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AFSS compliance checklist

The steps to keep a NSW building's annual fire safety statement on time and valid, in order.

Before the due date

Confirm the building's AFSS anniversary from the date on last year's statement. Locate a current copy of the fire safety schedule so you know exactly which essential fire safety measures have to be assessed. Book an accredited practitioner (fire safety) whose accreditation covers every measure on that schedule, and book early: the assessment must be carried out within the three months before the statement is issued.

During the assessment

The practitioner inspects each measure against its scheduled standard. Record any measure that fails and arrange rectification straight away, because the statement can only certify measures that actually perform. Where rectification needs an owners corporation decision or spend, start that process without waiting, so a defect does not turn into a missed deadline.

Signing and lodging

Have the owner, or a nominated agent who was not involved in the assessment, complete and sign the owner's declaration. Lodge the signed statement with the local council and with Fire and Rescue NSW, promptly and ideally within about a week of signing. Display a copy of the current statement and the fire safety schedule prominently in the building. Record the lodgement date and next year's due date immediately.

Quick self-check

Do you know the due date? Do you hold the current schedule? Is your practitioner accredited for every measure on it? Was the assessment inside the three-month window? Did someone other than the assessor sign the declaration? Has the statement gone to both the council and Fire and Rescue NSW? If any answer is no, that is the item to fix first.

Sources

• Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 (NSW).
• NSW Planning Portal, fire safety certification.
• Fire and Rescue NSW, annual fire safety statements.

This is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Confirm current requirements and figures with your council and the FPAA register.

More guides

• What does an annual fire safety statement cost?What drives the price of the annual assessment and statement, and why a single quote figure is misleading.
• New to owning a building? Your first AFSSIf you have just taken on an existing building, here is what the annual fire safety obligation means for you.