Inspection and certification of fire safety systems installation

Overview

In 2017, Building Ministers authorised an assessment of the effectiveness of compliance and enforcement systems for the Australian building and construction industry. Recommendation 19 of the resulting Building Confidence Report (BCR) is that each each jurisdiction requires registered fire safety practitioners to design, install and certify the fire safety systems necessary in commercial buildings.

In response, the BCR Implementation Team within the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) Office is developing national model guidance to provide assistance to governments and industry, and to facilitate national consistency.

Why your views matter

BCR recommendation 19 and the installation, testing, certification and maintenance of fire safety systems impacts building occupant safety. The requirement to test, inspect, certify and maintain fire safety systems aims to:

• detect any observable non-compliance issues
• ensure that the systems are installed in accordance with the relevant approvals, plans and specifications of the design
• ensure the building is compliant with the NCC and applicable standards including any other relevant jurisdictional requirements
• ensure the building is suitable for occupation and use prior to an occupancy certificate being issued, and
• ensure that the building continues to operate as design through ongoing inspection and maintenance.

This discussion paper acknowledges the interdependencies associated with the BCR recommendations. It also reflects on those matters relating to recommendation 19 that have been addressed in response to other BCR recommendations. 

The paper explores the outstanding matters identified in recommendation 19. It does not cover fire system design matters such as fire brigade vehicular access as it is not considered to be a system requiring independent installation, testing and commissioning.

Stakeholder feedback on proposed minimum requirements for this recommendation is essential to informing the development of appropriate guidance for jurisdictions to consider.

What happens next

The BCR Implementation Team appreciates your feedback and will consider all responses received.

The responses will help refine and enhance the model guidance. Once the model guidance is finalised, it will be presented to the Board of the ABCB for its review and then to Building Ministers for consideration later this year.