or vacant.

ADOPTION OF AS1851

Maintenance can be carried out using any version of AS1851, the requirements of a building performance solution, a determination made by a suitably qualified person or maintenance requirements specified by supplier or manufacturer.

Best practice dictates that maintenance, where possible, should be carried out to the most current version of AS1851, being the 2012 version, except where specified differently on the FSS or an impediment exists.

DEFINED ESSENTIAL FIRE SAFETY MEASURES

Under Section 79, Content of Fire Safety Schedules; A fire safety schedule must specify the current and proposed fire safety measures that must be implemented for the building, including statutory fire safety measures and other fire measures.

A fire safety schedule must deal with the whole of the building and not only the part of the building to which the development consent, construction certificate or fire safety order relates.

A fire safety schedule must specify and distinguish between the statutory fire safety measures that are currently implemented for the building, and proposed or required to be implemented for the building, and specify each critical fire safety measure and the intervals, of less than 12 months, at which a supplementary fire safety statement must be given to the council for each measure, and specify the minimum standard of performance for each fire safety measure in the schedule.

An essential fire safety measure is defined as any fire safety measure included in the fire safety schedule or within some other specific regulations. This included statutory fire safety measures, which are:

  1. Access panels, doors and hoppers to fireresisting shafts

  2. Automatic fail-safe devices

  3. Automatic fire detection and alarm systems

  4. Automatic fire suppression systems

  5. Emergency lifts

  6. Emergency lighting

  7. Emergency warning and intercommunication

  8. systems

  9. Exit signs

  10. Fire control centres and rooms

  11. Fire dampers

  12. Fire doors

  13. Fire hose reel systems

  14. Fire hydrant systems

  15. Fire seals protecting openings in fire-resisting

  16. components of the building

  17. Fire shutters

  18. Fire windows

  19. Lightweight construction

  20. Mechanical air handling systems

  21. Perimeter vehicle access for emergency vehicles

  22. Portable fire extinguishers

  23. Safety curtains in proscenium openings

  24. Smoke alarms and heat alarms

  25. Smoke and heat vents

  26. Smoke dampers

  27. Smoke detectors and heat detectors

  28. Smoke doors

  29. Solid core doors

  30. Standby power systems

  31. Wall-wetting sprinkler and drencher systems

  32. Warning and operational signs