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How to prepare an Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS) in NSW

Last reviewed 25 October 2026 · For building owners, agents and accredited practitioners (fire safety)

An annual fire safety statement is the building owner's yearly declaration that an accredited practitioner (fire safety) has assessed every essential fire safety measure in the building and inspected its exits. This guide walks through who does what, the timing rules, the form and the lodgement, with a checklist at the end.

Who is responsible

The requirements sit in Part 12 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 (the Regulation). They apply to owners of buildings that have essential fire safety measures. In practice these are usually buildings with a fire safety schedule (or, for some older buildings, an essential services list attached to an old approval or order), such as commercial, industrial, multi-unit residential and institutional buildings, but not houses.

• The owner issues the statement. The owner can be an individual, a company or an owners corporation. An agent can issue it on the owner's behalf if they have prior authority, for example a strata manager or an authorised employee. Where there are several owners, one can issue it if the others authorise them as their agent.
• The owner maintains the measures. Under section 81 the owner must keep each measure performing to the standard in the fire safety schedule, or, if it is not on a schedule, to the standard it was designed to. An agent cannot be made responsible for this.
• The practitioner does not sign the declaration. The person who signs the declaration must not be an accredited practitioner who assessed a measure or inspected the exits for that statement, or that practitioner's employer, employee or direct associate.

When it is due

• Every year. The Regulation requires an annual fire safety statement each year. Councils track a due date for each building, usually 12 months after the previous statement. Some councils, such as North Sydney, say they do not send reminders and cannot change the due date, so check the date with your council.
• New buildings. After new building work, the owner issues a fire safety certificate. Councils such as Ku-ring-gai and North Sydney treat the first annual statement as due within 12 months of that certificate.
• The 3-month window. The dates on which the measures were assessed and the exits inspected must fall within the 3 months before the date the annual statement is issued. Plan the site visit so the statement can be signed and lodged before the due date.

What the assessment involves

The owner's declaration (section 8 of the form) covers two things:

1. Each essential fire safety measure has been assessed by an accredited practitioner (fire safety) as capable of performing to a standard no less than the one in the fire safety schedule. If the measure applies to the building but is not on the schedule, the benchmark is the standard it was originally designed and implemented to.
2. The exits have been inspected by an accredited practitioner, and nothing found gave grounds for a prosecution under Part 15 of the Regulation. The inspection covers fire safety notices, fire exits, fire exit doors and the paths of travel to fire exits.

NSW Planning's FAQ notes that the assessment necessarily involves inspecting the measures in person at the property. Start from the building's current fire safety schedule. It lists each measure and its minimum standard of performance, and the statement must be accompanied by it.

How AS 1851-2012 maintenance fits in

From 13 February 2026, owners of class 1b and class 2 to 9 buildings in NSW must have their essential fire safety measures inspected, tested and maintained in accordance with AS 1851-2012, or to the standard in a relevant performance solution, where the standard covers the activity. Records must be kept for at least 7 years. Building Commission NSW says this routine servicing is separate from the AFSS. Not every AS 1851 item has to be completed before the statement is lodged, but the practitioner may use the AS 1851 results to inform their assessment. See AS 1851 routine service frequencies at a glance.

The accredited practitioner's role

• Accreditation. Only a person accredited under a NSW-approved industry scheme can do the work that scheme covers. The Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme (FPAS), run by Fire Protection Association Australia, was approved on 1 July 2020. It covers assessing essential fire safety measures for annual and supplementary statements, among other functions. Owners should check the practitioner's accreditation on the scheme's register rather than relying on a practitioner's own statement.
• Scope. Accreditation is held per function. A practitioner accredited for one measure may not be accredited to inspect the exits, so one building may need more than one practitioner.
• On the form. Each practitioner's accreditation number goes against the measures they assessed (section 4) and the parts of the building they inspected (section 5). Each practitioner signs section 6, or gives the owner a separate signed document covering their assessment.
• Work outside the scheme. Some work is not covered by a scheme, such as assessing certain non-statutory measures, and may be done by a person the owner deems competent. Separately, if no accredited person is reasonably available, the owner can ask Building Commission NSW for authorisation to appoint a person they deem competent. The authorisation must come before the appointment.
• Routine servicing is different. Accreditation is not required to install, maintain, test or service measures. Accreditation is required to assess them for the statement.

The form

A fire safety statement must be in the form approved by the Planning Secretary. Version 4 of the template has been required since 1 September 2022 and is published on the NSW Planning fire safety certification page. Its sections are:

1. Type of statement: annual or supplementary
2. Description of the building or part
3. Owner's name and address
4. Fire safety measures: each measure, its minimum standard of performance, the date(s) assessed and the practitioner's accreditation number
5. Inspection of fire exits and paths of travel (annual statements only)
6. Name, contact details and signature of each accredited practitioner
7. Details of the person making the declaration
8. Annual statement declaration
9. Supplementary statement declaration

New fire safety schedules have had to use the NSW Government's standard schedule template since 1 August 2023. If a building's schedule is missing or has errors, the owner can ask the council to reissue or correct it under section 80A.

