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Fire safety reforms for NSW buildings

13 February 2017

Proposed reforms have been released aimed at improving fire safety standards in NSW buildings.

The NSW Government has released a draft regulation in response to a recent Statutory Review of the Building Professionals Act 2005.

It would apply to buildings including multi-unit residential, commercial, retail, industrial, health care and public-assembly structures.

One of the proposals is for independent random audits of high-risk residential buildings by personnel from Fire and Rescue NSW.

Minister Victor Dominello said: “Appropriate fire protection measures in buildings are crucial to ensuring life safety.

“These reforms will help to boost standards in the building industry and could potentially save lives.

“NSW is experiencing a construction boom and we need modern laws that strengthen fire safety throughout the building process.

“The reforms will aim to ensure that people designing and checking fire safety systems have the necessary skills and competencies.”

The proposed changes include:

  • Greater involvement of specialist practitioners in relation to certain fire-safety functions, regulated through a new accreditation framework
  • New requirements around submitting and checking plans and specifications for fire safety systems.