Fire Safety Certificates and Statements
As the owner of a building, you'll need to understand your obligations of fire safety to help prevent building fires and minimise their impact.
As the owner of a building that contains essential fire safety measures, it’s important to understand your obligations of fire safety to help prevent building fires and minimise their impact.
Every year the owner of a building or premises must provide us with a fire safety statement certifying that all fire safety measures are properly maintained and are in working order. A copy must also be provided to Fire and Rescue NSW and be prominently displayed within the building.
As a building owner, you’re required to ensure you use a competent fire safety practitioner to undertake the necessary assessments for a fire safety statement.
You can find out more, including the required annual statement template and supporting guidelines from the Department of Planning and Environment.
Completed annual fire safety statements need to lodged with us by email, post or in person at our Kiewa Street offices - 553 Kiewa Street, Albury NSW 2640. You’ll also need to provide a copy to Fire and Rescue NSW.
For new or altered buildings, a fire safety certificate must be provided to us after work has been completed, prior to issuing an occupation certificate. A copy must also be provided to Fire and Rescue NSW.
This certificate verifies the installation of each new or altered essential fire safety measure.
Within every year after the fire safety certificate has been completed, an annual fire safety statement must be provided to us.
You can find out more, including the required certificate template and supporting guidelines from the Department of Planning and Environment.
Fire safety schedules list the essential fire safety measures required to be installed and the standard they need to achieve. A schedule can be issued:
- By us or an accredited certifier in relation to a construction or complying development certificate
- By us with a fire safety order
- By us with a development consent, such as for a change of use in a building
These measures include installations, equipment or forms of construction that will protect occupants of a building in the event of fire or other emergencies. They can include:
- automatic fire detection and alarm systems
- automatic fire suppression systems, such as sprinkler systems
- emergency lighting and exit signs
- fire hose reels, fire hydrants and portable fire extinguishers
- fire doors and mechanical air-handling systems lightweight fire-resistant construction materials.
It’s important to be aware that it’s an offence to fail to provide an annual fire safety statement. Weekly penalty notices apply:
- 1 week late $500
- 2 weeks late an additional $1,000
- 3 weeks late an additional $1,500
- 4 weeks late an additional $2,000
Failure to submit an annual fire safety statement could also lead to legal proceedings in the Land and Environment Court, where the maximum penalty for a breach is $110,000.