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Fire Safety Reporting Requirements - Fact Sheet 1

Information for Approved Providers about Fire Safety Reporting Requirements.

You may download this document in PDF format:

PDF printable version of Fire Safety Reporting Requirements - Fact Sheet 1 (PDF 13 KB)

What fire safety regulations are aged care homes required to meet?

All aged care homes in Australia are required to meet State and Territory laws (including local by-laws) relating to fire safety.

In addition, for homes to be eligible to receive accommodation bonds and charges, they must meet the Australian Government’s building certification standards and accreditation standards.

Since 2004 monitoring of State and Territory laws (including local by-laws) relating to fire safety has been carried out through the completion of an annual Fire Safety Declaration process. This required all approved providers of residential aged care to complete and return a declaration to the Department of Health and Ageing (the Department) on an annual basis.

Amendments to reporting requirements for non-compliance with fire safety laws

To reduce the regulatory burden on approved providers, the Australian Government has amended the Quality of Care Principles 1997 to replace the annual Fire Safety Declaration process with an exception reporting process.

From 1 July 2010, approved providers of residential aged care will only be required to notify the Department if they become non-compliant with any applicable State or Territory laws (including local by-laws) relating to fire safety in respect of any residential care service operated by the approved provider.

Notification of non-compliance must be provided to the Department within 28 days of the approved provider’s non-compliance, using the approved Fire Safety Exception form. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in compliance action under Part 4.4 of the Aged Care Act 1997. A copy of the form is available in both HTML and PDF format at:

Fire Safety Exception Notice Form

Information required as part of the form will include, an outline of the extent of the non-compliance, details of steps taken or intended to be taken to rectify the non-compliance and the expected time frame for completion of any required work.

The notification must be signed by a person who is one of the approved provider’s key personnel who is authorised by the approved provider to sign the notice.

Should you have any questions concerning these new arrangements or how to complete the form, please contact the Department of Health and Ageing on (02) 6289 8977.
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