When a fire alarm goes off, people are not thinking about compliance; they are thinking about getting out safely.
Fire safety in strata is often associated with compliance activities, such as annual inspections and maintenance of essential fire safety systems. These provide an important framework for risk management within a building. But what matters just as much is how people actually move through the building and respond in an emergency.
This can become more relevant during winter, when the use of heaters and dehumidifiers may increase the risk of fire. Particularly if devices are used for long periods or placed too close to flammable materials, such as polyester blankets or under desks.
For many committees, fire evacuation planning can feel like something that sits just outside the usual compliance checklist. In practice, it plays an important role within a broader risk management approach, even though it is sometimes overlooked. This can leave committees wondering whether further planning is needed and what that should look like. At the same time, insurers, residents and workers are increasingly expecting clearer plans for responding to incidents.
Taking a more practical approach to evacuation planning can give your committee a clearer picture of how your building would respond in an emergency, rather than just what is expected to happen. It also shifts the focus from having systems in place to understanding how people respond in real situations, where gaps are more likely to emerge.
In many buildings, evacuation plans may not be in place or are only tested after something actually happens.
For example, a stairwell that is easy to use during the day may become crowded very quickly if multiple residents try to leave at once. Visitors or contractors may not know where assembly areas are located. In mixed-use properties, people may follow different assumptions about how to respond.
These situations are not always picked up during standard compliance checks, but they can make a real difference in how safely and efficiently people get out in an emergency.
Evacuation planning might feel like a box-ticking task, but it’s really about something simple: helping people get out safely if something goes wrong. It also forms part of a committee’s responsibilities under WHS laws when managing shared areas of the building.
WHS laws expect those responsible for a building to take reasonable steps to keep people safe. In a strata, owners corporation or body corporate setting, that goes beyond checking fire equipment. It includes considering what would happen if people needed to leave quickly and how that process would unfold.
For example, would exits be easy to find? Would everyone know where to go? Would different groups act in the same way? These are the kinds of things that don’t always come up in day-to-day compliance checks, but they become important when it matters most. This is where a risk assessment can help, by providing a clearer picture of how the building may function in that situation.
You may also come across terms such as ‘persons conducting a business or undertaking’ (PCBUs), ‘individuals or entities with management or control of common property’, or ‘officers’. In WHS legislation, owners corporations or bodies corporate may fall within these definitions, particularly where workers are engaged to operate on site.
Evacuation planning is not always explicitly addressed in fire compliance frameworks, such as an annual fire safety statement. However, under Regulation 43 of the Model Work Health and Safety Regulations, duty holders are required to prepare and maintain an emergency plan that includes evacuation procedures, response actions, communication, and training, meaning evacuation planning still plays an important role in managing broader safety risks under WHS laws.
In many buildings, it can be overlooked because the focus remains on systems and equipment, rather than on how people move through the space during an incident. Taking the time to work through this often through a risk assessment can help identify gaps and provide a clearer, more practical plan.
Safety responsibilities cannot simply be handed off, even when others are engaged to help. What matters is that everyone involved understands their role and works together.
In real life, it’s not always clean-cut. A worker, for example, may have duties as both an officer and a PCBU, each with its own responsibilities.
It’s common for responsibility to be shared. The key is to align everyone involved so nothing is overlooked.
At the end of the day, it’s about identifying risks and either removing them or reducing them as far as reasonably practicable.
For committees, this means evacuation planning may sit alongside other safety measures as part of a broader, practical approach to keeping people safe.
State | Legislation |
NSW | |
QLD | Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) – Chapter 3.2 (Div 4) |
VIC |
In simple terms, it’s about taking sensible steps based on what you know. That means thinking about the risks, how likely they are, how serious they could be, and what you can realistically do to reduce them.
When evacuation plans aren’t clear or haven’t been thought through, things can quickly become more difficult during an emergency. Delays, confusion or uncertainty can affect how safely people are able to exit a property.
For owners corporations or bodies corporate, it can be harder to:
In more complex properties such as commercial, industrial or mixed-use schemes, the likelihood and potential severity of incidents can be higher due to:
These types of schemes can carry greater responsibility and liability when managing health and safety, especially if the owners corporation or body corporate is classified as a PCBU. In some cases, evacuation planning is only revisited after an incident, a near miss (where something could have gone wrong but didn’t), or an insurance query.
That’s often when gaps in communication, coordination, or how an emergency is managed in practice become clear. Taking a more proactive approach to evacuation planning can help reduce risks and place the committee in a stronger position if an incident occurs.
Emergency procedures can look clear on paper, but can feel very different in the moment. Thinking through what would actually happen can show gaps, especially in busy or mixed use buildings.
See how emergency procedures apply in a workplace to inform evacuation processes, communication, and training.
Identifying evacuation risks starts with looking at how people move through the property and what might affect their ability to safely exit during an emergency. A key shift here is moving from ‘what the building looks like’ to ‘what happens when people move through it under pressure.’
Specialists can help assess whether evacuation arrangements make sense for how your building is actually used.
