Annual fire safety statements

All building owners and property managers should be aware of their responsibilities for the maintenance of essential fire safety measures in their buildings. Owners of a building must maintain each essential fire safety measure in that building in accordance with relevant standards of performance.

It is important that owners and occupiers realise that maintenance of their fire safety systems is not just a moral obligation or their duty of care, but more importantly is a legislative requirement. Critical reasons for maintenance are:

  • to ensure the safety of building occupants to continuously preserve the function and performance of the fire safety systems and equipment
  • to maintain and protect assets
  • to minimise business interruption and disruption to activities/operations in the event of fire

The essential fire safety measures are required to be maintained at specific intervals throughout the year, usually conducted by a contractor. Each contractor should give the owner certification of the essential fire safety measures, listing the specific measure/s they have serviced. Once you have obtained and gathered all this together, you are then required to keep these records.

Council will send a reminder letter with a pro-forma annual fire safety statement for the subject premises each year. An administration fee will be charged as part of this service and an invoice will be sent out with the annual fire safety statement reminder. Where an annual fire safety statement cannot be submitted due to legitimate unanticipated circumstances, Council will consider an application to extend the due date for the statement submission.

Supplementary fire safety statements

A supplementary fire safety statement is a statement issued by the owner of a building to the effect that each critical fire safety measure, required to be certified at intervals of less than 12 months, specified in the statement has been assessed by a properly qualified person and was found, when it was assessed, to be capable of performing to at least the standard required by the current fire safety schedule for the building for which the statement is issued.

Penalty provisions apply

Failure to comply with these requirements is an offence and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 provides for fixed penalties and Council may issue a penalty infringement notice (on the spot fine), up to $2000, for breaches including if the owner fails to:

  • display the final safety certificate
  • give the annual fire safety statement within one week
  • give the annual fire safety statement within two weeks
  • give the annual fire safety statement within three weeks
  • give the annual fire safety statement within four weeks or more
  • display annual fire safety statement
  • maintain essential fire safety measures

Pro-forma annual fire safety statement

Council can provide a pro-forma annual fire safety statement, specific to your premises, for you to complete and sign to submit to Council. If you wish to obtain a pro-forma annual fire safety statement, please contact our Customer Service Centre on 02 4921 0333.

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