Our new village operator asserts that, as NSW residents live in independent units, they are not legally required to prepare and practice an evacuation plan. Is this correct?
Our strata village has a new operator. The previous operator prepared an evacuation plan for the village and practised it twice a year. The new operator asserts that as village residents live in independent units, in NSW they are not legally required to prepare and practice an evacuation plan. The Act seems to indicate they DO have an obligation for an evacuation plan. What is the legal position?
The applicability of AS3745 for evacuation plans and training is whether the site has any person or business that could be defined as a PCBU.
I'm not a lawyer, so I can't provide a legal opinion, but the applicability of AS3745 for evacuation plans and training is whether the site has any person or business that could be defined as a PCBU, e.g., someone is conducting work there.
If so: "Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), PCBUs must provide adequate training to all workers on site, including emergency evacuation procedures."
Here's some official info on the responsibilities of a PCBU: Glossary
I believe a lot is happening in the background to further define the specific applicability of all this to strata as the waters are muddied if a strata block has: contractors on site/ building manager on site/ persons working from home - particularly in the common area.
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Rob Broadhead, CEO of 2020 Fire Protection.
I've been involved in strata since 2001, spoken at events, written training courses and been involved in committees. I am a regular contributor to SCA, FMA, OCN, LookUpStrata and Your Strata Property.
I’ve been in fire protection since 1992, a graduate of the Institute of Fire Engineers and an Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety).
I’ve served voluntarily as VP of FPA Australia and on SCA’s NSW State Committee. I've represented FMA on the Building Commission’s Fire Safety Steering committee, and listed in the 2021 report into Fire Safety Reform. I am co-chair of the Strata sector of the Fire Safety Industry Reference Group.
I bring timely fire and related legislative knowledge transparently to the strata industry.
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