NSW Annual Fire Safety Statement: what it is, who signs it, and what changed
Last verified:
Clause references below are to the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021, read on that date.
The short version
| Governing instrument | Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 |
|---|---|
| What the statement is | s88 |
| Assessment must be within | 3 months before the statement is issued — s88(2) |
| Maximum penalty, owner failing to give the statement | A$88,000 for a corporation, per week late — s89(1), s89(3) |
| Owner's duties | s89 |
| Due | Within 12 months of the previous statement being given to council — s89(2) |
| Late | A separate offence for each week it continues — s89(3) |
| Copy to the Fire Commissioner and displayed in the building | s89(4) |
| What must be on the statement | s92 |
| Fire safety schedules | s78, s79 |
| Buildings captured | Class 1b to 9, generally those approved from around July 1988. Class 1a houses and Class 10 structures excluded |
What the statement actually declares — s88(1)
An Annual Fire Safety Statement is a statement issued by or on behalf of the owner, to the effect that:
- each essential fire safety measure specified in the statement has been assessed by an accredited practitioner (fire safety) as capable of performing to a standard no less than that specified in the fire safety schedule, and
- the building has been inspected by an accredited practitioner and was found, when inspected, not to disclose grounds for a prosecution under Part 15.
Note the wording of the second limb. It is not a declaration that the building is compliant in general. It is a declaration about grounds for prosecution under a specific Part.
The person carrying out the assessment must inspect and verify the performance of each measure being assessed — s88(4), with a maximum penalty of 300 penalty units for a corporation and 150 for an individual.
The three-month window almost nobody mentions
s88(2): a person must not issue an annual fire safety statement unless the assessment and inspection were carried out within the previous 3 months.
The clause prohibits issuing the statement in those circumstances. It does not say what follows for a statement that has already been issued, and neither will we — that is a question for advice, not for a website.
What it means in practice is straightforward: if a building's assessment and its statement are drifting apart in the calendar, close that gap before the statement is issued rather than after. Four months between assessment and issue puts the person issuing it outside s88(2).
Who signs, and why it matters
The statement is issued by or on behalf of the owner — s88(1). The owner may choose who carries out the assessment or inspection — s88(3).
FPA Australia's good practice guidance for NSW statements states that the assessing accredited practitioner must not make the owner's declaration. We cite that to the guidance, not to a clause, because we have not located a clause imposing it and we are not going to invent one.
Either way the practical position is the same: the declaration is the owner's, and in a professionally managed strata scheme it is usually signed by the strata manager under delegation.
The person attesting to the building's fire safety is, by design, not the person who assessed it — and not the person whose accreditation the assessment depends on.
What must be on the statement — s92
A statement must be in the approved form and must contain:
- the name and address of the owner
- a description of the building, including the address
- a list of each essential fire safety measure and the minimum standard of performance for each
- the date the measures were assessed
- the date the building was inspected
- whether it is an annual or supplementary statement
- a statement to the effect set out in s88(1)
- the date the statement is issued
- the name, address and telephone number of the person who issued it
- the name, address and telephone number of the accredited practitioner who assessed the measures
It must be accompanied by the fire safety schedule — s92(2). Issuing a statement that does not meet these requirements carries a maximum penalty of 300 penalty units for a corporation, 150 for an individual.
That last content item is worth pausing on. The assessing practitioner's identity is a mandatory field. Everything on this site about checking a practitioner's endorsements is possible only because the regulation requires their name to be on the document.
When it is due — s89(2)
The owner must give the statement to the council within the later of:
- 12 months after an annual fire safety statement was previously given to the council, or
- if a fire safety certificate was issued in the previous 12 months, 12 months after that certificate was issued.
So the clock runs from the date the last statement was given to council — not from the assessment, not from the anniversary of the building's approval, and not from the start of the financial year.
And s89(3): failure to give the statement in time is a separate offence for each week the failure continues. That is the statutory basis for weekly penalties; it is not a council policy.
Lodgement and display — s89(4)
As soon as practicable after the statement is issued, the owner must:
- give a copy of the statement and a copy of the current fire safety schedule to the Fire Commissioner, and
- ensure a copy of both are prominently displayed in the building. Maximum penalty 55 penalty units.
