Compliance by state

What triggers a NSW fire safety certificate?

A NSW fire safety certificate is issued by or for the building owner when new building work is complete. It confirms a properly qualified person has installed and checked every fire safety measure on the building's fire safety schedule. Unlike the Annual Fire Safety Statement, it is a one off tied to the work finishing, not a yearly cycle.

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Official name: Fire safety certificate
Regulator: NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
Who issues it: The building owner, based on installation and checking by a properly qualified person. From 13 February 2027 (or 18 months after an accreditation scheme is approved, if sooner), an accredited person must certify the installed measures
When: Completion of new building work, not a recurring date. Confirms every measure on the fire safety schedule required by that work has been installed and checked
Deadline: Issued once the building work is complete, no separate lodgement deadline stated in current NSW Government guidance
Lodgement: Not specified by current NSW Government fire safety certification guidance beyond using the standard template. From 13 February 2023, building practitioners lodge fire safety certificates together with Building Compliance Declarations
Keep records for: Not specified in the guidance reviewed. Keep the certificate with the building's fire safety schedule as your compliance record
Penalty: Current NSW Government fire safety certification guidance does not publish a specific penalty figure for issuing a fire safety certificate without proper installation checks. From 13 February 2023, fire safety certificates are lodged together with a Building Compliance Declaration, part of the accountability chain the 2021 reforms introduced.

Homeowner? If you've just had fire safety work done in NSW, ask for the fire safety certificate before you rely on the new measures: it is separate from, and does not replace, the building's Annual Fire Safety Statement.

What the certificate must show

Every fire safety measure on the building's fire safety schedule that the completed work required
Confirmation a properly qualified person installed and checked each measure
From 13 February 2027 (or sooner, if an accreditation scheme is approved earlier), confirmation the certifying person is accredited

Recent change

Building owners will be required to use an accredited person to certify newly installed fire safety measures before a fire safety certificate is issued, from 13 February 2027 or 18 months after an accreditation scheme is approved for this purpose, whichever is sooner.

Produce it from a ServiceM8 job

Create a job category, Fire safety certificate NSW, triggered by job completion rather than a recurring schedule.
Build a form listing every measure on the building's fire safety schedule affected by the job, with Installed and checked (Y/N), qualified person's name, and a Photo per measure.
Add a field for the certifying person's accreditation status, ready for when the accredited-person requirement for this certificate takes effect.
Attach the form to a job badge so the certificate cannot be issued from ServiceM8 until every listed measure is marked installed and checked.
File the signed certificate in the job diary alongside the building's fire safety schedule, and provide a copy for the owner's Building Compliance Declaration lodgement.

Completion, not a calendar date

The easiest way to keep NSW's fire safety documents straight is by what starts the clock. The Annual Fire Safety Statement and supplementary statement both run on recurring cycles, yearly, or on a shorter schedule for critical measures, regardless of whether any work has happened. The fire safety certificate runs on a single event: NSW Government guidance describes it as issued "when new building work is complete", confirming that a properly qualified person has installed and checked the measures listed in the fire safety schedule. Finish a fitout that adds a new sprinkler zone or an exit system, and the certificate is the document that closes that job out, not an annual filing.

What it actually confirms

Where the AFSS is an owner's yearly declaration based on an assessment, the fire safety certificate is closer to a sign off on installed work. It exists to confirm the measures on the fire safety schedule, the ones a certifier required as part of approving the building work, were actually put in and checked before anyone relies on them. NSW Government's guidance frames it as provided by or on behalf of the building owner, based on that qualified installation and check, using the same standard template approach the annual and supplementary statements use.

Accreditation is coming to this certificate too

The fire safety certificate is where NSW's practitioner accreditation reforms land next. From 13 February 2027, or 18 months after an accreditation scheme is approved for this purpose (whichever happens first), building owners will be required to use an accredited person or persons to certify newly installed fire safety measures before a fire safety certificate can be issued. As at the date this page was checked, that date had not yet arrived, so the accreditation requirement for the certificate itself is a known upcoming change, not yet current practice, unlike the AFSS and supplementary statement, where accreditation is already mandatory.

What current guidance leaves open

NSW Government's fire safety certification page does not distinguish separate "interim" and "final" versions of the certificate in its current published wording, it describes one certificate tied to completed work. It also does not state where the finished certificate is lodged or a specific penalty figure for not obtaining one. If your job involves staged completion of fire safety measures across a large building, confirm directly with your certifier or council how partial completion is documented, rather than assuming a specific interim process applies.

Sources

A fire safety certificate is provided by or on behalf of the building owner when new building work is complete, confirming that a properly qualified person has installed and checked the measures listed in the fire safety schedule. NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, checked 25 Sep 2026.
From 13 February 2027, or 18 months after an accreditation scheme is approved for this purpose, whichever occurs first, building owners will be required to use an accredited person or persons to certify installed fire safety measures before a fire safety certificate is issued. NSW Government (Building Commission NSW), checked 25 Sep 2026.
Reforms to the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 rolled out from December 2022 in phases: a mandatory Fire Safety Schedule template from 13 February 2023, building practitioners lodging fire safety certificates with Building Compliance Declarations from that date, mandatory FSS use by councils and certifiers plus referral of fire safety performance matters to Fire and Rescue NSW from 1 August 2023, and AS 1851-2012 maintenance for annual-statement buildings from 13 February 2026. NSW Government (Building Commission NSW), checked 25 Sep 2026.
The Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 (NSW) is the regulation governing fire safety statements and certificates. NSW legislation register, cited via NSW Government (Building Commission NSW), checked 25 Sep 2026.