Amendments

A Guide to the Recent Amendments to AS3745-2010

From May 1, 2014, Amendment 1 of Australian Standard 3745-2010: Planning for Emergencies in Facilities replaces the existing standard of the same name. Before its publishing, the amendment has been in draft review format since mid-2013. So what are the Amendments to AS3745-2010? Let’s take a look at the major changes, and how they affect you:

The Amendments to AS3745-2010 include:

Emergency Planning Consultants

he Amendments to AS3745-2010 introduces the “Emergency Planning Consultant”. The terms refer to emergency planning specialists with “the knowledge and skill enabling him/her to advise on human behaviour, fire safety systems, evacuation methodology, emergency preparedness and response and the development of an emergency plan”.

A person gains “Emergency Planning Consultant” status through acquiring training, education, qualification and experience relevant to emergency planning.

The Impact on You: Be careful of imposters! The standard makes no reference to the technical level that a person must be to be considered an “Emergency Planning Consultant”. Be sure to ask what qualifications your Emergency Planning Consultant holds. In Queensland, for example, your consultant must hold a valid Fire Safety Advisor (FSA) qualification. The FSA qualification is also best practice outside of Queensland.

Also, consider asking for your consultant’s licenses and experience. The last thing you want to be doing is taking life safety advice from someone who doesn’t have a full understanding of emergency planning. Again in Queensland, for example, businesses and individuals providing emergency planning and fire safety consulting services must be licensed by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC).