Fire Safety Schedule NSW

A fire safety schedule is the document that lists every fire safety measure in a NSW building and the minimum standard each one must meet. A council or registered certifier issues it with a construction certificate, complying development certificate, change of use consent or an order. Your annual fire safety statement and routine maintenance both work from it.

If you manage a NSW apartment block, office, shop or warehouse, the schedule decides what gets tested, to what standard, and which items need statements more than once a year. The catch is measures are maintained to the schedule’s standard, not today’s code, so read it before approving any upgrade.

A fire safety schedule (FSS) is the building’s official list of fire safety measures. It covers the measures already installed and any that are proposed, and it sets the minimum standard each one must be designed, installed and capable of operating to (NSW Gov).

Think of it as the rulebook for everything that follows. Your technician tests against it, your accredited practitioner (fire safety) assesses against it, and your annual fire safety statement (AFSS) declares against it. If something isn’t on the schedule, it isn’t part of your annual statement. If it is, you’re responsible for keeping it at the listed standard (NSW DPE).

Schedules apply to Class 1b to 9 buildings. In plain English, that’s almost everything except a standard house. This includes apartment buildings (Class 2), offices (Class 5), shops, restaurants and cafés (Class 6), carparks and warehouses (Class 7), factories (Class 8) and hospitals, assembly buildings and aged care (Class 9). Class 1b covers small boarding houses, guest houses and hostels (NSW Gov).

A building gets a schedule when one of these happens:

Source: (NSW Gov)

Older buildings are caught too. Schedule requirements apply to buildings that have had a fire safety order since 1 July 1988, as well as those with a relevant approval or certificate (RCC). If you’ve had a council order, read our guide on what to do when you’ve received a council fire order.

Since 1 August 2023, every schedule in NSW must be issued on the NSW Government template. The current version (1.1) took effect on 28 July 2025, and any schedule issued or reissued after that date must use it (NSW Gov).

Source: (BCNSW)

The template’s own examples of statutory measures include portable fire extinguishers, fire hydrants, fire sprinklers, fire detection and alarm systems, and lightweight construction. A schedule can also list measures specific to your building, such as anything required by a performance solution. That’s why two similar-looking buildings can have very different schedules (BCNSW). If you want the detail on individual items, see our guides to fire extinguisher servicing requirements and fire-rated lightweight construction.

The standard of performance is usually written as a BCA edition and clause, plus any referenced Australian Standard and its year (BCNSW). That year matters. A measure listed against an older standard is maintained to that older standard (NSW Gov).

Source: (NSW DPE)
Source: (NSW DPE)

Check section 5 of your schedule. If it lists no critical measures, the annual statement is the only one you need (BCNSW). If it does, diarise each interval now, because supplementary statements are easy to forget.

Three documents get confused all the time. Here’s how they fit together:

Source: (NSW DPE)
Source: (FRNSW)

The AFSS is issued by or on behalf of the owner, and an accredited practitioner (fire safety) assesses the measures and confirms the exit systems. The full process, including lodgement, is in our NSW annual fire safety statement guide, or see how our AFSS assessment service works.

One change to watch for is the newly installed measures. Owners will need an accredited person to certify them from 13 February 2027, or 18 months after an accreditation scheme is approved, whichever comes first. Until then, a properly qualified person can still do it. This doesn’t change who signs the AFSS (NSW Gov).

No. From 13 February 2026, essential measures in all Class 1b and Class 2 to 9 buildings must be inspected and tested in line with AS 1851-2012, the Australian Standard for routine servicing of fire protection systems. But the Building Commission is clear that measures only need to be maintained to the standard at the time of construction (NSW Gov).

So if a contractor says your 1990s hydrant system “isn’t compliant with AS 1851” and needs replacing, ask them to show you where your schedule requires it. AS 1851 changes how often and how things are tested. Your schedule still sets what standard they’re tested to. Missing baseline data is generally treated as a non-critical defect, not a reason to upgrade (NSW Gov). For more on the 2026 changes, check out our our fire safety regulation changes summary.

Upgrades do happen, but they come from building work, a change of use, or an order, all of which trigger a new schedule, not from routine maintenance.

Check these in order:

Not sure what your fire safety schedule requires? Book a free discovery call and we’ll walk you through it.

A council or certifier can reissue a schedule at the owner’s request to correct minor errors or omissions, or to replace a missing one, but they must use the current NSW Government template (NSW Gov).

Common problems worth fixing before your next AFSS:

Councils may charge a fee for a reissue, set in their fees and charges and you apply on their form, but note the difference. A reissue fixes errors. If the building itself has changed, that’s building work which needs its own approval and a new schedule.

If records are a mess across several buildings, a fire safety asset register or baseline drawings can tie each measure on the schedule to what’s actually on site.

Source: (NSW Gov)
Source: (NSW DPE)

For strata, NSW Fair Trading’s guidance says the schedule (from a previous statement or council) shows what needs inspecting. Our fire protection requirements for strata buildings guide covers the rest of a committee’s obligations.

The schedule itself doesn’t expire, but ignoring it shows up quickly. Failing to submit a complete fire safety statement to council and Fire and Rescue NSW is an offence. Councils can issue penalty notices, serve fire safety notices and orders, and start legal proceedings (RCC). Strata owners corporations and building owners can both be held responsible (NSW Gov).

There’s also insurance and liability exposure if a fire occurs and the measures weren’t maintained. Penalties vary by council, so check with your council for local amounts.

In this example, the timeline a strata manager of a 40 unit building in Parramatta with a schedule listing 11 essential measures is outlined, including the impact of a defect.

In this situation, three months of lead time turned a defect into a routine repair instead of a late statement.

For how often each system is tested, see how often fire systems should be tested.

Regular inspections help identify these issues before they develop into major compliance problems.

Most owners never read their schedule until something goes wrong. It’s a short document, it tells you exactly what you’re responsible for and it’s your best defence against both a failed AFSS and an upgrade you don’t need. Find it, check it against the building, and get it reissued if it’s wrong. Do that once and every statement after it gets easier.

Important Disclaimer: This article is general in nature and does not constitute legal or building compliance advice. Always consult a licensed fire safety practitioner and review relevant legislation for your property classification.