To explain the way our regulatory systems work alongside each other, the ABCB and the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) have published a joint statement on the fire safety requirements for early childhood centres located in multi-storey buildings.
There are new requirements in the NCC for early childhood centres located in multi-story buildings. Children under the care of others are among the most vulnerable occupants of a building. It is important they can access and exit buildings safely, particularly in an emergency evacuation.
The NCC has been updated to include extra requirements to address the difficulties associated with evacuating young occupants. Additionally, some requirements apply to all early childhood centres. Requirements to improve the fire safety of early childhood centres in multi-storey buildings were introduced in NCC 2019 Amendment 1 and were further updated in NCC 2022.
At the Building Ministers Meeting in June 2023, Ministers considered the significant progress made with the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) and other regulatory authorities to ensure the fire safety requirements of the NCC and ACECQA’s National Quality Framework adequately protect children during an emergency.
The ABCB and ACECQA have published a joint statement about their respective roles and regulatory requirements. These requirements will ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of children during emergency evacuations from multi-storey buildings.
The ABCB will continue to monitor these requirements in conjunction with ACECQA.