Question: Who can Queensland bodies corporate contact for help with fire safety compliance costs and reviews?
Our body corporate faces significant ongoing expenses to meet Queensland’s fire safety requirements. The legislation requires monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, and annual testing as well as regular equipment replacement. In the past four years, we have had to replace the fire hydrant, building pump, reels, check valves, extinguishers, and more. The costs keep escalating.
We have a six-storey concrete block building, yet the four-storey building next door has very little expense. The local fire service acknowledges our concerns but has no authority to review the legislation. Does Queensland have an Ombudsman or government body that reviews these requirements, and who can we contact for assistance with fire safety compliance, reviews, or costs?
Answer: The regulatory approach may at times feel overly prescriptive, particularly where the risk profile appears low.
In Queensland, the responsibility for fire safety legislation lies primarily with the Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works, which oversees building legislation, and the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES), which enforces compliance but does not have authority to amend legislation.
There is no specific Fire Safety Ombudsman in Queensland, but for concerns regarding regulatory impact or the need for legislative review, you may wish to direct your inquiry to:
- The Minister for Fire and Emergency Services
- The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) regulates building practitioners and may be able to direct you to relevant policy teams
- The Queensland Productivity Commission, who sometimes review regulatory burdens in sectors
While comparisons with neighbouring buildings can highlight disparities, fire safety obligations are determined based on building classification, use, and design (e.g., storeys, fire compartments, occupancy), not just age or construction material. Nonetheless, we acknowledge that the regulatory approach may at times feel overly prescriptive, particularly where the risk profile appears low.
This post appears in the September 2025 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine
Stefan Bauer
Fire Matters
E: sbauer@firematters.com.au
P: 07 3071 9088
I live in a complex of 63 units. The building is coming up to 3 years in 2023. We have been advised some of the fire doors are not compliant and have to be replaced at a cost of $60,000
Is this cost up to the Body Corporate or individual property owners.?
The warranty on the doors was for only 12 months.
How long should fire doors last without being replaced if properly maintained?
We understand that if they are not replaced and a fire does occur the insurance may not be covered.
What action can we take?
Hi Sandy,
We have responded to your comment in the article above.
Our complex is a building format plant. Most of the apartments access comprises of a gate leading into a private entry foyer, with a fire rated door as the secure entry to the unit itself. On the CMS plan, the entry foyer area is clearly shown as part of the lot, so that the gate and external foyer wall is the shared boundary between the lot and the common property. In this example, is it correct then to say that the fire door, which is contained wholly within the lot, is the low owners responsibility to maintain/repair?
Hi Helen
The following response has been provided by Michael Kleinschmidt, Stratum Legal:
Yes. A lot owner must maintain their lot; s211 Standard Module. If the lot is created under a building format plan, then the body corporate must maintain parts of the lot, which are not common property, if they fulfil what Adjudicators have called a ‘whole of building’ function, such as waterproof membranes, foundation structures etc and which are detailed in s180(2) Standard Module. A fire door inside the lot, and not a common boundary, does not, in my view, fall into the categories in that section (despite it fulfilling a ‘whole of building’ function – being to slow the progress of fire!).
I own and reside in a unit that is in a complex of six. There is a main entry to the foyer and all unit entry doors are off the foyer. The building is two levels. We had an inspection of the unit entry doors and each door seems to have issues particularly the gap between the door and the door frame. One unit door has a much bigger gap and the whole door requires replacement. Do we need to have each door repaired/replaced as we have the Certification of Occupation which was signed by a building certifier when the building was constructed in 2010.
I have responded to your comment in the article above.
We had some common windows replaced because of corrosion. However we were not aware (nor informed by the the builder) that “Smoke Vent “windows were removed and that a building approval should have been in place before these were removed. Subsequently a building certifier has been engaged with approval given subject to interconnected smoke alarms being installed in the units involved. One of these has to be hardwired although existing smoke alarms are battery powered. Another Fire contractor (not our own) has stated that smoke alarms are not required for approval, and that the certifier is incorrect. Where do we go for the correct advice?
We are installing flooring over a tiled entrance which is accessed through a fire door. To enable the door to open and close the fire door would need to be shaved. Is this permitted and id so what procedures do we need to take to ensure Fitre Services compliance.