The display obligation continues until each measure in the statement has been superseded by a later fire safety certificate or statement — s89(5).
Penalties
The regulation sets its penalties in penalty units. A NSW penalty unit is A$110 — Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, s17, current version as at 14 September 2026.
| Failure | Penalty units | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Owner fails to give the annual statement to council — s89(1) | 800 (corporation) | A$88,000 |
| Same, individual | 400 | A$44,000 |
| Issuing a statement that does not meet the s92 requirements | 300 · 150 | A$33,000 · A$16,500 |
| Assessor fails to inspect and verify each measure — s88(4) | 300 · 150 | A$33,000 · A$16,500 |
| Failure to display the statement and schedule — s89(4)(b) | 55 | A$6,050 |
And under s89(3), a late statement is a separate offence for every week it stays outstanding. The maximum is not a one-off — it is available per week of delay.
Read those figures correctly
Three qualifications, because an overstated penalty is worse than no penalty figure at all:
- These are maximums available on prosecution, not amounts routinely imposed. A court sets the actual penalty.
- They are separate from council penalty notices. Councils issue on-the-spot fines that are far smaller and far more common. Inner West Council, as one published example, lists A$1,000 to A$4,000 per week for a late or incomplete statement and A$3,000 to A$6,000 for failure to maintain measures. Check your own council's schedule.
- The penalty unit value can change. If NSW alters or indexes it, every dollar figure above moves. The unit value here was read on 14 September 2026 and is re-checked at each quarterly refresh of this page.
The scope trap
Accreditation under the Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme is granted measure by measure, across 36 endorsement categories, and a practitioner may assess only what they are endorsed for. FPA Australia's guidance is explicit that an owner may need more than one accredited practitioner for a single building.
s88(1)(a) requires that each measure has been assessed by an accredited practitioner. It does not require that it be the same one.
Nothing in the process compares the schedule against the practitioner's endorsements. Across the 1,044 practitioners accredited in NSW, no measure is held by more than 70% and the median is under half. See how many practitioners hold each measure and how to check yours.
What changed, and what is coming
28 July 2025 — new mandatory Fire Safety Schedule template
The schedule format was standardised. Schedules are dealt with at s78 and s79, and the schedule is what the annual assessment is measured against.
13 February 2026 — AS 1851-2012 maintenance mandate commenced
Owners of Class 1b to 9 buildings must maintain essential fire safety measures in accordance with AS 1851-2012. Deferred once from February 2025; in force for seven months as at this guide's date.
13 February 2027 — accredited persons to certify newly installed measures
About five months away. A second obligation on the same owners.
Stated rather than glossed: a new accreditation scheme is understood to be under development for this function, because the existing Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety) accreditation does not cover it. FPA Australia operates a separate Fire Systems Certification accreditation whose national register currently lists 24 practitioners, 18 covering NSW. Whether that is the scheme intended for the February 2027 requirement is not established and we do not assert that it is. If it is, the supply position is very tight. Treat this as a flag to watch.
If your building is not a strata scheme
The duty in s89 sits with the owner. A landlord cannot transfer statutory fire safety obligations to a tenant through a lease. The owner or their facility manager obtains the assessment, gives the statement to council, copies the Fire Commissioner and displays it.
Sources
- Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 — s78, s79, s88, s89, s92, Part 15. Read on legislation.nsw.gov.au, 14 September 2026.
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, s17 — the penalty unit value of A$110. Current version as at 14 September 2026.
- FPA Australia, Good Practice Guide GPG-04, Fire Safety Statements — New South Wales, version 3, August 2024 — measure-specific competence, multiple practitioners per building, and the declaration.
- Building Commission NSW — the 28 July 2025 schedule template, the 13 February 2026 AS 1851-2012 commencement, and the 13 February 2027 certifier requirement.
- FPA Australia public registers — practitioner and endorsement counts read 14 September 2026.
- Inner West Council — published penalty schedule, cited as one council's example.
This page is general information and reflects sources read on 14 September 2026. It is not legal advice, not a certification, and not an assessment of any building or any person.
Written by Nigell Lee, Director, Reg Mon Aus Pty Ltd. Last verified 14 September 2026.