Various entities associated with buildings have legal responsibilities to ensure compliance to the Building Fire Safety regulation 2008. A condensed snapshot of some of those responsibilities are listed below:

An occupier of a building must ensure that:

  • Nothing is to be placed on or remain within 2 meters of a final exit outside the building or in another place, on an evacuation route of the building.
  • A written fire and evacuation plan(FEP) is provided.
  • Reasonable steps are taken to obtain relevant approval documents.
  • The number of persons in the building at anytime is not more than the maximum number that may be accommodated.
  • A review of the FEP is carried out annually.
  • Evacuation Signs are displayed and appropriately located.
  • First response instructions are given and recorded.
  • Evacuation Coordinator instructions are given.
  • A record of maintenance is kept in the approved form for each fire safety installation.

A secondary occupier of a building must ensure that:

  • Their FEP is consistent with the buildings overall evacuation coordination procedures under the FEP for the managing entity of the building.
  • A review of the FEP is carried out annually.
  • Evacuation Signs are displayed and appropriately located.
  • First response instructions are given and recorded.
  • Evacuation Coordinator instructions are given.

A managing entity of a building must ensure that:

  • The FEP takes into account the evacuation procedures stated in the FEP for all parts of the building occupied by secondary occupiers.

A person maintaining prescribed fire safety installations must:

  • Carry out the maintenance in compliance with each current Australian Standard that is relevant to the maintenance of the installation.
  • When becoming aware or reasonably aware of a critical defect, give the occupier of the building a critical defect notice within the allocated time frame.