Beyond the Building Code | Fire Compliance as a WHS & Regulatory Imperative

For the last four articles, we’ve been deep in the weeds of Australian Standards. We’ve talked about AS 2441 for installation , AS 1851 for maintenance , AS 2444 for extinguishers , and the NCC for the mandate. We’ve focused on the “what” and the “how.” 

Now we need to talk about the “who.” As in, “Who is legally liable when this all goes wrong?”

I have a simple, and somewhat terrifying, answer for you: You are.

As a building owner, facility manager, or business administrator, you can’t delegate your legal responsibility. You can hire the best contractors, but the ultimate liability—the “duty of care”—rests with you.

This is the part of my job that most blogs never, ever talk about. Fire safety compliance isn’t just about “passing” a building code inspection. It’s a critical, non-delegable component of Work Health and Safety (WHS) law.

If your fire systems are non-compliant, you don’t just have one problem. You have two.

The Two-Headed Dragon of Enforcement

When a system is non-compliant, you are exposed to liability from two separate, powerful state-level bodies. I call this the “Two-Headed Dragon of Enforcement.”

Head 1: The Building Code (Council & Fire & Rescue NSW)

This is the dragon we’ve been talking about.

• The Enforcer: Your local Council and, by extension, Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW).
• The Law: The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and the National Construction Code (NCC).
• What They Care About: The system. Is it designed, installed, and maintained to the correct standards? Did your Class 6 building have FHRs installed to AS 2441? Are you (in NSW) meeting the new mandatory AS 1851 maintenance schedule after the 13 Feb 2026 deadline?
• The Penalty: Fines, defect notices, orders to upgrade, and—in the worst case—preventing you from issuing an Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS), which can render your building’s occupancy certificate invalid.  

This is the compliance most people focus on. But it’s only half the story.

Head 2: The Workplace (SafeWork NSW)

This is the dragon that most people forget, and it has sharper teeth.

• The Enforcer: SafeWork NSW (or your state’s WHS regulator).
• The Law: The WHS Act and WHS Regulation.
• What They Care About: The worker. They don’t just care if the system was installed correctly. They care if it was available and safe for a worker to use. Was the (otherwise compliant) fire extinguisher blocked by a pallet? Was the (perfectly maintained) fire hose reel in a location that was obstructed by a waste bin? Was a worker injured because the fire equipment was inaccessible?
• The Penalty: Massive fines (into the millions for a corporation), and in serious cases, criminal charges and jail time for individuals who failed their “duty of care.”

The PCBU: Why the Buck Stops With You

Under the WHS Act, if you manage a building or a business, you are a “Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking” (PCBU). This title comes with a “primary duty of care” to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of your workers and others (like visitors or the public). 

Providing functional, accessible, and appropriate fire-fighting equipment is a fundamental part of this duty. 

This creates a massive liability gap that most administrators don’t see.

Case Study: The “Compliant” but “Obstructed” Reel

Let’s imagine a scenario. You run a warehouse (Class 7b). You’ve done everything right. You had a perfect FHR system installed to AS 2441. You have a top-tier fire contractor servicing it every 6 months to AS 1851. Your logbooks are perfect. From the Building Code (Head 1) perspective, you are 100% compliant.

But on the warehouse floor, a forklift driver, to save time, routinely stores a pallet of stock in the 1000mm clear space in front of the FHR.

A fire breaks out. An employee runs to the reel, can’t get to it, and gets burns on their arms while escaping.

You are now in massive trouble.

• FRNSW (Head 1) will write a report saying the system was fine, but its accessibility was compromised.
• SafeWork NSW (Head 2) will arrive, and they will prosecute you, the PCBU. They will argue that you failed in your primary duty of care. You failed to have a system in place (like line-marking, staff training, or daily checks) to ensure that pallet was never parked there.

You cannot blame the forklift driver. You cannot blame the fire contractor (it wasn’t their job to manage your floor stock). The liability is yours.

This same logic applies to:

• The extinguisher on the floor.
• The fire door propped open with a wedge.
• The blocked exit path.

A Consultant’s Final Advice: Your Compliance Shield

Liability is managed with process. As a consultant, this is the “Phase 5” system I set up for my clients. This is how you build your “compliance shield” and demonstrate “due diligence”. 

1. Integrate Your Compliance: Fire safety is not just a “property” issue. It must be a standing item on your WHS Committee agenda. Your WHS manager and your Facilities manager must be in the same meetings.
2. Separate Your Contractors: Have a clear line in the sand. Your AS 1851 Maintenance Contractor is responsible for the system. Your internal staff (or WHS officer) are responsible for the accessibility and availability.
3. Document Your Own Monitoring: Don’t just rely on the 6-monthly AS 1851 check. Create a simple Weekly WHS Walk-Around Checklist for your own staff. It should take 15 minutes and include:
   • “Check all fire reels. Are they clear of obstructions? (Y/N)”
   • “Check all fire extinguishers. Are they on their brackets? Are they clear of obstructions? (Y/N)”
   • “Check all fire doors. Are they un-propped? (Y/N)”
   • “Check all exit paths. Are they clear? (Y/N)”

Keep this simple, dated checklist.

This little logbook, more than anything else, is your proof. When an incident happens and the SafeWork inspector asks, “PCBU, what did you do to ensure this equipment was available?” you don’t have to panic.

You can hand them the logbook and say, “We have a robust, documented process of regulatory monitoring. We check it every single week.”

That is how you demonstrate your duty of care. That is how you survive an encounter with both heads of the dragon.