The annual fire safety statement: what strata committees need to know

Fire doors, exit signs, emergency lighting, alarms and sprinklers are the parts of a building everyone hopes never to need. Because they sit idle most of the time, a fault can go unnoticed for months unless someone checks. In New South Wales, the annual fire safety statement is the check that confirms, once a year, that these measures still work. For most strata buildings, the owners corporation is responsible for it.

This article explains what the statement is, what the law requires, what changed on 13 February 2026, where buildings commonly come unstuck, and how the work is usually split between the committee, the strata manager and contractors.

What the annual fire safety statement is

The rules sit in the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021. Under section 88, an annual fire safety statement is a statement issued by or on behalf of the building owner. It confirms that each essential fire safety measure in the building has been assessed by an accredited practitioner (fire safety) and found capable of performing to at least the standard set out in the building's fire safety schedule.

Two terms do most of the work here:

• Essential fire safety measures are the fire protection systems and features a building relies on. Typical examples in an apartment building are fire doors and their closers and seals, exit signs, emergency lighting, smoke detection and alarm systems, fire hydrants and hose reels, sprinklers, portable extinguishers, and the fire-rated walls, floors and sealed penetrations that keep a fire contained.
• The fire safety schedule is the building's list of those measures and the standard each must meet. It is issued as part of the building's approvals, so each building's list is different.

What the regulation requires

Most of the duties fall on the building owner. In a strata scheme that means the owners corporation. The NSW Government's guidance for strata committees states this directly, and notes that most strata buildings will need a statement each year.

• Annual timing. The statement must be given to council within 12 months of the previous one. If a fire safety certificate was issued within the previous 12 months, the 12 months runs from that certificate instead.
• A recent assessment. The assessment and inspection must happen within the three months before the statement is issued, according to Fire Protection Association Australia's guide for NSW. That means you can't run the inspection early and file it late.
• An accredited assessor. Only an accredited practitioner (fire safety) can carry out the assessment, as the Building Commission NSW confirms.
• Three copies. Under section 89, the statement goes to council, a copy goes to the Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW (lodged through FRNSW's online form), and a copy is displayed prominently in the building, together with the current fire safety schedule.
• Ongoing maintenance. Section 81 requires the owner to maintain every essential fire safety measure. The statement confirms the result once a year, and the maintenance has to happen in between.

Some buildings also have critical fire safety measures that need assessment more often than once a year. These are certified through supplementary fire safety statements. If your schedule lists any, they have their own deadlines.

What changed on 13 February 2026

Since 13 February 2026, owners of Class 1b and Class 2 to 9 buildings, which includes residential apartment buildings, must have essential fire safety measures inspected, tested and maintained in line with AS 1851-2012, Routine service of fire protection systems and equipment, where the standard covers that measure. Owners must also keep maintenance records in the form AS 1851 prescribes, for at least seven years, and make them available for inspection. The Building Commission sets this out in its overview of the fire safety reforms.

The annual statement process itself has not changed. What has changed is that the routine servicing behind it now follows one nationally recognised standard, and the paperwork has to show it. The NSW strata guidance specifically notes that contractors should leave physical logbooks on site, and that electronic records alone are not enough.

Penalties

These obligations carry real penalties. Councils issue penalty notices for late statements. Penrith City Council, for example, lists notices that rise each week a statement is overdue, from $1,000 in the first week to $4,000 for each week from the fourth onward. The Building Commission lists penalties of up to $33,000 for individuals and $66,000 for corporations for failing to maintain measures in line with the new requirements. Those costs come out of the owners corporation's funds.

Why the rules work this way

Fire safety measures are built to sit unused, often for years. A smoke detector that has failed doesn't show it. A fire door that has been wedged open for ventilation all summer looks normal. A pipe penetration cut through a fire-rated wall during an apartment renovation is hidden behind plasterboard within a day. So the regulation doesn't rely on someone noticing a problem. It requires a qualified person to physically check each measure against a known standard, on a fixed cycle, and to leave a public record of the result. The display requirement has a purpose too. It tells residents, visitors and firefighters that the building's protection has been checked recently.

This follows the same principle as the National Construction Code: set a clear minimum, then check against it, because the consequences of getting it wrong are too serious to leave to good intentions.

Where buildings commonly come unstuck

In our experience, the same problems come up again and again:

• Wedged or damaged fire doors. Doors propped open with a wedge, closers removed because a door was "too heavy", or damaged seals. These are the most common failures, and among the most dangerous, because a fire door only works when it is shut.
• Unsealed penetrations from renovations. New air-conditioning lines, data cabling or plumbing cut through fire-rated walls and ceilings and never properly sealed. Owners often don't realise their renovation affected common property fire separation. See our post on renovating a strata apartment.
• Obstructed exits. Bikes, boxes and furniture stored in stairwells and paths of travel.
• Missing servicing records. The maintenance was done, but the logbook can't be found, or it doesn't match what AS 1851 now requires.
• The last-minute scramble. The due date arrives, the inspection turns up defects, and repairs have to be rushed or the statement goes in late. An assessment run early in the cycle leaves time to fix things properly.
• A schedule that no longer matches the building. Alterations over the years can leave the fire safety schedule out of step with what is actually installed. Raise it with your accredited practitioner rather than let it drift.

Who does what

• The owners corporation is responsible. The legal duty to maintain the measures and issue the statement belongs to the owners corporation. The committee makes the decisions and approves the spending.
• The strata manager coordinates. Usually they track the due date, engage the accredited practitioner and the fire services contractor, and lodge the paperwork.
• We support both. We keep the building's fire safety schedule and records organised, put routine servicing into the maintenance schedule so it isn't forgotten between statements, and fix defects found at inspection properly: doors re-hung and closers replaced, penetrations sealed with tested systems, and records updated to match. We also help committees ask the right questions of fire services contractors before signing an agreement. See our post on what to ask a maintenance contractor.

Questions worth asking at your next committee meeting

1. When is our next statement due, and when is the inspection booked?
2. Who is our accredited practitioner (fire safety), and is their accreditation current?
3. Is our fire services contractor servicing to AS 1851-2012, and are logbooks kept on site?
4. Where are the last seven years of maintenance records?
5. Were defects found at the last inspection, and have they all been fixed?
6. Have any owner renovations involved penetrations through fire-rated walls or ceilings, and were they checked?
7. Are the statement and the fire safety schedule displayed in the building?

How we can help

The aim is that your annual statement becomes routine: issued on time, backed by real records, and with no defects left open from the previous year. If your committee wants help organising the schedule, the records or the repairs, get in touch.

Sources

• Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021, NSW Legislation
• EP&A (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021: new clause references, NSW Department of Planning
• Responsibilities of building owners under AS 1851-2012, Building Commission NSW
• Reforms to building fire safety regulation, Building Commission NSW
• Safety rules for strata common property, NSW Government
• Lodge a fire safety statement, Fire and Rescue NSW
• GPG-04 Fire Safety Statements, NSW version 3.0, Fire Protection Association Australia
• Annual Fire Safety Statement Program, Penrith City Council

This article is general information, not legal or fire engineering advice. Your building's obligations depend on its approvals, its fire safety schedule and its classification, so confirm them with your accredited practitioner (fire safety), your council and your strata manager. Full website disclaimer