Industry News

Fire Protection Association Australia (FPA Australia) has today launched a new register of fire protection practitioners to connect building owners and industry looking for assistance in preparing Annual or Supplementary Fire Safety Statements with FPA Australia Corporate members who currently do this work.

The new Interim Fire Safety Assessor Register is a response to the New South Wales building reforms, which primarily cover fire safety and came into effect on 1 October. The reforms require some types of fire protection work in NSW to be conducted by ‘competent fire safety practitioners’ (CFSP), in particular the assessment of essential fire safety measure performance for the purposes of Annual and Supplementary Fire Safety Statements.

Prior to an accreditation scheme for CFSPs being recognised by the NSW Government, building owners are required to satisfy themselves that practitioners conducting this work are competent. You can read more about the reforms at FPA Australia’s NSW reforms FAQ.

The Register lists practitioners that currently conduct this work, and have met FPA Australia’s minimum requirements for experience, insurance, professional conduct and commitment to future accreditation under the Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme (FPAS).

It serves as an interim tool for building owners and industry seeking competent fire safety practitioners. FPA Australia recommends that building owners in New South Wales use individuals listed on the Register to assess essential fire safety measure performance for the purpose of Annual or Supplementary Fire Safety Statements.

Companies and individual Competent Fire Safety Practitioners listed on the Register have demonstrated/declared to FPA Australia that: 

• The individual listed is employed by an FPA Australia Corporate member and has a minimum of three years’ experience in undertaking inspections/assessments for the purpose of completing Annual and Supplementary Fire Safety Statements;
• The individual listed is covered by Public and Product Liability Insurance ($10m minimum) and Professional Indemnity Insurance ($2m minimum);
• They have read and agreed to abide by the FPA Australia Code of Practice for companies, and Code of Professional Conduct for individuals;
• They have committed to undertake all assessment of essential fire safety measures in accordance with the relevant regulations, Codes and Australian Standards;
• They hold or have access to current and historical Standards and Codes for the essential fire safety measures that they assess; and
• That they are committed to applying for accreditation in the FPAS Fire Safety Assessor class within 90 days of it becoming available.

Fire System Design and Certification Pty Ltd (FSD) and its employees are already listed on this register and committed to completing the FPAS Accreditation Program once released