AFSS on the Central Coast: What Building Owners Need to Do Each Year
If you own or manage a commercial, industrial or shared residential building on the Central Coast, an Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS) is due to Central Coast Council and Fire and Rescue NSW every 12 months, on the anniversary of your last statement. It certifies that each essential fire safety measure listed on your building's Fire Safety Schedule has been inspected by an accredited practitioner and found capable of performing to the standard it was installed to.
Missing the date is the most common problem we see raised by owners, and it is the easiest one to avoid once you know how the process actually runs.
Does your building need one?
You need an AFSS if your building has a Fire Safety Schedule. That schedule was issued with the construction certificate or complying development certificate, or through a council fire safety order. In practice that covers:
- Shops, offices, warehouses and factories
- Strata blocks and apartment buildings with common property
- Childcare, medical and aged care facilities
- Clubs, pubs and function venues
- Short term rental accommodation and NDIS supported housing, where a schedule applies
A standalone Class 1a house with no fire safety measures listed generally does not. If you are not sure, the schedule is the answer. It is the single page that tells you which measures are installed and which standard each one has to meet. If you cannot find it, Central Coast Council holds a copy on the property file.
The annual deadline and what it means
The statement is due each year on the anniversary of the last one lodged. There is no grace period built into the legislation. Late statements can attract penalty notices from council, and in a serious case, a fire safety order.
The practical trap is that the inspections have to happen before the statement is signed, and the maintenance work that comes out of those inspections has to be finished before a practitioner will certify. If your exit doors do not latch, your emergency lighting fails its 90 minute discharge test, or your evacuation diagrams are missing or out of date, none of that gets signed off on the day. Start six to eight weeks out, not six days.
Who can sign it
Since 2020, the assessment of critical fire safety measures must be carried out by an Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety) — commonly called a Competent Fire Safety Practitioner or CFSP — accredited under the scheme recognised by the NSW Government. The building owner (or an authorised agent, such as the strata manager) signs the statement itself.
That means two roles: the accredited practitioner who inspects and assesses, and the owner who declares and lodges. A managing agent can coordinate the lot, but the owner carries the legal obligation.
What actually gets inspected
Every measure on your schedule, against the standard named on your schedule. Common ones:
| Measure | Typically assessed against | Usual failure points |
|---|---|---|
| Portable fire extinguishers | AS 1851 / AS 2444 | Missing, overdue service tag, wrong type for the risk, blocked access |
| Emergency lighting and exit signs | AS 2293 | Failed discharge test, dead batteries, sign obscured |
| Fire hydrant system | AS 1851 | Blocked hydrant, missing block plan, pump fault |
| Automatic sprinkler system | AS 1851 | Valve monitoring fault, stock stacked too close to heads |
| Fire doors and exit doors | AS 1905 / BCA | Gaps, damaged seals, propped open, hard-to-open hardware |
| Emergency evacuation diagrams | AS 3745 (AS 4083 in healthcare) | Out of date, wrong orientation, not at the required locations |
| Fire hose reels | AS 1851 / AS 2441 | Corroded, obstructed, nozzle missing |
The schedule governs. If a measure is listed, it is assessed. If it is not listed but it is installed, talk to your practitioner about whether the schedule needs amending.
Where the documentation usually lets people down
AFSS assessments frequently stall on paperwork rather than hardware. Three items come up again and again on Central Coast inspections:
Evacuation diagrams. These have to be current, correctly oriented to the viewer, show the assembly area, and be installed where occupants can see them. A diagram that still shows a tenancy layout from three fit-outs ago will not pass. Having compliant emergency evacuation diagrams produced from your current floor plans is usually quick and can be done remotely, which matters if you are managing a Central Coast property from elsewhere.
Block plans. If your building has a hydrant or sprinkler system, Fire and Rescue NSW crews need a legible hydrant or sprinkler block plan at the booster or valve room. A faded, handwritten or missing plan is a finding.
Emergency planning. WHS Regulation 43 requires an emergency plan for a workplace, separate to the AFSS. Councils and practitioners increasingly ask for it, and it is straightforward to put in place alongside your emergency response plan and procedure manuals.
Extinguishers. Six-monthly servicing is the requirement, not annual. If tags are overdue at the time of assessment, that measure fails. Sorting out fire extinguishers and equipment before the assessor arrives saves a return visit.
What it costs
Anyone quoting a flat AFSS price sight unseen is guessing. Cost is driven by how many measures are on your schedule, the floor area and number of levels, how many tenancies need access, whether a hydrant or sprinkler system is involved, and how much remedial work the inspection turns up. A single-tenancy shop with extinguishers, exit signs and a hose reel is a different job to a four-storey strata block with a boosted hydrant system.
Ask for a quote that separates the assessment fee from any remedial work, so you can see what you are actually paying for.
How to lodge
Once signed, the statement goes to Central Coast Council and a copy to the Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW. A further copy must be displayed prominently in the building, usually near the main entrance or in the fire indicator panel room. Check the current lodgement method on the Fire and Rescue NSW and Central Coast Council websites, as submission portals change.
Getting it done from outside the area
A lot of Central Coast buildings are owned or managed by people based in Sydney or interstate. Diagram, block plan and emergency plan work can be produced remotely from your existing floor plans and emailed as print-ready files, so you are not waiting on a site visit to fix the paperwork side. On-site attendance is Sydney-focused, so ask first if you need someone physically at the building. You can see the full scope on the annual fire safety statements page.
FAQ
My building changed tenants and the layout is different. Do I need new diagrams before the AFSS?
Yes. Diagrams must reflect the current layout, exits and firefighting equipment locations. A changed fit-out almost always means new diagrams, and it is far cheaper to redo them than to fail the assessment and rebook.
I missed the due date by a few months. What now?
Lodge as soon as you can. The obligation does not disappear, and the risk of a penalty notice grows the longer it sits. Get the inspections booked, clear any defects, and lodge. Your next due date generally stays tied to the original anniversary, so confirm that with council.
Is the AFSS the same as a fire safety certificate?
No. A fire safety certificate is issued once, at the end of building work, for new or altered measures. The AFSS is the recurring yearly statement for an existing building. They cover the same measures but sit at different points in a building's life.