The building surveyor who issues the building permit carries out building inspections and issues an occupancy permit or a certificate of final inspection (as applicable) on completion of your building work. You need an occupancy permit before a building can be occupied if the building permit states that one is required. Building work for a new home (including units or apartments) will always require an occupancy permit to be issued. It is an offence to occupy a new home that does not have an occupancy permit. Occupancy permits also play an important role in establishing the start date for builders’ warrantees and, often, when the builder gets final payment. They are only issued when the building work is complete. If you’re unsure of what Essential Safety Measures are required to be maintained in your building, contact us on +61 3 9854 7300. Focus Audits Solutions and Engineering(FASE) can arrange a site inspection to identify what is required to be maintained, and provide a detailed quotation.

Fire Engineering Report(FER) is a document that describes the design principles and performance solutions for a building with regard to fire safety. The FER is used by all stakeholders throughout the planning, design, product & finish selection, construction & installation methods, commissioning, functional testing and ongoing maintenance of both passive and active fire safety strategies employed within the building. In the FER, it will also be outlined that should there be any changes to the building such as a change in use or layout, the FER will need to be reviewed and its validity confirmed by an accredited Fire Safety Engineer.

Australian Standards require all fire equipment gets serviced at regular intervals set by the Australian Standards. Fire equipment needs to be maintained by accredited service providers to ensure if the need arises, the equipment will be ready for use. Having these services completed at the correct intervals and repairing any defects confirms you are meeting your requirements.

When the construction of a Class 2-9 building is complete, owners are responsible for ensuring that its safety features are maintained regularly. The building’s Certificate of Occupancy outlines which ESMs require maintenance, including the frequency and detail of servicing.

Referenced initially in Australian Standard AS 1851:2012 a critical defect is a form of defect or fault that renders a system or item of equipment inoperative or is likely to render the system or item of equipment inoperative placing a one or more people at significant risk (death or injury) or an asset (or building) at significant risk (loss or damage) of from fire or related emergency. Australian Standard AS 1851 introduced the terms non-conformance, non-critical defect and critical defect in the 2012 edition of the Standard.

An emergency plan is a written set of instructions that outlines what workers and others at the workplace should do in an emergency. An emergency plan specifies procedures for handling sudden or unexpected situations. The objective is to be prepared to prevent fatalities and injuries. Reduce damage to buildings, stock, and equipment. An emergency plan must provide for the following:

• Emergency procedures, including: − an effective response to an emergency − evacuation procedures − notifying emergency service organisations at the earliest opportunity − medical treatment and assistance, and − effective communication between the person authorised to coordinate the emergency response and all people at the workplace.
• Testing of the emergency procedures—including the frequency of testing, and information, training and instruction to relevant workers in relation to implementing the emergency procedures.

A block plan is a type of document and form of baseline data set out in a number of Australian Standards such as AS 1670, AS 2118 and AS 2419 to provide information to first responders, building owners, managers and maintenance providers to communicate important aspects of the design, operation and location of fire safety measures, systems and equipment in buildings. A block plan is typically A3 (297mm x 420mm) or greater in size so as to effectively communicate its contents and the fire safety features of a building. A block shall be suitably protected so they remain legible and resist deterioration from ongoing handling and use. Bock plans are generally either a Sprinkler Block Plan or a Hydrant System Block Plan.