Compliance

Creating safe, secure and accessible spaces for your community is an important part of managing your church buildings.

This involves keeping the property well maintained, undertaking building upgrades or arranging for annual inspections to meet government compliance requirements such as:

• Property Insurance Cover
• Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS)
• Fire Services Inspections, e.g. fire extinguishers, lighting, sprinklers.
• Electrical Safety Inspections, e.g. switchboards, RCD’s, safety switches, testing and tagging of electrical equipment
• Work Health and Safety (WHS) assessments
• Risk assessments
• Accessibility assessments.

We can help you to navigate building compliance requirements, while our network of property service providers can offer you advice and assistance with new installations, upgrades or ongoing servicing for your church buildings.

For Churches Who Manage Their Buildings

Important changes to Fire Safety requirements for NSW buildings will come into effect from February 2025.

Australian Standards 1851-2012 sets out requirements for inspection, testing, preventive maintenance and survey of fire protection systems and equipment.

From 13 February 2025, each building owner is required to submit an Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS), to their local council. 

• A fire safety statement is a document issued by or on behalf of the owner of an existing building.
• Annual Fire Safety Statements must be issued each year, and include all the essential fire safety measures that apply to a building.
• The statement also verifies that an accredited fire safety practitioner has inspected and confirmed that the exit systems in the building are complaint with the Regulation.
• If building owners do not submit an AFSS to their local council, infringement notices may be issued.

What does this mean for you?

• If you do know what an AFSS is, and you get them done every year and submit it to your local council; you don’t need to do anything.
• If you manage your own building but you don’t know what an AFSS is, or whether your building is meeting Australian Fire Safety Standards, please contact Matt Young ASAP to discuss.

We have a fire services contractor that we can put you in touch with, to come and assess your building. Getting buildings up to standard can be timely and costly, so please don’t delay speaking to Matt Young or the Property Team.

Churches of Christ in NSW and ACT are committed to ensuring that buildings, people and communities are safe – it is so important! 

Next Steps

Please communicate to the Property Team by email HERE if:

a) Your building has an AFSS already; or

b) You need to arrange one and require assistance.

Kindly read the Chubb Fire Service Awareness presentation (PPT PDF) – CLICK HERE.

Questions? Please reach out to:

Matt Young: 0434 476 899 or email: matt.young@ccnswact.org.au

Julie Geddes:  julie.geddes@ccnswact.org.au.