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MAINTENANCE OF ESSENTIAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FEATURES AND MEASURES

What Building Owners/Occupiers need to know about their responsibilities under the Building Act 2000

NEW TASMANIAN LAWS ON BUILDING AND PLUMBING FROM JULY 1 2004.

The Building Act 2000, and the Building Regulations 2004 and Plumbing Regulations 2004 made under the Act, commenced on 1 July 2004. The Act introduces significant reforms, including the regulation of the maintenance of buildings. These reforms will affect new and existing building owners and occupiers.

WHAT TYPES OF BUILDING ARE AFFECTED?

All buildings other than a house or outbuilding are affected.

WHAT DOES THE CHANGE IN LAW REQUIRE?

As from 1 July 2004, a building owner (in accordance with the Building Regulations 2004) must maintain any essential safety and health features of their building and any essential safety and health measures necessary to ensure the safety of persons using their building. An owner must also publicly display an annual statement that the features and measures have been assessed by an appropriately qualified person and are performing to a standard to which they were originally designed.

WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FEATURES AND MEASURES?

Essential safety and health features include safety and health equipment, installations and components. Essential safety and health measures include safety and health

strategies and management procedures. The relevant features and measures are prescribed in detail in the Building Regulations 2004 and refer to the maintenance standards included in the Building Code of Australia (BCA).

Essential safety and health features include:

• The building’s fire integrity

• Means of egress, signs, and lighting

• Fire fighting services and equipment

• Air handling systems

• Automatic fire detection and alarm systems

• Occupant warning systems

• lifts

• Standby power supply systems

• Mechanical ventilation and hot water, warm water

and cooling water systems

• Glazed assemblies, and balconies

• Refrigerated chambers, strong rooms and vaults

• On-site waste management systems

• Backflow prevention devices

• Thermostatic mixing valves or tempering valves (in

certain buildings).

Essential safety and health measures include:

• building clearance and fire appliance access

• building use and application

• Emergency evacuation procedure.

CAN AN OCCUPIER BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE?

Yes. An occupier of a building in which the prescribed essential safety and health features or measures are installed, with a contractual responsibility for the maintenance of these features and measures in the building or part of the building, must maintain them or cause them to be maintained.

WHAT SAFETY AND HEALTH RECORD ARE TO BE KEPT?

The owner is to keep all records that relate to the maintenance of prescribed essential safety and health features and measures undertaken for the last 10 years, in a secure place away from the building, with a copy kept on site.

WHAT HAPPENS IF AN OWNER DOES NOT COMPLY?

A general manager of a council can issue a building notice to the owner of a building if the essential health and safety features of the building are not maintained in accordance with the Building Regulations 2004. A general manager or the Director of Building Control could also issue an infringement notice for failure to maintain the essential health and safety features and measures.

Non-compliance may also result in a fine of up to $10,000 for individuals or $50,000 for companies. More importantly non-compliance could place not only building occupants’ lives at risk, but also those in adjoining buildings and passers-by.