Building Compliance Inspections in the Northern Rivers

Owners cannot contract out of their responsibility to provide annual fire safety statements.  However, the maintenance of fire safety measures is sometimes included in the property’s lease agreement.  In this case, FIRE STOP can provide the maintenance records and Annual Condition Report to the tenant and/or owner to enable the Annual Fire Safety Statement to be issued by the building owner. 

If an owner has appointed an agent to manage the submission of their annual fire safety statements, it is still the owner’s responsibility to ensure a statement is provided. The agent also has a responsibility to fulfil their obligations to the owner. Should an annual statement not be provided on time, the PIN will be issued to the owner of the property.

All buildings, including Heritage-listed buildings, are required to have adequate fire protection. However, because of the sensitive nature of these buildings, there are special requirements that can be applied to assist in achieving a level of compliance while retaining the heritage value of the building.

The Heritage Council of NSW has a fire advisory panel that assists owners of heritage buildings with fire compliance issues.

All homeowners and occupiers should be aware that every dwelling house in NSW, both new and existing, must have a smoke detection and alarm system installed to activate the warning alarm in the event of a fire. On 25 February 2011, these same requirements were also introduced to require smoke alarms in caravans, campervans, and movable dwellings where people sleep.

Smoke from a home fire can be toxic, and the smoke detector’s alarm can assist in alerting yourself and your family of a fire and give time to escape from the building. It also should be noted that you do not smell smoke when you are asleep, and therefore a properly installed and maintained smoke alarm is very important for your safety and your family.

The general principle of smoke alarms is that they should be positioned to detect smoke before it reaches sleeping occupants. The sound emitted by the alarm is designed to wake occupants, giving them time to evacuate.

The number of alarms required will depend on the building size and layout. Thought should be given to the positioning of alarms to avoid the likelihood of nuisance alarms; Try to avoid locating them near kitchens or bathrooms as smoke alarms are extremely sensitive to moisture such as steam or vapours from kitchen activities.

Generally, smoke alarms must be located on or near the ceiling and in dwellings:

1. In any storey containing bedrooms. Between each part of the dwelling containing the bedroom and the remainder of the dwelling. Where bedrooms are served by a hallway, in that hallway
2. In any other storey not containing bedrooms

Further information on the requirements for smoke alarms and how to comply is available from NSW Fire Brigades or the Smoke Alarms Helpline on 1300 858 812.

• Ballina Shire Council – Fire Safety
• Lismore City Council – Fire Safety
• Clarence Valley Council – Fire Safety
• Tweed Shire Council – Fire Safety
• Byron Shire Council – Fire Safety
• Coffs Harbour City Council – Fire Safety

The NSW Government has introduced a penalty notice system to assist Councils in administering compliance with current fire safety regulations. As a result, building owners who are late in submitting their annual Fire Safety Certificates may receive a $1,000 fine in the first week after the Statement is due. The fine progressively increases for every week thereafter, up to a maximum of $4,000.

Council can also issue other penalties for offences, such as:

• Not displaying Fire Safety Certificates, Fire Safety Statements, or fire safety notices on-site
• Failure to maintain essential fire safety measures
• Interfere, obstruct, remove, or damage fire safety notices, fire doors, fire exits or paths of travel that lead to exits
• Failure to provide smoke alarms in any residential building in accordance with Smoke Alarms Regulation
• All offences can result in fines being issued on the spot, and at the same time, the property may also be subject to an Order being issued to resolve the matter which caused the offence

FIRE STOP recommends the following:

1. Forward a copy of Council’s AFSS request to our office.
2. Ensure the essential fire safety measures that are installed in the building are in an inspection schedule that allows for testing within three months of the expiry of the current AFSS.  This may require an adjustment of the current inspection schedule at your property.
3. Ensure that the fully completed and compliant annual fire safety statement provided by FIRE STOP is signed by the building owner and is submitted to the Council on time.
4. If any work is required to be carried out on the subject property that is likely to delay the ability to provide the annual fire safety statement on time, advise the Council in writing before the due date; Request an extension of time and state the reason for the delay and an anticipated date by which a statement will be provided. An extension does not change the due date of the AFSS the following year.
5. Advise the Council in writing of any changes to the property and/or agent’s details and subscribe to the Council’s reminder service (if they have one).

Baseline Data is the original Installation and/or Commissioning Certificates required for each Fire Safety measure inspected and maintained under AS1851-2012. Baseline Data should show the Fire Safety measure installed in the building, date it was installed, Australian Standard that it was installed to, and details of the service provider that completed the installation. It is recommended that the baseline data should be permanently recorded and be readily available. If you can obtain copies of the original Installation Certificates, FIRE STOP can keep these on file for you.

AS1851-2012: Amendment 1 (2016) requires FIRE STOP to report the non-availability of Baseline Data as a non-conformance; however, there is no longer the requirement to establish Baseline Data if it is not available.