Hi Tony
The following response has been provided by Stefan Bauer, Fire Matters:
On average manufacturers have a 10mm threshold (lip) around the the outside edges of a fire door that should not compromised. Should more than 10mm be required to allow for the floor covering the manufacture should be able to alter the door to suit by removing the lip and reinstating it once the door has been cut to size.
Are you permitted to install a door video viewer in a fire rated apartment door.
Hi Richard
We have responded to your question in the article above.
What are the gap requirements around a smoke door .
And
If the gap Around the door when viewed from inside is within the requirements but when the same door is viewed from outside there is a larger gap due to a slight distortion of the door , is this door acceptable ?
Thank you .
14 commercial lots have glass fronts with a door in them (is this a considered a fire door?) with a special use/exclusive use area in front, some areas bigger some only path width but will not be covered for any repairs,locks or replacement. The 205 apartments have hotel type swipe key card locks some are dual key, so around 270 total doors. Should the commercial lot owners have been charged within levies for a new lock system, repairs, replacement and to make all the unit fire doors compliant to hotel standard? The building was classified originally as residential/commercial but Management Letting Rights/Caretaker is a hotel with a mix of residents and holiday units under a BUP and Accommodation Module. Lot entitlements & interest are same.
Would the front entrance/only doors be considered fire doors and the body corporate responsibility also?
Hi sujon
The following response has been provided by Peter Pedersen, Scanline Fire Doors:
This relates more to a building certifier as it depends on how the building was originally constructed and approved.
All fire doors are manufactured to AS 1530 and installed to AS 1905.1 So it doesn’t matter if it is residential or commercial.
Many residential buildings are now changing to electronic card readers, simply because it is easier and more convenient and also eliminates lost keys, specifically master keys.
The unit entry doors and isolated fire stairs are generally fire rated doors, with some common area doors as well. To identify a fire door, simply look for the compliance tag located below the top hinge at the hinge side of the door.
We gave 67 unirs Do we have to have a Fire safety audit done every year ? Or how often does it gave to be done to make sure we are insured?
Hi Tiana
The following response has been provided by Peter Pedersen, Scanline Fire Doors:
I can only advice you on fire doors.
In Queensland, you are required to have unit doors inspected annually as per The Queensland development code MP 6-1
A recent fire door inspection has revealed that the main fire door/entry to top floor apartment is non compliant due to not having a door stop fitted. The company has quoted on a door mounted stop which will be an obstacle in the middle of the floor. Previously they have quoted for this typ of door stop (downstairs) and proceeded to install a door mounted stop instead due to the high risk of damaging tiles. Please advise of the compliance or regulations for either type of door stop. The report states to ‘stop it hitting the wall’ which in this instance, it would not hit in any case!!
Q2 – some lot owners have added deadbolts and/or deadlocks to their doors. Is it the responsibility of the Body Corporate funds to rectify this? Alterations were made without advice, warning or approval.
Hi Karen
This response from Peter Pedersen, Scanline Fire Doors:
To answer your first question:
Either type of door stops are compliant.
If the door is not likely to hit anything, it may be possible not to have any door stops at all.
5.6.4 Travel-limiting devices
Every side-hung or double-acting fire-resistant doorset shall be protected by means of buffers, stops or other travel-limiting devices, to prevent damage in any installation where the fire-resistant doorset or its accessories could be subjected to forceful or careless operation. The travel-limiting devices shall be located so as to minimize strain or racking of the door leaf.NOTE: For the purpose of this Clause, a door closer is not considered to be a travel-limiting device.
Clearly you wouldn’t fit a floor mount door stop in the middle of the floor, a wall/door mount stop would clearly be the answer.
To answer your second question:
As the fire door is the common property, the Body Corporate can demand that the fire door is restored to its original condition.
Removal and repairs of deadbolts to make the door compliant is not available to all door types, a new fire door may be required, if the existing door has not been tested for repairs to be carried out.
If required Scanline Fire Doors would be happy to carry out a site inspection to determine the repairs required in regards to both issues.
All 18 units in our building have fire doors which are regularly checked by our fire safety management company. Under QLD legislation, I believe the fire doors can be held open by way of an approved automatic device that releases the door when a fire alarm sounds and thus enabling the fire door to do its job to slow the spread of fire. All fire doors are fitted with single action downward motion handles (which enable for single hand use) that allow for easy egress of the unit as per the QLD legislation.
