Fire safety schedules
Fire safety schedules list the services installed and the standard they need to achieve. A fire safety schedule can be issued:
• by the local Council or an accredited certifier
• by the local Council with a fire safety order
• by the local Council in some cases with a development consent, such as for a change of use in an existing building.
A fire safety schedule is only applicable if any of the above occurred after 1988.
You can obtain a copy of the latest fire safety schedule from the local Council.
Fire safety certification
For new or altered buildings, the first certificate issued with an Occupation Certificate is called a fire safety certificate, this must be furnished for each new or altered fire safety service installed in the building.
At least once within every 12 months after a fire safety certificate is completed an annual fire safety statement must be supplied to the local Council certifying that a qualified person has inspected the building and found that fire-safety measures meet the relevant standards of installation.
For existing buildings, every year, within 12 months of the date of the previous annual fire safety statement the owner of a building must submit an annual fire safety statement to the local Council certifying that each of the measures listed in the most recent fire safety schedule are capable of operating to the standards of installation.
Penalties
It is an offence to fail to provide the statement on or before the annual due date. Substantial and continuing weekly penalty notices apply for this offence:
• 1 week late $1000
• 2 weeks late an additional $2000
• 3 weeks late an additional $3000
• 4 weeks late an additional $4000
Although it is not required to do so by law, the local Council may send a courtesy reminder letter to the owner of affected premises care of the address provided for rates and notices. However, the local Council accepts no responsibility for any reliance upon it and the legal responsibility for providing the statement when due rests with the owner of the premises.
Failure to submit an annual fire safety statement could also lead to legal proceedings in the Land and Environment Court, where the maximum penalty for a breach is $110,000.
Fire Safety Inspections
Authorized local Council building officers can inspect premises thought to be at risk. Fire safety inspections do not involve domestic single dwellings (class 1a type buildings).
The local Council’s officers may conduct the inspection at any time. They have legislative power to enter and inspect premises and must carry a photographic identification that must be produced on request.
Fire safety orders
The local Council can issue fire safety orders to building owners, directing them to undertake improvements. The order will list and specify the reasons for issuing the order, what needs to be done and a deadline. The building owner is responsible for ensuring the order is complied with, while tenants may have certain legal obligations under various lease/contract arrangements.
Beforehand, the local Council will issue a "notice of intention" to give an order. The owner can then discuss the terms of the proposed order with the local Council. The owner can be represented by a legal practitioner or an agent. The owner has 14 days from the date in which the notice of intention was issued to indicate that they wish to make representations to the local Council. Any request for representation must be writing.
An order may demand safer fire exits, appropriate fire-safety equipment or proper fire-resistive construction. The cost of improvements and their effect on a building's heritage status will be taken into account. The local Council will give the owner a reasonable amount of time to comply with the order, depending on the complexity of the improvements. The deadlines may be set in stages.
Anyone receiving an order has a right to appeal or challenge the order or a specified part of the order within 28 days to the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales.
Any applications to have the compliance period extended must be supported by contributory reasons or evidence of hardship. The application must also put forward a works proposal which sets out how and when the outstanding works are to be complied with.
Complying with an order
The local Council recommends you hire a suitably qualified person to review the order and oversee the works. You or your consultant should arrange to meet regularly with the local Council officer.
A local Council officer will inspect the completed work and any certificates that state work complies with the order. The local Council will then issue a letter confirming the owner has complied with the order. The building is then added to the local Council's computer network and an annual fire safety statement will be required.
The local Council will also issue a compliance cost notice. The notice allows the local Council to recover some of the costs with formulating, monitoring and compliance actions taken with an order that has been issued under section 121B of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
Penalties
The local Council can take a building owner to court if an order is not carried out. If the local Council is successful in this legal application the court can issue a court order, which has serious implications for non-compliance.
The local Council can apply for legal costs and the court can impose substantial fines for ignoring an order.
The local Council can also issue penalty infringement notices for failure to comply with the terms of a fire safety order.
Reference: City of Sydney. Fire Safety. Retrieved from http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/business/regulations/health-and-safety/fire-safety. Accessed in 6/10/2017.