If your building was constructed before 2000, it was built to fire safety standards that are now decades old. That doesn't mean it's unsafe — but it does mean there are likely gaps between what's installed and what current regulations expect.
These gaps matter. They affect your Annual Fire Safety Statement. They can trigger fire orders from council. And they can leave your committee exposed to liability if something goes wrong.
Here are seven fire safety gaps we commonly see in older Sydney apartment buildings — and what you need to know about each.
Pre-2000 buildings often have smoke detectors only in common areas — not in individual apartments. Current standards expect detection in hallways and bedrooms of each unit.
The challenge: retrofitting hardwired, interconnected alarms across an entire building is expensive and disruptive. But standalone battery alarms in units don't meet the same standard.
What to do: Get a fire safety assessment that specifically addresses detection gaps. Understand what's required versus what's recommended. Budget for upgrades in your capital works plan.
Fire doors degrade over time. Seals fail. Self-closers stop working. Gaps appear. In older buildings, fire doors may also have been replaced with non-compliant alternatives during renovations.
Fire doors are inspected as part of your AFSS. Non-compliant doors will be flagged — and they need to be fixed before you can get sign-off.
What to do: Have all fire doors inspected annually. Maintain a register of door conditions. Replace doors that can't be repaired to current standards. Budget for this — fire doors aren't cheap.
Emergency lighting has a limited lifespan. The batteries in emergency lights need replacement every few years, and the units themselves typically last 10-15 years before requiring full replacement.
In older buildings, emergency lighting is often inadequate by current standards — not enough lights, wrong placement, or units that no longer hold charge.
What to do: Test emergency lighting every six months. Replace batteries on schedule. Plan for full system replacement if your lights are original to the building.
Older buildings often relied on street water pressure to supply fire hydrants. As surrounding development has increased and water infrastructure has changed, that pressure may no longer be adequate.
A hydrant system that can't deliver required flow and pressure at the most hydraulically disadvantaged point in the building will fail its AFSS inspection. The solution — often a new water tank and pump system — can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What to do: Have your hydrant system tested by a specialist who can measure actual flow rates. If there's a problem, consult a fire engineer about performance solutions before committing to the most expensive option.
Buildings constructed before July 1988 may not have ever had a Fire Safety Schedule issued. This creates a compliance grey area where it's unclear exactly what the building's fire safety measures should be assessed against.
Without a schedule, your AFSS process becomes more complex. Fire safety practitioners need to assess measures against the standards that applied when each measure was originally installed — which requires historical research.
What to do: If you don't have a Fire Safety Schedule, engage a specialist to establish what should be on it. This creates clarity for ongoing compliance and avoids disputes with inspectors.
Every time a cable, pipe, or duct passes through a fire-rated wall or floor, it creates a potential breach. In older buildings, there have often been decades of modifications — new air conditioning, upgraded electrical, telecommunications installations — each creating penetrations that may not have been properly fire-stopped.
These hidden failures only become apparent during invasive inspections or, worse, during an actual fire.
What to do: Commission a passive fire survey. This identifies penetrations and fire stopping issues throughout the building. Remediation is often expensive but essential for genuine fire safety.
Buildings over 40 years old are common targets for fire orders — mandatory council directives requiring specific fire safety upgrades. Once issued, a fire order must be complied with within the specified timeframe. Delays or partial responses are not acceptable.
Fire orders typically require upgrades to current standards, not just maintenance of existing systems. This can mean significant unexpected expenditure.
What to do: Be proactive. Address known deficiencies before council gets involved. Maintain good relationships with your local fire station — they can provide guidance before issues become formal orders.
Older buildings aren't inherently unsafe — but they require more attention to fire safety than newer buildings that were constructed to current standards.
The cost of addressing these gaps proactively is almost always less than responding reactively to fire orders or, worse, dealing with the consequences of an actual fire incident.
If your building was constructed before 2000 and you haven't had a comprehensive fire safety assessment in the past five years, that's where to start.
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NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021 — Fire Safety Statements requirements
PICA Group Fire Safety Reforms Factsheet (July 2024) — https://cdn.picagroup.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NSW-Fire-Safety-Reforms-Fact-Sheet-July-2024.pdf
Strata Plus: Fire Safety for Strata Owners — https://www.strataplus.com.au/resource/fire-safety-for-strata-owners/
FPA Australia Good Practice Guide GPG-04: Fire Safety Statements NSW (August 2024)
NSW Government: Safety Rules for Strata Common Property — https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-construction/strata/serving-on-a-committee/safety
Dino Biordi
Founder & Managing Director, LUNA Management
25+ years in construction | NSW ABMA Independent Review Panel
A Building Manager oversees the safety, security and maintenance of designated properties and ensures that these properties comply with all applicable regulations. A Building Manager is also known as a Facilities Manager, Caretaker or Resident Manager. They are assisting the Owners Corporation with managing the common property, controlling the use of the common property by non-residents, arranging the maintenance and repair of common property.
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