How to Get an Annual Fire Safety Statement in NSW: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide Every Western Sydney Building Owner Needs
If you own or manage a commercial, industrial, or multi-residential building in Western Sydney, the Annual Fire Safety Statement — or AFSS — is one compliance obligation you simply cannot afford to ignore. I've spent a decade walking the floors of warehouses in Blacktown, strata complexes in Parramatta, and everything in between, and I can tell you from experience that the AFSS process trips up even the most diligent building owners. Getting it wrong means escalating fines, Fire Safety Orders, and in the worst cases, a court date at the Land and Environment Court. This guide on how to get an Annual Fire Safety Statement walks you through every step of the process — clearly, practically, and with the NSW regulatory detail you actually need.
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not constitute legal, financial, or fire safety advice specific to your property. Always consult a qualified Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety) and, where appropriate, a licensed solicitor for advice tailored to your circumstances.
What Is an Annual Fire Safety Statement — and Does Your Building Need One?
Let's start with the basics, because from my experience, a surprising number of Western Sydney building owners don't fully understand what they're actually signing when they lodge an AFSS. An Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS) is a legal declaration that is to be submitted once every 12 months by the building owner, manager, or authorised agent, confirming that every Essential Fire Safety Measure (EFSM) listed on the building's Fire Safety Schedule has been inspected, tested, and verified as capable of performing to its required standard.
The AFSS is a legal document that confirms your building's fire safety systems — like alarms, exit lights, sprinklers, and hydrants — have been inspected by a qualified expert and are functioning as they should. It is required under Part 12, Division 2 (Sections 88–91) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 (NSW).
The obligation applies to all Class 1b and Class 2–9 buildings under the Regulation — covering the bulk of commercial and industrial property in Western Sydney including offices, warehouses, factories, retail, motels, apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, and childcare centres. Class 1a houses and Class 10 sheds are exempt. In my decade on the tools across Greater Western Sydney, I've seen owners of small Merrylands retail strips and owners of sprawling Kemps Creek logistics hubs make the same mistake: assuming their building is exempt when it isn't. If you're unsure, check your Construction Certificate or ring your local council before your anniversary date arrives.
Step 1 — Locate Your Fire Safety Schedule and Due Date
Before you can do anything else, you need two pieces of paper: your Fire Safety Schedule (FSS) and your AFSS due date. The FSS is the foundational document for everything that follows. The fire safety schedule lists every fire safety measure that must be checked annually. This schedule is issued by the local council or certifier and applies for the life of the building.
As for your due date: the AFSS is due 12 months after the final fire safety certificate was issued. For example, if a building handover from the builder to the building owner occurred in January 2020, then the Annual Fire Safety Statement would be due January 2021 and each January thereafter, unless a new fire safety certificate has been issued.
If you can't locate your FSS, contact your council's building compliance team. In Western Sydney, that means reaching out to Penrith City Council, Liverpool City Council, Blacktown City Council, City of Parramatta, or Cumberland City Council depending on your address. For Parramatta specifically, you can email your annual fire safety statement with a copy of the fire safety schedule to council@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au. I've found that councils are generally helpful when owners approach them proactively — it's the owners who wait until they've already received an infringement notice who find them far less sympathetic. One practical tip from my own kit bag: photograph your FSS and store it in a shared cloud folder so your strata manager, property manager, and fire contractor all have access year-round.
Step 2 — Engage an Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety)
This is where many building owners in Western Sydney come unstuck — they engage someone who isn't properly accredited, and the resulting statement is worthless. A building owner must select an accredited fire safety practitioner from a government register. The practitioner must hold relevant accreditation from a government-approved scheme to assess the specific fire safety measure or inspect the fire exit systems serving the building.
The assessment of these fire safety measures is carried out by a person who is accredited under the Fire Practitioner Accreditation Scheme for Fire Safety Assessment with FPA Australia. The accreditation is broken into speciality streams — Fire Detection, HVAC, Sprinklers, and Passive — and not every practitioner holds accreditation across all fields. For complex buildings with multiple systems, you may need a provider whose staff covers all streams, or who uses a team approach. In my professional opinion, some companies have experienced staff to have one person complete the Annual Fire Safety Statement, while not all fire safety companies have the ability to use highly trained personnel and may resort to using multiple staff members to inspect a building. The cost savings come from using one person with expert training and knowledge.
