Owners of certain buildings are required to submit an Annual Fire Safety Statement to Council and Fire and Rescue every year certifying that each of the measures listed in the most recent Fire Safety Schedule are capable of operating to the standard no less than that listed in the Fire Safety Schedule. This obligation is specified in Clause 89 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 and is very important to ensure buildings are as safe as possible for occupants in the event of a fire. Council assists building owners to meet these statutory obligations by administering a program which:
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reminds building owners of their responsibilities.
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provides the latest Fire Safety Schedule
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assesses submitted statements.
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follows up with appropriate compliance action where building owners do not meet their obligations.
Annual Fire Safety Statements confirm fire safety measures installed in a building or on a property (such as fire hose reels, portable fire extinguishers and other fire safety equipment) are capable of performing to the required standard and the building complies with the Regulations in terms of fire exits.
Download the Annual Fire Safety Statement form(DOCX, 159KB) (effective from 1 September 2022).
Although it is not required to do so by law, Blacktown City Council endeavours to send a courtesy reminder letter to the building owners prior to the annual fire safety statement due date. This service assists building owners to arrange inspection by an accredited practitioner (fire safety) and to submit an annual fire safety statement by the due date. However, Blacktown City Council accepts no responsibility for any reliance upon this service and the sole legal responsibility for providing the annual fire safety statement by the due date rests with the owner of the premises.
Where the building owner receives the reminder letter via email, either directly or through their agent, it is their responsibility to ensure Council is notified of any changes (via email to fire.safety@blacktown.nsw.gov.au). Please note that changes made to your rates account will not automatically update our AFSS records.
A fire safety measure is any measure (including any item of equipment, form of construction or fire safety strategy) that is, or is proposed to be, implemented in a building to ensure the safety of persons using the building in the event of fire. These measures will vary from building to building and may include such items as; exit signs, portable fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, fire hydrants, evacuation plans etc. Owners of premises should be aware that any changes to the premises, such as a change in the type of tenancy, may require different fire safety measures and therefore a new fire safety schedule for the premises as a whole.
The fire safety measures installed on a property and their minimum standard of performance will be listed on the Fire Safety Schedule which was lodged as part of any building approval granted (such as a Construction Certificate or Complying Development Certificate) and confirmed with the Fire Safety Certificate provided with the Occupation Certificate.
A Fire Safety Schedule (FSS) lists the fire safety measures that are required to be installed and maintained within a building and to meet a minimum standard of performance. Any FSS issued after 1 August 2023, must use the standard template form(DOCX, 155KB) published by the NSW Government.
The installation of fire safety measures is confirmed by a Fire Safety Certificate, which is issued on behalf of a building owner when new building work is complete. This can be a completely new building or modifications to existing buildings.
The Fire Safety Certificate confirms that a properly qualified person has installed and checked the measures listed in the Fire Safety Schedule which verifies that the measures can perform to the minimum standard. Certificates must now use the Fire Safety Certificate template(DOCX, 155KB).
Under the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 it is the building owner’s responsibility to maintain each essential fire safety measure installed in the building premises. The fire safety measures are to be maintained whether the building is occupied or vacant.
Australian Standards require more regular maintenance inspections of your equipment. It may therefore be necessary to have certain fire safety measures inspected at intervals of less than 12 months as per Australian Standards in order to obtain a Fire Safety Statement annually.
While legislation requires building owners to submit a Fire Safety Statement to Council on an annual basis, some Fire Safety Schedules may list some fire safety measures as Critical fire safety measures. In these cases, the building owner is then required to lodge a Supplementary Fire Safety Statement at the interval prescribed on the Fire Safety Schedule for those particular measures.
Under the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 it is the building owner’s responsibility to ensure the annual fire safety statement is submitted to Council.
A copy of the statement is also required to be given to the Fire Commissioner (NSW Fire & Rescue) and another copy is prominently displayed in the building.
