The fire service will need to be more broadly consulted during building design following changes to building fire safety regulations in NSW.

And new rules will require fire safety measures to be assessed by accredited professionals, an approved template to be used when completing fire safety schedules and standards to be followed regarding fire safety maintenance.

Shortly before Christmas, the NSW Government released an amended regulation for fire safety under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.

Under the changes:

  • Building owners and developers will need to ensure that architects and engineers seek comment from the Fire Commissioner when developing performance solutions for commercial, multi-residential and public buildings (Class 2-9 buildings).
  • An approved template will need to be used when completing documents such as Fire Safety Schedules.
  • A new procedure will enable fire safety schedules to be reissued where the original schedule is lost or destroyed or where errors/omissions are discovered.
  • Building owners will need to ensure that fire safety measures are maintained according to either the requirements specified in applicable performance solutions or those specified in the Australian Standard for the routine service of fire protection systems and equipment (AS 1851 – 2012). This includes equipment and systems which are used for either the suppression and containment of fires and/or to help residents and occupants to evacuate if there is a fire.
  • Developers will need to engage the services of a new type of accredited fire safety practitioner who will assess the fire safety measures for the issuing of fire safety certificate. The practitioner will verify not only that the correct systems and equipment are installed but also that equipment is in proper working order and will perform as expected in a fire.

The changes form part of the NSW Government’s response to the final report (released in October 2021) of the Fire Safety Working Group which was established by the NSW Government to undertake broad consultation with industry to investigate ways to improve fire safety in buildings.

The changes also follow audit data and strata research which showed that fire safety systems were the second most common category of defect in residential apartment buildings behind waterproofing.

They respond to concerns that the working group uncovered during its investigations.

Regarding the requirement to use the aforementioned Australian standard when servicing fire protection systems and equipment, for example, research from the Fire Protection Association of Australia (FPAA) revealed that most of its members in fact use this standard already.

There was concern, however, that those who are not using the standard may not be performing the servicing to a suitable level and may be undercutting more reputable players within the fire servicing industry who use the standard.

Meanwhile, the creation of the new type of accredited fire safety practitioner (and the requirement for developers to use these) responds to a gap in previous regulation.

As things stand, fire safety systems in NSW need to be installed by a licenced installer and checked by the building surveyor to verify that they are in place and installed correctly as per the building approval. However, there is no requirement to verify that the equipment is actually in proper working order and will in fact do its job in a fire.

Under the changes, a new type of accredited fire safety practitioner will test and verify not only that systems and equipment are in place as per the building approval but also that the systems and equipment have been tested, are in property working order and will perform to expectations in a fire.

Finally, the mandated template for the fire safety schedule and the new mechanism to reissue the schedules in order to correct errors responds to concerns about a lack of consistency in the information that is being provided within the schedule and potentially inaccurate information remaining within the schedule.

A fire safety schedule is a list of fire safety measures which either currently exist within a building or are proposed to be installed in order to fulfill a fire safety requirement which is contained within the building approval.

Without a mandated template, there is concern about a lack of clarity of the information which needs to be provided, a lack of consistency about information provision and the possibility that information provided may be lacking.

Without a process to correct the schedules, meanwhile, there is concern that errors in the schedule which may be identified during maintenance or inspection are being ‘glossed over’ and are not being reflected via an amended schedule.

Acting NSW Fair Trading Commissioner John Tansey said the amended regulations were developed following consultation with industry groups such as fire practitioners, certifiers, strata and building managers, local government and regulators and the general public.

Tansey said the reforms would have significant benefits.

“The reforms have been designed to improve safety and reduce the risk of damage to property,” Tansey said.

“Further, it will also improve compliance with regulations covering the design, certification and maintenance of fire safety measures in buildings.

“Owners, and ultimately residents, also benefit by having fewer fire safety defects in their buildings.”

The reforms will be introduced in a staged manner to enable industry and property owners to familiarise themselves with the changes.

The Department of Customer Service expected to release plain English explanation of the changes in early 2023.

 

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