A practical Western Sydney note: distance loadings from Sydney CBD-based firms can add 20–35% to the fee. A Western Sydney based practitioner usually doesn't charge a travel premium inside the M7/M4 corridor. Always ask about travel charges upfront — I've seen strata committees get a nasty shock when the invoice arrives with a "site travel" line that doubled the quote.
Reputable providers active in the Western Sydney market include → FireSafe Annual Fire Safety Statements, → FCF National Fire Safety, and → Betta Fire Protection Sydney. Always verify current FPAA accreditation on the FPA Australia register before engaging any contractor.
Step 3 — Book the On-Site Inspection and Prepare Your Building
Once you've engaged an accredited practitioner, the next step is booking and preparing for the on-site inspection. Assessment and inspection of essential fire safety measures and buildings must occur within the period of 3 months prior to the date on which the annual fire safety statement is due. In my experience, building owners consistently underestimate how much preparation the inspection requires on their end.
Here's a practical pre-inspection checklist I use with my own clients:
Confirm your current Fire Safety Schedule is on hand and matches the building's actual installed measures
Ensure the maintenance logbook (required under AS 1851:2012) is complete, up to date, and accessible on site
Arrange access to all tenancies, roof spaces, plant rooms, and fire indicator panels — locked areas are one of the most common causes of failed inspections
Check that exit paths, stairwells, and fire doors are clear of stored goods (I've walked into Western Sydney warehouses where pallets had been stacked against fire exit doors — an instant fail)
Confirm all fire hydrant booster assemblies are accessible and not obstructed by landscaping, vehicles, or new building works
Notify tenants well in advance so they can facilitate apartment or unit access
Essential fire safety measures typically include exit and emergency lighting, fire extinguishers, fire blankets, fire hose reels, fire hydrants, fire detection systems, smoke alarms, sprinkler systems, fire doors, and other systems critical for fire safety. AS 1851 is the Australian Standard that determines the majority of required routine maintenance, and AS 2293 determines the frequency of tests and inspections for Emergency and Exit Lighting. Make sure your maintenance contractor has been servicing all measures to these standards throughout the year — the inspection will expose any gaps immediately.
Step 4 — Rectify Defects Before Sign-Off
In my ten years of on-site work, I've never seen a large or mid-sized Western Sydney building sail through its AFSS inspection without at least one defect being flagged. That's not a criticism — it's simply the reality of complex building systems operating in our climate. Western Sydney's extreme summer heat (Penrith regularly tops 45°C) places enormous stress on fire indicator panels, heat detectors, and suppression systems. Expect defects, budget for them, and treat them seriously.
Where assessment reveals that fire safety measures are not operating as required, the owner is responsible for rectifying this before an APFS can complete the tasks associated with fire safety sign-off. If the building fails the initial fire safety inspection — for example, if an item is damaged, missing, or cannot be accessed — the fire contractor must return to reassess the fixed items before signing off the AFSS. This return visit is a reinspection and is usually charged separately by the contractor.
Common defects I regularly encounter in Western Sydney buildings include corroded hydrant boosters (especially in older Blacktown and Fairfield industrial estates), emergency lighting failures caused by battery degradation in the summer heat, and fire doors that have been propped open or had their self-closing mechanisms disabled by tenants. Never, under any circumstances, disable a fire detector or alarm to avoid nuisance activations — address the root cause with your accredited practitioner. Disabling detection risks safety and compliance. Address the cause — for example, relocate a detector, adjust spacing or airflow, or fix environmental issues.
Also consider: incomplete documentation — missing or outdated Fire Safety Schedules — can delay the assessment process. I've seen buildings lose weeks chasing a council for a current FSS copy when the original was lost during a change of ownership. Keep copies in multiple locations.