Please note than from 1 July 2023 NSW Fire & Rescue no longer accept AFSS submissions via email. Submissions to NSW Fire & Rescue must be made via their webpage. If you have any questions regarding the Fire & Rescue webpage, please contact the Fire Safety Branch Administration Unit on 02 9742 7434 or send a detailed email to firesafety@fire.nsw.gov.au
Significant costs are incurred by Council to administer this program. As these requirements apply only to owners of buildings with fire safety measures, it would be unreasonable to recover these costs from all ratepayers. Council has therefore adopted a set of fees associated with Annual Fire Safety Statement submissions which enable us to recover some of the costs associated with the program. A link to Council's most up to date Fees & Charges can be found here: Goods and Services Pricing Schedule
The required assessment and inspection of the fire safety measures must have been carried out within the period of three (3) months prior to the date on which the statement is issued. It is therefore important to be aware of the due date for submission of the statement to Council. Procedures should be put in place to have the required assessment and inspection, and any required repairs, carried out within this three (3) month period.
The choice of person to carry out the assessment or inspection is up to the owner of the building. A fire safety statement is issued by or on behalf of an owner of an existing building. The statement confirms that an accredited practitioner (fire safety) has inspected and verified the performance of each fire safety measure in the building.
An accredited practitioner (fire safety) can be found on the Fire Protection Association Australia webpage
In February 2023 changes were made to the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 enabling Council to reissue Fire Safety Schedules that contain errors or omissions or have been lost or destroyed without issuing a Fire Safety Order.
If the owner considers the current Fire Safety Schedule for the property is inaccurate and the original certifier is contactable, the owner should approach the certifier to confirm the correct requirements. If the documentation issued by the certifier contains errors or omissions, the owner will need to request that the certifier who issued the Fire Safety Schedule and Occupation Certificate provide written advice along with a recommended Fire Safety Schedule for the whole building. They will need to refer to the original certificate, certificate number and date of issue that the Fire Safety Schedule was issued under. The advice and recommended Fire Safety Schedule is required to be received by Council at fire.safety@blacktown.nsw.gov.au directly from the private certifier.
If the original certifier who issued the incorrect Fire Safety Schedule is not contactable or cannot provide this information, an inspection and assessment of the building will need to be undertaken by a Building Surveyor (Unrestricted) who is registered with NSW Fair Trading. Council has Fire Safety Officers who can also provide this service, fees apply. If the chosen provider is not a Council officer, written advice along with a recommended Fire Safety Schedule for the whole the building will need to be received from the registered Building Surveyor (Unrestricted) for review by Council. The advice and recommended Fire Safety Schedule is required to be received by Council at fire.safety@blacktown.nsw.gov.au directly from the registered Building Surveyor (Unrestricted).
Upon receipt of this information Blacktown City Council will review the information and consider reissuing the Fire Safety Schedule under Section 80A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021.
There are fees associated to the reissue of Fire Safety Schedule under Section 80A as significant costs are incurred by Council in reviewing submissions and reissuing a Fire Safety Schedule. As these requirements apply only to owners of buildings with fire safety measures, it would be unreasonable to recover these costs from all ratepayers. Council has therefore applied a set of fees associated with the reissue of Fire Safety Schedules. The fees are payable by the owner of the property. Please contact Council by email fire.safety@blacktown.nsw.gov.au for further information.
Failure to give Council an annual fire safety statement by the due date constitutes a separate offence for each week beyond that date for which the failure continues.
The serious nature of non-compliance with fire safety requirements is reflected by the substantial penalties provided for in the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021. Proceedings for such an offence may be taken before a Local Court where a maximum fine of $110,000 may be imposed, or Council may issue Penalty Notices which range from:
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$1,000 for the first week of the offence
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$2,000 for the second week of the offence
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$3,000 for the third week of the offence
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$4,000 per week for the fourth and subsequent weeks of the offence.
An incomplete statement may still attract at least a $1,000 Penalty Notice and failure to maintain an essential fire safety measure may attract an additional $6,000 Penalty Notice. In some circumstances, Council will issue one further notice in lieu of a Penalty Notice advising the building owner that the Annual Fire Safety Statement is overdue.
If you are aware that you will be unable to submit by the due date, you are encouraged to make contact via email to fire.safety@blacktown.nsw.gov.au at your earliest opportunity and include information as to the reason and expected completion date. Council is unlikely to consider poor compliance behaviour and proposed development type work as a satisfactory reason.
Further information on recent changes to fire safety legislation and accredited practitioner (fire safety) can be found on the NSW Planning & Environment website. An FAQ can also be found here
If you have any further questions, you can also contact Council by email fire.safety@blacktown.nsw.gov.au.
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