Amendment to AS 1851 Routine service of fire protection systems and equipment
Plumbing practitioners carrying out fire protection work and building owners and maintenance contractors are advised of a recent Amendment to AS 1851:2012 – Routine service of fire protection systems and equipment.
On 16 November 2016, Standards Australia released an Amendment to AS 1851:2012 to correct editorial errors and clarify baseline data requirements to AS 1851.
The VBA advises practitioners that are responsible for monitoring and enforcing Essential Safety Measures to verify the requirements contained in their existing maintenance conditions/determinations before adopting the updated provisions in AS 1851:2012.
Major changes to AS 1851:2012 include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Clarifying that persons carrying out routine servicing are only required to comply with the amended definition of 'baseline data' given in AS 1851:2012,
- Appendix C Baseline Date has been deleted,
- Minor clarifications and additions to the requirements within the Service Schedules.
For new building work, the Building Regulations 2006 requires that the relevant Building Surveyor must specify the level of performance for maintenance of the Essential Safety Measures.
Building owners and maintenance contractors are advised to consult the current occupancy permit or maintenance determination for the required level of performance. Property owners still utilising earlier versions of AS 1851 or equivalent older standards, but who are seeking to adopt the updated version of the Standard should consult Regulation 1205A of the Building Regulations 2006.
Purpose and application of AS 1851
AS 1851 is a prescribed technical standard for fire protection work under the Plumbing Regulations 2008 and a technical standard for the maintenance of essential safety measures required under Part 12 of the Building Regulations 2006. AS 1851: 2012 sets out the requirements for the routine servicing (inspection, testing, preventive maintenance and survey) of fire protection systems and equipment.
The Victorian Building Regulations 2006 requires that the relevant Building Surveyor must specify the use of AS 1851:2012 before it can be utilised to comply with the requirements contained in the Essential Safety Measures.
The complete text of AS 1851:2012 can be found at the SAI Global website: http://www.saiglobal.com/