New South Wales Consolidated Regulations

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT REGULATION 2000 - REG 186A

186A Owners of existing buildings and dwellings must ensure smoke alarms are installed

(1) Despite any other provision of this clause, this clause does not apply to any of the following--

(a) those buildings or parts of a building in which smoke alarms or smoke detection and alarm systems are installed, or are required to be installed, in accordance with a requirement under the Act or any other Act or law (including an order or a condition of an approval),

Note : An example of a requirement under the Act is an order under section 9.34 of the Act requiring the installation of smoke alarms or smoke detection and alarm systems.

(b) those buildings or parts of buildings occupied by a public authority, but only if the Minister responsible for the public authority has determined, by order published in the Gazette, that those buildings or parts of buildings are not to be subject to this clause,

(c) buildings in which no person sleeps.

(2) The owner of a class 1a building or relocatable home must ensure that the building or home is equipped with smoke alarms that are located, on or near the ceiling--

(a) in any storey of the building or home containing bedrooms--in every corridor or hallway associated with a bedroom, and if there is no such corridor or hallway associated with a bedroom, between that part of the building or home containing the bedroom and the remainder of the building or home, and

(b) in any other storey of the building not containing bedrooms.

(3) The owner of a class 1b building must ensure that the building is equipped with smoke alarms that are located, on or near the ceiling--

(a) in any storey of the building containing bedrooms--

(i) in every bedroom, and

(ii) in every corridor or hallway associated with a bedroom, and if there is no such corridor or hallway associated with a bedroom, between each part of the building containing the bedroom and the remainder of the building, and

(b) in any other storey of the building not containing bedrooms.

(4) The owner of a dwelling within a class 2 building or, that is a class 4 part of a building, must ensure that the dwelling is equipped with smoke alarms that are located, on or near the ceiling--

(a) in any storey of the dwelling containing bedrooms--in every corridor or hallway associated with a bedroom, and if there is no such corridor or hallway associated with a bedroom, between each part of the dwelling containing the bedroom and the remainder of the dwelling, and

(b) in any other storey of the dwelling not containing bedrooms.

(5) The owner of a class 3 building must ensure that--

(a) each sole-occupancy unit, in any storey of the unit containing bedrooms, is equipped with smoke alarms that are located, on or near the ceiling in every corridor or hallway associated with a bedroom, and if there is no such corridor or hallway associated with a bedroom, between each part of the unit containing the bedroom and the remainder of the unit, and

(b) each sole-occupancy unit, in any storey of the unit not containing bedrooms, is equipped with smoke alarms that are located on or near the ceiling, and

(c) if the building does not have a functioning sprinkler system, each habitable room not within a sole-occupancy room, each public corridor and any other internal public space is equipped with smoke alarms that are located in those places where AS 1670.1 requires smoke detectors to be located.

(6) The owner of a class 9a building that is a health care building must ensure that each patient care area, each public corridor and any other internal public space associated with a patient care area, are equipped with smoke alarms that are located in those places where AS 1670.1 requires smoke detectors to be located.

(7) Despite subclauses (2), (4) and (5), the owner of a dwelling or unit that consists substantially of a single room (containing sleeping facilities and other facilities) satisfies the requirements of subclauses (2), (4) and (5)(a) and (b) if he or she ensures that the dwelling or unit is equipped with a smoke alarm that is located on or near the ceiling between the sleeping facilities and the rest of the dwelling or unit.

(8) An order under subclause (1)(b) may specify a particular building or part of a building or a class of buildings or parts of buildings.

(9) In this clause--

"approval" means any consent, licence, permit, permission or authorisation that is required, under an Act or law, to be obtained before development may be carried out.

"AS 1670.1" means AS 1670.1--2004, Fire detection, warning, control and intercom systems--System design, installation and commissioning--Part 1: Fire as in force from time to time.

"class 1a building" means, in relation to a building that forms part of a strata scheme, the lot containing a dwelling within the building.

"health care building" means a building (other than a clinic, day surgery, day procedure unit or medical centre) occupied by persons receiving full-time care or patients undergoing medical treatment, being persons of a kind who generally require physical assistance to evacuate the building in an emergency, and includes the following--

(a) a nursing home,

(b) a facility under the control of a public health organisation within the meaning of the Health Services Act 1997 ,

(c) a private health facility licensed under the Private Health Facilities Act 2007 .

"nursing home" means a facility at which a high level of residential care (within the meaning of the Aged Care Act 1997 of the Commonwealth) is provided.

"order" means an order made under the Act or any other Act or law.

"patient care area" has the same meaning as it has in the Building Code of Australia but does not include any bathroom, ensuite bathing area or toilet area.

"relocatable home" means--

(a) a manufactured home, or

(b) any other moveable dwelling (whether or not self-contained) that comprises one or more major sections, including any associated structure that forms part of the dwelling,

but does not include a tent, caravan or campervan or any moveable dwelling that is a vehicle of a kind that is capable of being registered within the meaning of the Road Transport Act 2013 .

"sole-occupancy unit" has the same meaning as it has in the Building Code of Australia .