Step 5 — Sign and Lodge the AFSS With Council and Fire & Rescue NSW
Once your accredited practitioner has completed the inspection and all defects have been rectified, they will endorse the AFSS. Here's a critical distinction that's widely misunderstood: the practitioner endorses the statement, but the building owner — not the practitioner — must sign the declaration. The Regulation requires the annual fire safety statement to be issued by or on behalf of the building owner. For annual fire safety statements, the building owner is also declaring that an accredited fire safety practitioner has inspected the building's fire exit systems for compliance with the Regulation.
You hire contractors to do maintenance and you hire an APFS to do the assessment, but the legal buck stops with you. The Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation is crystal clear: the building owner is solely responsible for ensuring the AFSS is accurate and submitted on time. If the statement is found to be false or is submitted late, the fine comes to you, not your contractor.
Once signed, you must lodge the AFSS in three ways simultaneously:
Your local council — in Western Sydney this means Penrith, Liverpool, Blacktown, Parramatta, Camden, Fairfield, or Cumberland council depending on your property address
Fire and Rescue NSW — email it to afss@fire.nsw.gov.au
Display a copy on-site — prominently display a copy in your building. The recommended place is the entry foyer.
Fire safety statements must use the Fire Safety Statement template published by the NSW Government. Do not use old forms — council will reject them and the clock keeps ticking on your penalty exposure while you resubmit.
What Does an AFSS Cost in Western Sydney? A Realistic Price Guide
Pricing is one of the first questions I get from building owners, and the answer is genuinely: it depends. From my experience comparing quotes across the Western Sydney market, here is a realistic breakdown:
Building TypeTypical SizeEstimated AFSS Cost (AUD + GST)NotesSmall single-storey commercial (shop, café, office)Under 200 sqm$375 – $495Minimal EFSMs; quick inspectionWarehouse / industrial unit500 – 2,000 sqm$495 – $725Common in Blacktown, Penrith, Wetherill ParkLarge logistics facility2,000 – 5,000 sqm$725 – $1,500Hydrants, sprinklers, FIP add complexityAerotropolis / mega-warehouse5,000+ sqm$1,500 – $3,000+Kemps Creek, Mamre Road precinctMulti-storey strata complexVaries$725 – $2,500+Per-unit access; smoke doors; pressurisation
| Building Type | Typical Size | Estimated AFSS Cost (AUD + GST) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small single-storey commercial (shop, café, office) | Under 200 sqm | $375 – $495 | Minimal EFSMs; quick inspection |
| Warehouse / industrial unit | 500 – 2,000 sqm | $495 – $725 | Common in Blacktown, Penrith, Wetherill Park |
| Large logistics facility | 2,000 – 5,000 sqm | $725 – $1,500 | Hydrants, sprinklers, FIP add complexity |
| Aerotropolis / mega-warehouse | 5,000+ sqm | $1,500 – $3,000+ | Kemps Creek, Mamre Road precinct |
| Multi-storey strata complex | Varies | $725 – $2,500+ | Per-unit access; smoke doors; pressurisation |
Penalty notices for late lodgement start at $1,000 in the first week and increase each week — rising to $4,000 per week from week four onwards. Courts can impose fines up to $110,000 under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The cost of an AFSS inspection is a fraction of even one penalty notice.
In my professional opinion, the biggest pricing mistake Western Sydney building owners make is shopping purely on price. It is a false economy to simply look for the cheapest quote if that does not cover all the work needed to inspect and rectify your fire safety measures. A quote that doesn't include AS 1851:2012 logbook review, for example, may leave you exposed even after the AFSS is lodged. Ask your provider specifically what is and isn't included. Bundled annual maintenance programs from providers like → Betta Fire Protection maintenance plans or → Complete Pumps and Fire Protection can reduce your overall compliance cost compared to engaging separate contractors for servicing and certification.
The Penalties for Non-Compliance — And What to Do If You're Already Overdue
I won't sugarcoat this section, because I've sat across the table from enough distressed building owners who received infringement notices to know that the penalties are real and they escalate fast. Western Sydney councils — Parramatta, Blacktown, Penrith, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland and Fairfield — have all been issuing escalating penalty notices to non-compliant owners. Since the 13 February 2026 reforms that made AS 1851-2012 mandatory across the state, councils have tightened their enforcement posture significantly. Fines are being issued faster, audits are more thorough, and property owners are discovering that what used to be a paperwork oversight is now a direct hit to the hip pocket.