Evacuation diagrams, signage, and instructions may need to be updated over time as buildings and occupancy change.
Regular inspections can help highlight access issues, visibility concerns or maintenance gaps. Look closely at stairwells, entry points, shared corridors, and any areas where movement narrows or slows.
Residents, tenants, and workers can often notice practical issues that aren’t obvious during formal reviews, such as exits that are regularly blocked, confusing doors in an emergency, or areas where visitors are unlikely to know where to go.
Evacuation planning does not need to be overly complex. Starting with clear, accessible information and refining it over time can help improve how evacuation arrangements work in practice.
Once hazards are identified, the next step is understanding how they might affect your building in a real situation.
In workplace settings, emergency plans outline evacuation, communication and response. In strata, this means considering how those processes would work across common areas. For example, a blocked path to a fire exit might seem minor during routine inspections, but in an emergency, it could quickly become congested when people need to move through the space quickly.
These spaces can also be used for storage or become obstructed with items that are only cleared when inspections are due. A common challenge is that evacuation planning is often based on building design rather than on how the property is used day to day.
A useful check is to ask not just whether these elements are in place, but whether they would still work clearly under pressure.
Residents, tenants, visitors and workers may all use the property differently. This matters because not everyone will know the layout or respond in the same way.
Height, layout, accessibility requirements and tenancy mix can all influence evacuation behaviour.
Congestion, unclear direction or delayed response may increase exposure to smoke or confusion during an incident.
Fire systems, lighting, and signage may already support evacuation, but it’s worth considering whether they would still be effective when people are moving quickly and under stress.
Using workplace emergency plan templates as a starting point can help make strata, owners corporation or body corporate evacuation planning more practical. They include key elements such as evacuation steps, communication, and training, which can then be adapted to suit your building and how it’s used day-to-day.
Once you have a clearer picture of how evacuation might work in a real situation, the next step is to make practical improvements. In many cases, this isn’t about adding new systems, but improving what’s already there so it works better in day-to-day use.
Administrative controls are ways to establish rules and procedures to manage hazards and help minimise the risk to others on the property. Some measures can include:
Alongside other safety measures, providing workers with proper PPE can add an extra layer of protection from hazards. Administrative and PPE measures should support, not replace, other control measures.
The key is to focus on what will actually work when it matters, not just what looks complete on paper.
If you’re unsure where to start in your owners corporation or body corporate, SafeWork Australia offers practical guidance on managing risks in real buildings. It can help you think through what good looks like and how to apply it in your own property.
Evacuation planning isn’t something you do once and forget. As your building changes, such as new tenants, changes in how spaces are used, or increased occupancy, your approach needs to adjust with it. Over time, planning shifts from being a document to an ongoing process.
Looking for practical guidance on managing safety risks? SafeWork Australia explains what to consider and how to approach risk in real situations.
Evacuation planning doesn’t need to be complex, but it should reflect how people actually use your building. This type of planning can feel like an extra step, but in a real situation it becomes part of how WHS risks are actually managed by the owners corporation or body corporate.
Walking through your property, speaking with residents or contractors, and thinking through what people would do can quickly highlight gaps that aren’t obvious on paper. This kind of practical approach can help your committee make more informed decisions, support safer outcomes and build confidence in how people may act in an emergency.
Each state may have specific legislation and regulations concerning health and safety duties in owner corporations or bodies corporate. If you’re unsure where to start, Safe Work Australia, a national policy body, offers a range of resources and tools to help committees manage hazards and risks. For the latest general WHS updates, guidance, and recommendations, please visit the official Safe Work website at safeworkaustralia.gov.au.
If you need more support, our Community Health & Safety service offers practical tools to help manage risks in your building, helping you meet your obligations under relevant regulations. Our resource library, online reporting system, and centralised repository are designed to make it easier to stay organised and across your health and safety obligations.
Whether you would like to report a current hazard or flag a near-miss incident, please use this report form to help manage health and safety risks on your common property.
Get an updated committee report of hazards, incidents, and work orders to help track and manage risks on common property.
Contact your strata, body corporate, or owners corporation manager for an up-to-date copy today.
Get an annual site inspection walkthrough of your common property to help spot new hazards and risks that arise over time. Contact your strata, body corporate, or owners corporation manager to organise an annual safety report for your property at a fee.
This guide is created by PICA Services Pty Ltd ABN 70 651 941 114 (PICA Group). Community Health & Safety is a part of the PICA Group. Usage of Community Health & Safety services may be subject to charges. We advise you to fully understand the terms of service or agency agreement and any potential fees associated before utilising this service. While PICA Group has taken every reasonable care in compiling the information in this flyer, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. Links to third-party websites are provided for convenience only. PICA Group does not endorse or accept any responsibility for these websites’ content, use, or availability. PICA Group accepts no liability for any loss or damage caused by the use of or reliance on the information contained in this flyer or any links or third-party websites.
This guide has been adapted and derived from Safe Work Australia materials in May 2026 under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0), as listed below. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. (SafeWork Australia). © Commonwealth of Australia.
