Fire Safety Advisors Information only

Defined high occupancies are required to appoint and train a Fire Safety Adviser (FSA). This is a system loosely based on the Workplace Health and Safety Officer (WHSO) model provided under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.

An occupancy where 30 or more employees are normally employed (the Workplace Health and Safety Advisor test), a class 2 or 3 building that is more than 25 m in height and an at risk of overcrowding licensed premises (as nominated by the fire commissioner) are all required to have an FSA on staff. The role of the FSA will be to provide/arrange evacuation training to staff (such training can also be provided by a registered training organisation) and to be involved in the fire and evacuation plan development, review and practice process.

One FSA can cover more than one building. For example a university may have one or 2 FSA´s to cover a campus. Organisations with WHSOs may choose to nominate this person as the FSA or appoint someone separate, as is most effective for the particular situation.

The qualification is based on existing competencies in Workplace Emergency Response within the Australian Quality Training Framework and must be gained from a registered training organisation. An FSA will require reaccreditation every 3 years.

From commencement of the regulation (1 July 2008) existing high occupancy occupiers have 12 months to appoint and train an FSA. However, for new occupiers of a high occupancy building the FSA must be appointed and trained within one month of occupancy. For courses in Queensland, we recommend you contact www.deltraaustralia.com

PDF file Queensland Fire Safety Regulations 2008 - Overview

PDF file Queensland BFSR Fire Safety Adviser Role