Who is liable for fire safety?

Body corporates or the body corporate manager?
There is a common misconception that if your building has a body corporate manager who schedules routine maintenance and maintains your documentation, they take on the liability associated with fire safety. However, this is not the case. If something is missed, the ultimate responsibility remains with the body corporate.

For this reason, some oversight of the body corporate manager is advisable. This requires body corporates to be aware of the fire responsibilities applicable to their building. This includes documentation, licensing and annual evacuation exercise compliance, among others, all of which should be reviewed annually.

Alternatively, body corporates can engage a fire safety compliance auditor qualified to review and confirm whether or not compliance can be demonstrated.

This should be verified before signing the annual occupier statement, as in signing this document, the body corporate assumes legal liability.

It is also important to note that Queensland legislation requires a retrospective investigation when fires occur.
Body corporates must be able to demonstrate compliance with all regulatory requirements, both for fire authority inspections and for insurance purposes.

In Queensland, all documentation must be kept for a minimum of two years. This includes maintenance, repairs, testing, evacuation drills and emergency plans.

Contact us if you would like us to review your fire safety compliance.