Frequently Asked Questions
A Fire Safety Schedule is a list of fire safety measures contained within a building/property.
The Council is obligated to provide the owner of a building a copy of the fire safety schedule upon request, per the EP&A Act 2000.
The Fire Safety Schedule generated as part of the occupational certificate process upon the completion of CDC/DA.Typically the requrements of the schedule are provided by the PCA and confirmed by the completion of the final fire safety certificate.
Section 5 of an Annual fire safety statement requires the fire exits & paths of travel to fire exits to be inspected by accredited practitioner (Fire Safety).
The Following retrospective legislation applies to all Class 2 to 9 buildings:
Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021
Part 15 Section 109
Fire exits and fire exit doors
(1) A person must not place anything that may obstruct the free passage of persons in a fire exit area for a building.
(2) A person must not, without lawful excuse, interfere with or obstruct the following— (a) a fire exit door or the operation of a fire exit door for a building,
(b) the operation of a fire door providing access to a building’s fire exit.
(3) The owner of a building must ensure that—
(a) each fire exit area for the building is kept clear of anything that may obstruct the free passage of persons, and
(b) the operation of a fire exit door is not interfered with or obstructed, except with lawful excuse. (Lawful excuse is generally taken to be concessions provided within the Building code of Australia "BCA" for certain uses & classes of building. See BCA Section D2.21 for some exclusions. Typically the interpretation is determined by the PCA with a buildings consent)
(4) In this section—
fire exit area, for a building, means the following— (a) a fire exit for the building,(b) a path of travel leading to a fire exit for the building.
fire exit door, for a building, means a doorway or door that—
(a) serves as or forms part of a fire exit for the building, or
(b) is located in a path of travel leading to a fire exit for the building.
The Building Code of Australia (BCA) applies to all building granted a consent after 1994
Build Code Of Australia (BCA) Section D (Access and Egress)
D2.19 Doorways and doors
(b)A doorway serving as a required exit or forming part of a required exit
(ii)must not be fitted with a roller shutter or tilt-up door unless—
(A) it serves a Class 6, 7 or 8 building or part with a floor area not more than 200 m2; and
(B) the doorway is the only required exit from the building or part; and
(C) it is held in the open position while the building or part is lawfully occupied; and
(iii)must not be fitted with a sliding door unless—
(A) it leads directly to a road or open space; and
(B) the door is able to be opened manually under a force of not more than 110 N; and
(iv) if fitted with a door which is power-operated—
(A) it must be able to be opened manually under a force of not more than 110 N if there is a malfunction or failure of the power source; and
(B) if it leads directly to a road or open space it must open automatically if there is a power failure to the door or on the activation of a fire or smoke alarm anywhere in the fire compartment served by the door.
D2.20 Swinging doors
A swinging door in a required exit or forming part of a required exit—
(b) must swing in the direction of egress unless—
(i) it serves a building or part with a floor area not more than 200 m2, it is the only required exit from the building or part and it is fitted with a device for holding it in the open position
D2.21 Operation of latch
(a) A door in a required exit, forming part of a required exit or in the path of travel to a required exit must be readily openable without a key from the side that faces a person seeking egress, by—
(i) a single hand downward action on a single device which is located between 900 mm and 1.1 m from the floor
(A)be such that the hand of a person who cannot grip will not slip from the handle during the operation of the latch; and
(B) have a clearance between the handle and the back plate or door face at the centre grip section of the handle of not less than 35 mm and not more than 45 mm; or
(ii) a single hand pushing action on a single device which is located between 900 mm and 1.2 m from the floor; and
(iii) where the latch operation device referred to in (ii) is not located on the door leaf itself—
(A) manual controls to power-operated doors must be at least 25 mm wide, proud of the surrounding surface and located—
(aa) not less than 500 mm from an internal corner; and
(bb) for a hinged door, between 1 m and 2 m from the door leaf in any position; and
(cc) for a sliding door, within 2 m of the doorway and clear of a surface mounted door in the open position.
(b) The requirements of (a) do not apply to a door that—
(i) serves a vault, strong-room, sanitary compartment, or the like; or
(ii) serves only, or is within—
(C) a sole-occupancy unit with a floor area not more than 200 m2 in a Class 5, 6, 7 or 8 building
https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/editions/2019-a1/ncc-2019-volume-one-amendment-1/section-d-access-and-egress/section-d-access-and
Building Built prior to 1994 were likely subject to Ordinance 70. This still requires all required exits to be openable from the side of egress with out a key
In NSW under the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 all Class 2 to 9 buildings (All inhabitibal buildings excluding standalone houses know as class 1) are required to submit an Annual fire Safety Statement Annually to their local council.
The Legislation states this is the owners responsibility, however depending on the lease agreements or strata arrangement, the fire maintenance responsibility will sometimes be delegated to the tenant or a managing agent.
