Emergency Plans and Building Fire Safety

Emergency preparedness in Australian workplaces is governed by two overlapping layers:

The WHS Regulations — require every PCBU to prepare, maintain, and implement an emergency plan, supported by the Emergency Plans Code of Practice published by Safe Work Australia
State and territory building and fire-safety legislation — sets requirements for fire safety in buildings, such as fire equipment, exit signage, and (in some jurisdictions) annual fire-safety statements and occupant evacuation arrangements

These layers operate alongside — not instead of — your WHS duties. The building and fire-safety rules vary by state and territory (and Victoria sits outside the model WHS laws entirely), so always check the specific requirements with your state or territory regulator and your local building authority.

This page is not legal advice. For specific compliance questions, consult a qualified health and safety advisor or lawyer.

The emergency plan duty

Under the WHS Regulations, a PCBU must ensure an emergency plan is prepared for the workplace and is maintained so it remains effective. The plan must provide for:

Emergency procedures, including an effective response to an emergency
Evacuation procedures
Notifying emergency services at the earliest opportunity
Medical treatment and assistance
Effective communication between the person coordinating the emergency response and everyone at the workplace
Testing of the emergency procedures, including their frequency
Information, training, and instruction for relevant workers

The Emergency Plans Code of Practice explains how to do this in practice. Like other Codes of Practice, it is guidance, not a strict regulation — it is admissible as evidence of the standard expected, but you may comply in other ways that achieve an equivalent or better outcome.

SteadyOn support: The emergency plan itself is a document — store and version-control it in the Documents module.

What the emergency plan should cover

Following the Code of Practice, an effective emergency plan typically addresses:

The types of emergencies relevant to the workplace (fire, explosion, chemical spill, medical emergency, bomb threat, natural disaster)
How alarms are raised and how emergency services are called
Evacuation routes, exits, and assembly points
The roles and responsibilities of emergency wardens and the chief warden
How people with a disability or mobility impairment will be assisted
How everyone is accounted for at the assembly point
How visitors and contractors are managed during an emergency
The frequency of testing (drills) and review

SteadyOn support:

Requirement	SteadyOn record
Emergency plan document	Documents — store the current plan
Warden training records	Training Courses + Enrollments (course: “Emergency Warden”)
Drill scheduling	Inspections — schedule a drill from the Emergency / Fire Safety template
Drill completion records	Inspections — record outcomes and notes
Warden certification expiry	Enrollment BRAG — flags expiring warden training

Emergency wardens

Wardens (including a chief warden, in larger workplaces) coordinate the response and evacuation. They must be trained in their duties. Training typically covers:

Roles and responsibilities during an emergency
Raising the alarm and contacting emergency services
Searching and clearing areas
Assisting people with a disability or mobility impairment
Accounting for everyone at the assembly point
Liaising with emergency services on arrival

Warden training should be refreshed periodically and whenever the emergency plan changes or a warden moves on.

SteadyOn support: Add a Training Course called “Emergency Warden Training” and enrol your wardens. Define a Role called “Emergency Warden” with the course as a Requirement. The enrollment BRAG flags certifications approaching expiry and prompts retraining before wardens lapse.

Evacuation diagrams and drills

Good practice — and, in many buildings, building/fire regulations — calls for evacuation diagrams displayed in prominent locations, showing the building layout, exits, fire equipment, and the assembly area. The Code recommends practising the emergency procedures through regular drills so workers know what to do.

The frequency and exact form of drills and diagrams are not fixed in the model WHS Regulations, but the Code and state building/fire rules commonly point to reviewing the plan and running drills at least annually (more often for higher-risk or higher-occupancy buildings). Check your state’s requirements.

SteadyOn support: Use the Inspections module to schedule recurring drills and record their outcomes, giving you a dated audit trail of when each drill was run and what was learned.

Building and fire-safety obligations vary by state

Beyond the WHS emergency-plan duty, state and territory legislation governs fire safety in buildings — and these rules differ significantly between jurisdictions. Depending on where your building is, you may have obligations such as:

Maintaining and servicing fire-protection equipment (extinguishers, hose reels, alarms, sprinklers, emergency lighting) to the relevant Australian Standards
Keeping exits and paths of travel clear and signed
Lodging an annual fire-safety statement or equivalent certification with the local authority (the exact name and process differs by state)
Meeting occupant-evacuation and warden-system requirements set out in standards such as AS 3745 (Planning for emergencies in facilities)

Because these requirements are set by state building and fire legislation rather than the model WHS laws, they vary — check with your local building authority and state or territory fire service.

SteadyOn support: Use the Inspections module (Fire Safety Inspection template) to schedule and record regular checks of fire equipment, signage, exits, and emergency lighting. Store servicing certificates and annual fire-safety statements in the Documents module.

Relationship to the WHS Act

Your WHS duty of care requires you to maintain a safe workplace — this explicitly includes preparing for fire and other emergencies. The emergency-plan duty in the WHS Regulations, the Emergency Plans Code of Practice, and your state’s building/fire laws together set the standard for one specific aspect of that duty. Meeting them satisfies part of your WHS obligation, but not all of it: you still need to manage fire and emergency risk through your hazard register, maintain equipment, and ensure your workers are trained.

Think of it this way:

WHS emergency-plan duty + Code of Practice — the baseline for emergency readiness
State building/fire legislation — additional, jurisdiction-specific building obligations
WHS hazard register — your documented evidence that fire and emergency risk is being actively managed
SteadyOn — the system that ties them together

Summary checklist

Requirement	How to manage in SteadyOn
Emergency plan (all workplaces)	Documents — upload current plan
Evacuation diagrams	Documents — store displayed diagrams
Warden appointments and training	Roles + People + Training Courses
Drill scheduling	Inspections — schedule recurring drill
Drill records	Inspections — record completion + notes
Fire equipment checks	Inspections — Fire Safety template
Emergency lighting checks	Inspections — Fire Safety template
Annual fire-safety statement (state-dependent)	Documents — store the lodged statement
Fire / emergency as a hazard	Hazards — document the risk and controls