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AS 1851 routine service frequencies at a glance
AS 1851-2012 Routine service of fire protection systems and equipment covers the inspection, testing, preventive maintenance and survey of fire protection systems and equipment. This page lists the routine service intervals for common essential measures, by section and table number, so you can plan a year of servicing or check a contractor's program. It cites the standard and does not reproduce it, so read the activities themselves in your licensed copy.
The schedule and the edition govern
- The fire safety schedule comes first. It lists each measure and its standard of performance. Where a measure is subject to a performance solution, maintain it to the standard that solution nominates.
- Not everything is in AS 1851. Some essential measures, such as emergency and exit lighting, are not covered by AS 1851-2012. Maintain those to the standard in the fire safety schedule, or to their original design.
- Edition. In NSW the applicable edition is AS 1851-2012, including amendments (currently Amendment 1, 2016). A newer edition with a different year is not adopted automatically. Standards Australia's catalogue lists AS 1851-2012 as pending revision, so check what applies before relying on these intervals.
- Outside NSW, check your state or territory's maintenance rules and the edition they reference.
Why this matters in NSW now
From 13 February 2026, owners of new and existing class 1b and class 2 to 9 buildings in NSW must have their essential fire safety measures inspected and tested in accordance with AS 1851-2012, where the standard covers the activity. Councils enforce it. For existing buildings, Building Commission NSW says service intervals can start from 13 February 2026. It does not expect long-interval services, such as the 5-, 10- and 25-year activities, to all be done at once. It expects the first yearly service by February 2027.
Routine service intervals by measure
Intervals are taken from the service schedule headings in AS 1851-2012. Single items that run on a different interval come from the frequency matrix in the Building Commission NSW Good practice guide for implementing AS 1851-2012 (January 2026). Each schedule table lists the specific activities. Some items within a table run on a longer interval than the table's heading.
| Measure | Routine service intervals | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Water-based systems | ||
| Automatic fire sprinkler systems: wet pipeSection 2 | Monthly, six-monthly, yearly, then five-, ten-, twenty-five- and thirty-yearly | 2.4.2.1 to 2.4.2.4 |
| Sprinklers: dry pipe, deluge and water spray, pre-actionSection 2 | Monthly, six-monthly, yearly, five-yearly | 2.4.3 to 2.4.5 |
| Fire pumpsetsSection 3 | Monthly, six-monthly, yearly, five-yearly, plus one two-yearly item | 3.4.1 to 3.4.4; Table 3.4.3 item 3.5 |
| Hose reel and pressure-maintenance (jacking) pumpsetsSection 3 | Monthly, six-monthly | 3.4.5 |
| Fire hydrant systemsSection 4 | Monthly, six-monthly, yearly, five-yearly, plus a ten-yearly item. Hydrostatic testing applies where a fire brigade booster assembly is installed. | 4.4.1 to 4.4.4; Table 4.4.4 items 4.3 and 4.4(b) |
| Water storage tanks for fire protection systemsSection 5 | Monthly, six-monthly, yearly, ten-yearly, plus one six-yearly item | 5.4.1 to 5.4.4; Table 5.4.4 item 4.4 |
| Delivery lay flat fire hoseSection 8 | Yearly | 8.4 |
| Fire hose reelsSection 9 | Six-monthly, yearly | 9.4.1, 9.4.2 |
| Detection, alarm and warning | ||
| Fire detection and alarm systemsSection 6 | Monthly, six-monthly, yearly, five-yearly, plus ten-yearly smoke detector sensitivity items | 6.4.1; Appendix G items G5 to G7 |
| Smoke alarms and heat alarmsSection 6 | Six-monthly, yearly | 6.4.2 |
| Emergency warning systemsSection 6 | Monthly, yearly, five-yearly | 6.4.3 |
| Emergency intercom systemsSection 6 | Yearly | 6.4.4 |
| Special hazard systemsSection 7 | Monthly, six-monthly, yearly, ten-yearly | 7.4.2 to 7.4.5 |
| Portable equipment | ||
| Portable and wheeled fire extinguishersSection 10 | Six-monthly, yearly, five-yearly, plus a three-yearly activity | 10.4.1 to 10.4.3; clause 10.2.3 |
| Fire blanketsSection 11 | Six-monthly | 11.4 |
| Passive fire and smoke systems | ||
| Passive fire and smoke systemsSection 12 | Three-monthly, six-monthly and yearly activities depending on the component, plus one twenty-five-yearly item. Components include fire and smoke barriers and their penetrations, rated access panels and hatches, fire-protected structural members, fire-resistant doorsets, smoke doors, fire shutters, fire-rated glazing and fire-protected air ducts. | 12.4.1 to 12.4.7; Table 12.4.5 item 5.6(b) |
| Fire and smoke control features of mechanical services (Section 13) | ||
| Fire dampers and smoke dampers | Yearly, plus a twenty-five-yearly item | 13.4.1.4 and 13.4.2.9; Table 13.4.1.4 item 3.7 |