Failure to submit an annual fire safety statement could also lead to legal proceedings in the Land and Environment Court, where the maximum penalty for a breach is $110,000. Beyond the direct fines, an up-to-date AFSS can impact your building's insurance coverage and its ability to claim in the event of a fire-related incident.
If you're already overdue, here's the practical advice I give every client who calls me in this situation: don't ignore it, and don't wait. Contact an accredited practitioner today, get a site visit booked, and begin working through defect rectification immediately. Expect penalty notices and follow-up from council. Act quickly — complete testing, fix defects, obtain APFS endorsement, and lodge. Proactive communication with council helps. Councils in my experience are more willing to exercise discretion when an owner can demonstrate genuine and active steps toward compliance.
Also note: although councils may or may not send reminder notices regarding statement submission, the onus is on the building owner to ensure this annual statement is submitted by the due date every year. Don't rely on a letter in the mail to prompt you into action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is legally responsible for submitting the AFSS — the owner or the tenant?
The building owner holds the non-delegable legal responsibility to ensure the AFSS is completed and submitted on time. You can and should engage competent contractors, strata managers, or facility managers to conduct inspections and coordinate the process — but ultimate liability remains with you. In Western Sydney, the obligation sits with the owner or owners corporation. Tenants are usually exempt unless their lease specifically transfers responsibility. Always check your lease carefully if you're a tenant who has taken on building management responsibilities.
Can my electrician or plumber sign the AFSS?
This is one of the most common mistakes I encounter. Only if they are an Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety) with scope matching your measures can they endorse the AFSS. Trade qualifications alone are not enough. Having a non-accredited or wrongly-scoped person sign can invalidate the AFSS and expose the owner to penalties or liability. Always verify accreditation on the FPA Australia register before engaging anyone to sign off your statement.
What is a Supplementary Fire Safety Statement, and does my building need one?
A Supplementary Fire Safety Statement (SFSS) is sometimes required for critical measures at intervals shorter than 12 months — for example, a six-monthly certification of a specific system. Critical fire safety measures require periodic assessment and inspection at intervals of less than 12 months. These measures are specifically identified on the fire safety schedule and form part of a supplementary fire safety statement. Check your Fire Safety Schedule carefully — if any measure is marked as "critical," you will have supplementary obligations in addition to your annual AFSS.
Does AS 1851:2012 servicing need to be completed before I can lodge the AFSS?
Yes — and this became a firm legal requirement in NSW from February 2026. As of 2026, building owners must ensure that the person performing the assessment is an Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety) and that all maintenance follows the AS 1851:2012 standard to avoid liability and ensure the statement is legally valid. Servicing is performed in line with AS 1851-2012, which became mandatory in NSW from 13 February 2026. Each piece of equipment has its own routine — monthly, six-monthly or annual — recorded in a logbook. The accredited practitioner reviews the logbook plus their own inspection findings before signing off the AFSS. If your maintenance logbook isn't current, your practitioner cannot endorse the statement — full stop.
Your Next Step: Don't Let Your AFSS Due Date Sneak Up on You
After a decade working across Western Sydney's commercial and industrial buildings, the one consistent thing I observe is that AFSS compliance is easy when you plan ahead and a nightmare when you don't. The good news is that the process itself is genuinely straightforward once you understand each step — find your Fire Safety Schedule, engage an FPAA-accredited practitioner well before your due date, allow time for defect rectification, sign the completed statement, and lodge it with your council and Fire & Rescue NSW. Book your inspection at least six to eight weeks before your anniversary date to allow a buffer for defect rectification and re-inspection if needed. If you're a building owner in Penrith, Parramatta, Blacktown, Liverpool, Fairfield, or anywhere across the Western Sydney growth corridor, I'd encourage you to check your AFSS due date today. If you're unsure where to start, reach out to an → FPAA-accredited fire safety practitioner in Western Sydney for an obligation-free assessment. The cost of compliance is always less than the cost of a fine — and far less than the cost of a fire.