If you own, manage, or occupy a commercial building in Australia, a fire safety audit is one of the most important compliance processes your property will go through. Yet for many building owners and facilities managers, the process is unclear, and that uncertainty is often what leads to costly surprises.
This guide explains exactly what a fire safety audit involves, what inspectors look for, what the 2026 changes to AS 1851 mean for your obligations, and how to make sure your building is ready.
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A fire safety audit is a systematic inspection and assessment of a building’s fire protection systems, passive fire measures, emergency procedures, and documentation to determine whether the building meets its legal fire safety obligations.
Audits may be carried out:
Regardless of the trigger, the objective is the same: to verify that every fire safety system in the building is functioning correctly, has been maintained to the required standard, and is documented in a way that satisfies regulators.
From 13 February 2026, buildings required to provide an AFSS must maintain all installed essential fire safety measures in line with AS 1851-2012, have a documented preventative maintenance program in place, and schedule routine servicing at monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, annual, and five-yearly intervals exactly as the standard specifies.
Before these reforms, AS 1851-2012 was considered industry best practice. From February 2026, it is the legal minimum.
Building owners must now 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.
In practical terms, this means that informal or inconsistent servicing arrangements are no longer acceptable. Your maintenance records must show that every essential fire safety measure has been inspected, tested, and serviced at precisely the intervals AS 1851 prescribes.
A thorough fire safety audit covers both active and passive fire protection systems, as well as emergency procedures and documentation. Depending on your building’s fire safety schedule, the audit will typically include:
Active Fire Protection Systems
Passive Fire Protection
Emergency Procedures and Documentation
AS 1851 requires some routine service inspections more frequently than once per year, and provides detailed extensive guidelines for services every 5, 10, and 25 years. This means your records need to demonstrate not just that annual inspections have occurred, but that the full schedule of monthly, six-monthly, five-yearly, and other periodic inspections has been followed without gaps.
The amending regulations require an owner to keep the records required by AS 1851 or the approved performance solution on-site at the building for at least seven years, and make the records available for inspection by the Fire Commissioner or local council.
When an auditor reviews your records, they are looking for:
All Fire Safe ANZ clients have access to their complete service records through our 24/7 client portal, so documentation is always ready for an audit, council inspection, or licensing review.
Want audit-ready records at all times? Fire Safe ANZ maintains complete, AS 1851 compliant documentation for every client. Find out more
Over 40% of commercial buildings audited in 2023 failed basic fire safety compliance, leading to direct action from the Department of Planning and NSW Fair Trading to lift the bar across the board.
The most common reasons buildings fail include:
The most effective preparation for a fire safety audit is not a last-minute review. It is a year-round routine testing program that keeps every essential fire safety measure serviced, documented, and performing to standard.
Specifically, you should:
If you manage multiple sites, a structured national compliance program ensures no building slips through the gaps. See how Fire Safe ANZ supports facilities managers with multi-site fire safety compliance.
If a fire safety audit identifies deficiencies, the consequences depend on the severity and the jurisdiction, but commonly include:
Rectification work can also be costly, particularly when fire doors, sprinkler systems, or passive fire measures require significant repair or upgrade. Proactive maintenance is always cheaper than reactive rectification.
Fire Safe ANZ provides end-to-end fire safety compliance services for commercial buildings, retail centres, childcare facilities, strata schemes, and more across NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, and beyond.
Our services include:
Make your next fire safety audit straightforward. Talk to Fire Safe ANZ about a compliance program tailored to your building. Call 1300 553 566 or request a quote online