| Fans and motors | Three-monthly, yearly | 13.4.1.2, 13.4.1.3 |
| Automatic smoke and heat vents | Six-monthly, yearly, plus a twenty-five-yearly item | 13.4.1.9, 13.4.1.10; Table 13.4.1.10 item 9.14 |
| Fire and smoke curtains | Six-monthly, yearly, plus a two-yearly item and a twenty-five-yearly item | 13.4.1.11, 13.4.1.12; Table 13.4.1.12 items 11.7 and 11.14 |
| Motorised relief openings, windows and shutters | Six-monthly, yearly, plus a twenty-five-yearly item | 13.4.1.13, 13.4.1.14; Table 13.4.1.14 item 13.7 |
| Fire-isolated exit pressurisation systems | Three-monthly, yearly | 13.4.2.2, 13.4.2.3 |
| Smoke exhaust systems | Three-monthly, yearly | 13.4.2.6, 13.4.2.7 |
| Kitchen exhaust systems | Monthly, yearly | 13.4.1.16, 13.4.1.17 |
| Emergency planning | ||
| Emergency planning in facilitiesSection 14 | Six-monthly, yearly | 14.4.2, 14.4.3 |
| Not covered by AS 1851-2012 | ||
| Emergency lighting and exit signs | Not covered by AS 1851-2012. Maintain to the standard in the fire safety schedule. | Fire safety schedule |
Tolerances and out-of-tolerance work
Clause 1.11 sets the frequencies (Table 1.11(A)) and a tolerance either side of each scheduled date (Table 1.11(B)). The tolerance runs from 5 working days for monthly activities and 10 working days for three-monthly activities, to 1 month for six-monthly and 2 months for yearly activities, and up to 6 months for the ten-, twenty-five- and thirty-yearly activities. The NSW guide explains that tolerances stop a year of "monthly" visits shrinking to eleven. An activity done outside its tolerance is recorded in the logbook as an out-of-tolerance activity and treated as a non-conformance. It should then be done as soon as practical.
Records you need to keep
- Logbooks for each system (clause 1.16.3). The NSW guide says entries should reference the AS 1851 section and the interval, and record defects and corrective action. A hard copy must be left on site after each routine service, even if the contractor also records electronically.
- Tags and labels (clause 1.16.4) for hydrants, lay flat hoses, hose reels, extinguishers, fire blankets and passive fire and smoke assets. Where tags and labels are used, a summary record (clause 1.16.5) goes to the owner.
- Retention (clause 1.16.6). NSW owners must keep records for at least 7 years and make them available for inspection.
- Defect reports and the yearly condition report (clause 1.17 and Appendix E). See Critical vs non-critical defects for the reporting timeframes.
- Baseline data (clause 1.8) is limited to what the approved design required and what is needed to verify a result. The NSW guide says this means only flow and pressure data for sprinkler, hydrant and pumpset systems and some mechanical features. Where it is missing, the item is generally recorded as a non-critical defect or a non-conformance rather than a critical defect.
AS 1851 servicing is separate from the NSW annual fire safety statement, but good records make the annual assessment easier. See How to prepare an AFSS in NSW.
Keep the intervals with the building
Fire Toad is an iPhone app for fire safety practitioners. Record each building's schedule, inspect measure by measure on site, log routine service activities against each measure, and see what's due. The offline toolkit includes a standards search by clause number and a measures directory. Your data stays on your phone, with no account needed.
Get Fire Toad on the App StoreFree to download, with your first 3 reports included. Fire Toad Pro, a monthly or yearly subscription, covers reports after that. Fire Toad cites standards by clause number with plain-language summaries and never reproduces them. Use your own licensed copy for the activities.
Sources
- AS 1851-2012 Routine service of fire protection systems and equipment · Standards Australia catalogue (status, amendment, table of contents)
- Good practice guide for implementing AS 1851-2012 (January 2026 edition) · Building Commission NSW (frequency matrix, tolerances, logbooks; baseline data requirements, p 12)
- Building fire safety requirements under AS 1851-2012 · Building Commission NSW
- Responsibilities of building owners under AS 1851-2012 · Building Commission NSW (requirements for existing buildings, missing baseline data)
- Reforms to building fire safety regulation · Building Commission NSW
- Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021, sections 81 and 81A · NSW Legislation
This page is general guidance, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for AS 1851-2012. It lists intervals by section and table number only. The activities, criteria and exceptions are in the standard. The building's fire safety schedule, any performance solution and the edition your jurisdiction applies take precedence. Fire Toad is not affiliated with Standards Australia or the NSW Government.