NSW building regulation & certification reforms 2017

In July 2017 the New South Wales Government announced a series of building regulatory reforms, largely with respect to fire safety, which came into effect on 1 October 2017. 

Fire safety is the primary focus of the reforms. The key changes include: 

• The requirement for certain types of fire protection work to be conducted by a ‘competent fire safety practitioner’ (CFSP), primarily in the design stage and in the assessment of essential fire safety measure performance;
• The development of new templates for Fire Safety Statements and Fire Safety Certificates;
• The eventual requirement for CFSPs to be accredited, and a plan to recognise the existing industry and government schemes that can accredit individuals as such;
• Provision for limited exemptions from compliance with the BCA for minor fire protection system works;
• The introduction of two new critical stage inspections focusing on passive fire and smoke containment measures in multi-unit residential buildings;
• An expansion of Fire and Rescue NSW’s current inspection role to cover multi-unit residential building construction; and
• The introduction of new requirements for fire safety alternative solutions for class 1b-9 buildings.

A key component of the reforms is the requirement for certain types of fire protection work in NSW to be conducted by a ‘competent fire safety practitioner’ (CFSP). The NSW Government has announced it will recognise two classes of FPAS accreditation:

• Fire Safety Assessment (FSA)
• Fire Systems Design (FSD)

The NSW Government plans to officially gazette this recognition, putting it into force on 1 July 2020.