A number of unit owners have installed key lockable insect/security screens which may or may not have such a downward motion handle but all have a key mechanism and thus require a two hand operation to open the door – one for the handle and one for the key – which will surely impede the rapid egress of the unit.
I have sought (and received various interpretations of the legislation) but I cannot get a clear and definitive answer – do these lockable screens doors comply?
Hi Mike
This response from Peter Pedersen, Scanline Fire Doors:
This product (Doorguard) is no longer available in Australia.
The only option would be to install a fire alarm panel and have wired magnetic hold open devices fitted.
This option may not be possible as the existing fire door would not be fitted with a reinforcement plate to fix the magnet to.
As a single occupancy unit door is not considered a fire exit door, so there are no requirements to have lever handles, (single handed egress) knob sets comply regulations. NCC D2.21.
Anything fitted to a fire door assembly has to be tested. As 1905.1
A screen door fitted to a fire rated door frame has not been tested.
A screen door fitted to a fire door in a unit complex would have to open out into the fire stair and will, therefore, be a risk for people exiting the building in case of an emergency.
Anything that could be locked from the inside, in my view should be avoided.
We have fire door with a 20 mm gap under it. The maintenance company are saying the door is at MP 61 apecifications with a nil fix. The it flow from the door makes the air conditioner cool our work area down to be freezing. Maintenance are still dying nil fix. Is this time for a PIN to be issued to rectify the item?
Hi Bob
We have received the following response from Tracey Wyber, Trackie Industries:
20mm appears excessive. We believe the threshold is under 10mm, however, being in QLD, I would check with the fire regulations.
I’ll also check with Peter from Scanline Fire Doors.
Hi Bob
I’ve heard back from Peter, Scanline Fire Doors:
If the doors are not asbestos, it would be a relatively easy fix, and may even be compliant!
Maybe if it’s on the Gold Coast or Brisbane I could go and have a look.
Admin: Peter’s contact details can be found above in the post.
Who is responsible for access to an apartment in a high-rise to check the fire doors?? Is it the Body Corp or Building Manager? The Committee Secretary is telling us that we need to access the apartments, when we don’t have legal access or keys.
Hi there,
Quick question, can a dwelling be tenanted if fire door needs replacement?
Hi Shaun
Thanks for your question. We have received the following reply from Peter, Scanline Fire Doors:
Depending on the defect.
If the door has a critical defect, It would need to be addressed within 30 days
However if the door is down for replacement as a part of building maintenance, and working as required, I don’t see a problem.
Maybe you can clarify why the door is in need of replacing?
There is a lot of confusion about entrance doors to each unit certainly in Melbourne most are merely flimsy internal doors with some flexible fringes that makes them poor quality smoke doors, if they lack a compliance plate they are not a fire door.
The main front door to our apartment block is also the fire exit door. We have an intercom security locking system in which the door can be unlocked from each apartment. The door can be opened from the inside by the handle but entry from outside is by use of a security key (unless unlocked from an apartment by intercom). The door is also automatically unlocked when the fire alarm is activated.
However, the keyed lock is of a deadbolt type and it is possible to accidentally deadlock the door either from the inside or the outside, thereby effectively preventing egress even if the fire alarm is activated. The alternative egress is via the garage roller door (auto raised in the event of a fire alarm. Should the fire be in the garage itself, then occupants could be prevented from safely exiting the building.
The builder is denying responsibility for the incorrect locking mechanism (it’s a 3 year old building) and we have been advised that the whole front door needs to be replaced as a replacement, non deadlocking locking mechanism cannot be fitted to the existing door cutout.
The question is, should the builder have complied with any regulation in regards to this problem? Previously, he had failed to comply with the correct fireproofing of the basement garage which required him doing extensive work after 2 years of occupancy being given.
Hi ferntreegullyrd
We have received the following response from Peter Pedersen, Scanline Fire Doors:
Assuming that the building in question is a 3 story walk up with basement carpark.
The door in question is more than likely not a fire rated door, however, if it serves as a designated exit for both carpark and units, it cannot have a deadbolt fitted, as the occupants will effectively have no means of escape from the building.
In your question “Q: We have been told that our fire doors have “excessive gaps” and don’t comply with the Australian standard. Is this true?” the stated standard of compliance for clearances should be AS1905.1-2015.
Frank…two more Qs re firedoors for your consideration please.