Lodging and displaying it

• Council. Give a copy to the local council. Each council sets its own way of lodging, so check its website.
• Fire and Rescue NSW. Give a copy, with the current fire safety schedule, to the Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW as soon as practicable after the statement is issued (section 89 for annual statements, section 91 for supplementary statements). FRNSW takes statements through its online Lodge a fire safety statement form and charges nothing.
• In the building. As soon as practicable after issuing the statement, display a copy with the current fire safety schedule in a prominent position in the building.

Supplementary statements for critical measures

A critical fire safety measure is one the fire safety schedule says must be assessed at intervals of less than 12 months. It is also an essential measure, so it still appears on the annual statement.

• Issue a supplementary statement at each interval shown on the schedule, using the same form and the section 9 declaration.
• The assessment dates must fall within the 1 month before the supplementary statement is issued.
• Lodge it with the council and Fire and Rescue NSW, with the current schedule, and display it in the building, the same way as the annual statement.

Do not confuse the two uses of "critical". A critical fire safety measure is a Regulation term about how often a measure is assessed. A critical defect is an AS 1851-2012 term about a fault found during servicing. See Critical vs non-critical defects.

Late statements and penalties

• Not giving the council an annual fire safety statement by the due date is an offence. Councils can issue weekly penalty notices. Wollongong and North Sydney councils publish this scale: $1,000 at one week overdue, $2,000 at two weeks, $3,000 at three weeks and $4,000 at four weeks or more. Amounts can change, so check with your council.
• Building Commission NSW advises owners to tell the council immediately if critical defects found during maintenance may delay the statement, and to work with the council on a solution.
• Not maintaining essential measures under sections 81 and 81A carries separate penalties. Building Commission NSW cites fines of $33,000 for individuals and $66,000 for corporations.

Step by step

1. Get the paperwork. Collect the current fire safety schedule, the last annual statement, any supplementary statement dates and the AS 1851 logbooks or yearly condition report. Confirm the due date with the council.
2. Confirm who will declare. Identify the owner, or the agent and their written authority, and check they are independent of the practitioner(s).
3. Match accreditation to the schedule. Check each practitioner's accreditation on the register covers every measure on the schedule and the exit inspection.
4. Book the site visit. Schedule it inside the 3-month window, leaving time to fix defects before the due date.
5. Assess on site. Assess each measure against its standard of performance on the schedule. Inspect the exits, fire exit doors, paths of travel and fire safety notices. Record dates, results, photos and defects.
6. Deal with defects. Report critical defects to the owner straight away. A measure that is not capable of performing to its standard needs to be fixed and reassessed before the statement can cover it. If that will push the statement past its due date, talk to the council early.
7. Complete the form. Use the unaltered version 4 template. List every measure with its standard, assessment date(s) and accreditation number. The practitioner signs section 6, or provides separate signed documents, and the owner or agent signs section 8.
8. Lodge and display. Send it with the current schedule to the council and to Fire and Rescue NSW, and display both in the building.
9. Diary the next dates. Note the next annual due date, any supplementary statements and the AS 1851 service intervals.

Checklist

• Current fire safety schedule in hand, and it matches what is installed
• Council due date confirmed
• Owner or authorised agent identified, independent of the practitioner(s)
• Practitioner accreditation checked on the register for each measure and for the exit inspection
• Every measure on the schedule assessed, with dates within the 3 months before issue
• Exits, fire exit doors, paths of travel and fire safety notices inspected (Part 15)
• Defects reported, and anything not capable of performing fixed and reassessed
• AS 1851-2012 logbooks and records available (kept for at least 7 years)
• Version 4 form used without changes, letterheads or logos
• Accreditation numbers against each measure and inspected area; practitioner signatures in section 6 or attached
• Owner or agent declaration signed and dated (section 8)
• Copy and current schedule sent to the council
• Copy and current schedule lodged with Fire and Rescue NSW
• Copy and current schedule displayed prominently in the building
• Supplementary statement dates for critical measures diarised

Sources

• Fire safety certification · NSW Planning (form templates, statement types, accreditation)
• Fire safety statements: frequently asked questions (PDF) · NSW Planning (what a fire safety measure is, including older buildings without a schedule)
• Fire safety statement template, version 4 (DOCX), including its guidance notes · NSW Planning
• Selecting an accredited practitioner (fire safety): a guide for building owners (PDF) · NSW Planning (essential fire safety measures, p 4)
• Fire safety practitioner requirements and accreditation · NSW Government
• Responsibilities of building owners under AS 1851-2012 · Building Commission NSW
• Reforms to building fire safety regulation · Building Commission NSW
• Lodge a fire safety statement · Fire and Rescue NSW
• Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 · NSW Legislation
• Overdue or late annual fire safety statements · Wollongong City Council
• Annual fire safety statement · North Sydney Council
• Annual fire safety statements · Ku-ring-gai Council