1) If the firedoor was damaged by a previous, but unidentifed owner by installation of a security peephole and neither the body corporate nor Fire Services picked up on this defect until after the current owner has lived there for a couple of years, is the current owner liable for any rectification costs?
2) When you say “If the owner or occupier causes damage to the door, the body corporate will still need to carry out the necessary repair work but can then recover the costs of that work from the person who caused the damage.”, can the body corporate do this simply by debiting the owner’s account or do they need to pursue normal recovery action through the courts?
Hi Ross
We have received the following comments back from Frank Higginson:
1) The current owner will be.
2) This is through the courts.
I would like to know If a Security Screen door over a fire door is illegal ? Living on a ground floor unit where one unit has already been broken into. I have been told it’s a grey area and would like confirmation on this please. I live in Brisbane QLD.
Hi,
How does this apply in the case of a fire rated door of an apartment though. That is referred to as a fire rated door, in that it has a self closing mechanism, which cannot be obstructed. For some reason, the fact that someone might put the deadbolt into an engaged state when the door is open, means that the door will not be able to self close as it will get jammed by the deadbolt. This is given as the reason for them NOT being allowed. Personally, and they admit that this is extremely rare, if an engaged deadbolt, slams against the metal frame of the door you’ll hear it. What is much more common is dropping something in the entryway as you are walking in, Especially with a heavy fire rated door that is slamming against you as you are entering. So dangerous when carrying a child, or for an older person. In addition, you may drop a scarf for example and not realise and the door, again, will not self close and you won’t even hear it. A much more common occurrence. The deadbolt issue is not related to escaping in case of fire, as there are plenty of single cylinder deadbolts, which do not have a key on the inside, but a simple turn knob, easily turned to escape. Yet, I am told all deadbolts are forbidden. The locks provided by the builder on my daughter’s apartment are not great, and easy to bump or pick also. The builder is also not providing any stairwell security in that anyone from the street can enter the apartment building. This leaves only the apartment door as protection against intruders. Yet they will not allow her to properly protect herself with a suitable deadbolt at least. Is this even legal? I read that ‘personal safety’ comes before security. However, someone breaking in and attacking me, I consider a personal safety issue.
The statement that “Deadbolts are not permitted on fire doors” is not supported by the Build Fire Safety Regulation 2008.
Division 3, paragraph 10 defines “Meaning of locking a door”. When a deadbolt is locked, the door is locked per the definition in the regulation. The regulation defines general obligations about locking doors in paragraph 11.
There is no general statement that a deadbolt can’t be fitted to a fire exit door or that the door can’t be locked at all, only that it can’t be locked when someone is on the internal side of the door.
There are restrictions on the types of locks that can be fitted in paragraph 12 “Locking doors—children in child care centres or persons in custody” which applies to child care services and where people are held in lawful custody in a building. Sub-paragraph (3) says:
“The occupier of the building must ensure that a door on an evacuation route of the building can not be locked in a way that would be likely to unduly restrict, hinder or delay a custodian for the occupant in opening the door.”
This does not apply generally, only to those restricted cases. So there does not appear to be any general restriction on fitting deadbolts to fire exit doors, only that they can’t be locked when someone is on the inside of the door.
If there is a regulation forbidding deadbolts on fire exit doors more generally, either currently or soon to be in force, can you please provide a reference?
Doors that are resistant to fire may also suffer breakdown as a result of constant use. There is no other good option but to conduct the right fire door inspection. To obtain the services of a door inspector for these special doors is an obligatory rule. This is done to ensure that doors would function properly in the event of a fire disaster.
A fire door inspector possesses the capability to carry out minor repairs and component adjustments to doors in order to make them pass the compliant status. They are consider the only the certified tradesman who are able to execute this checking on fire doors.
A primary element of any fire door set is called the door frame. This is a crucial part that needs to be installed properly. In addition, all fire door frames must be maintained according to the standards and must be subjected through a certified inspection.
Why should doors be given routine check up? They can fail when being used heavily. Some of these doors are placed in high traffic areas which are subject to frequent openings per day. Some of these doors can be found in hospitals. If there are at least 100 openings made for the door in a day, it would need not only a yearly inspection but at least one every 3 months. This would guarantee that there are no loose components and that the gap of the door from the floor is still in the allowed limit which is kept at certain measurements.