The short answer
Yes, NSW law reaches evacuation diagrams. Since 13 February 2026, section 81A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 requires building owners to have essential fire safety measures inspected, tested and serviced in accordance with AS 1851-2012. Where emergency planning is one of the building's essential fire safety measures, that includes AS 1851 Section 14, which covers evacuation diagrams and refers to AS 3745-2010 for how they are prepared. The maximum penalty is 600 penalty units for a corporation.
Workplaces have a second duty. The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) requires the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan that covers evacuation procedures, testing and worker training.
AS 3745-2010 is the recognised benchmark for how that plan, including its evacuation diagrams, should be prepared. AS 1851 brings it into the building maintenance regime, and for workplaces it is what regulators and auditors expect to see. Following it is the clearest way to show you have met your obligations.
Childcare is the exception where the law is direct: Regulation 97 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations requires an emergency and evacuation floor plan displayed near each exit.
What NSW law requires
The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) replaced the 2017 Regulation in August 2025. The emergency plan duty carried over and sits in section 43. The PCBU must make sure an emergency plan is prepared, maintained and implemented for the workplace. The plan must provide for:
- Emergency procedures, including an effective response to an emergency, evacuation procedures, notifying emergency services at the earliest opportunity, medical treatment and assistance, and communication between the person coordinating the response and everyone at the workplace
- Testing of the emergency procedures, including how often they are tested
- Information, training and instruction for relevant workers on carrying out the procedures
The plan must also take into account the work carried out, the specific hazards, the size and location of the workplace, and the number and type of people there.
The WHS Regulation sets the outcome and leaves the format to you. The detail comes from the SafeWork NSW code of practice, Managing the work environment and facilities. It says that, where relevant, emergency procedures should address the distribution and display of a site plan showing fire protection equipment, emergency exits and assembly points, and that evacuation procedures should be displayed in a prominent place. Courts can use an approved code of practice as evidence of what is known about a risk and how to control it, so departing from it is something you would need to justify.
Building owners: AS 1851 is now law. Section 81A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 applies from 13 February 2026. It requires the owner to make sure the maintenance activities for each essential fire safety measure are carried out in accordance with AS 1851-2012, unless an approved performance solution covers them. Records required by AS 1851 must be kept on site for at least 7 years and made available to Fire and Rescue NSW or the council. The maximum penalty is 600 penalty units for a corporation and 300 for an individual. AS 1851-2012 includes emergency planning, including evacuation diagrams, and refers to AS 3745-2010 for how diagrams are prepared. This applies to each essential fire safety measure for the building: those listed in its fire safety schedule, and any original measure that applies but is not listed (section 81). Check your fire safety schedule and annual fire safety statement to see how emergency planning is captured for your building.
Other conditions can apply on top of these duties. A development consent, a fire engineering report or a building's fire safety arrangements can include emergency planning conditions. Check those documents for your building rather than assuming the general position covers you.
Where AS 3745 fits
AS 3745-2010 Planning for emergencies in facilities is the Australian Standard for workplace emergency planning. It covers the emergency planning committee, the emergency plan, the emergency control organisation (wardens), training, exercises and evacuation diagrams.
An Australian Standard is voluntary until a law calls it up. AS 1851 does that for building owners, and NSW guidance also points to AS 3745:
- The SafeWork NSW code of practice says further guidance on emergency plans and procedures is available in AS 3745-2010.
- Fire and Rescue NSW says that in most cases a workplace should prepare, maintain and implement its emergency plan in accordance with AS 3745-2010.
- The NSW Department of Education describes AS 3745 as widely accepted as the benchmark.
In practice, if an incident, audit or insurance claim puts your emergency arrangements under review, AS 3745 is the yardstick most people will use. Meeting it is your best evidence that you took your duty of care seriously.
What an AS 3745 evacuation diagram should show
Section 3.5 of AS 3745 sets out the content of an evacuation diagram. In summary, each diagram should include:
- A simplified pictorial plan of the floor or area
- A "You Are Here" point showing where the reader is standing
- Designated exits and the routes to them
- Fire hose reels, fire extinguishers and fire blankets
- Manual call points
- Emergency warning and intercommunication points (EWIS and WIP), where installed
- The assembly area
- A legend explaining the symbols
- A validity date, so readers can see when it was last checked
- Correct orientation for the place where it hangs
Many sites also show optional items, such as hydrants, first aid kits and the fire indicator panel, where they help people in an emergency. A standard architect's floor plan is not an evacuation diagram. It has too much detail, and it is not drawn for the place where it hangs.
Placement and orientation
A diagram only helps if people can see it and read it quickly. Mount diagrams where people pass and pause: near exits, lift lobbies, stair doors, corridor junctions and entry foyers. Each one should be oriented so that what is on the left of the drawing is on the reader's left. That means each location usually needs its own version of the drawing.
For more detail, read our guides to evacuation diagram mounting and placement and evacuation diagram orientation and the "You Are Here" point.
How often to review evacuation diagrams
Two cycles apply. AS 1851-2012 Section 14 requires evacuation diagrams to be inspected every six months for relevancy and compliance with the emergency plan (Table 14.4.2, item 1.5). Where emergency planning is one of the building's essential fire safety measures, section 81A makes that part of the owner's legal maintenance duty. On top of that, AS 3745 sets a five-year review benchmark for the diagram itself. The NSW Department of Education's guidance for early childhood services puts it plainly: review diagrams at least once every five years and whenever the layout changes, and update the validity date after each review, even if nothing changed.
Treat these as review triggers: a fit-out or new partitions, a new or closed exit, moved fire equipment, a changed assembly area, or a change in how the space is used. The emergency plan itself also needs regular review, so it makes sense to check the diagrams at the same time.
Notes for specific sectors
Childcare and early learning
Regulation 97 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations requires emergency and evacuation procedures that include an emergency and evacuation floor plan. A copy of the floor plan and instructions must be displayed in a prominent position near each exit. Centre-based services must also rehearse the procedures every three months and document each rehearsal. See our Regulation 97 compliance service.
Schools
A school is a workplace, so the WHS emergency plan duty applies, and AS 3745 is the usual benchmark for diagrams. Check any extra requirements from your school system or sector body.
Aged care and healthcare
AS 4083-2010 Planning for emergencies – Health care facilities builds on AS 3745 for sites where many occupants need help to move. Diagrams in these facilities should show the routes staff will actually use to move residents or patients, including horizontal evacuation to another smoke compartment where that is part of the plan. See our AS 4083 healthcare services.
Strata and residential buildings
The WHS emergency plan duty applies to workplaces, so how it applies to a strata building depends on the circumstances: building managers, cleaners, contractors and commercial lots can all bring a workplace into the building. Whatever the strict legal position, diagrams in common property help residents and visitors find the nearest stair. See our strata and apartment evacuation diagrams.
Common mistakes we see
One master copy for the whole floor
The same drawing hung in every location, so left and right are wrong for half the people reading it.
New date, no check
The validity date is changed without walking the site. The date then says the diagram is current when nobody has confirmed it.
Diagrams that predate the fit-out
New partitions, a moved exit or a relocated extinguisher, and the diagram still shows the old layout.
No assembly area, or the wrong one
The assembly area changed after a car park was redeveloped, but the diagrams still send people to the old spot.
Diagrams with nothing behind them
Diagrams on the wall, but no current emergency plan, no drills and no trained wardens. The diagram supports the plan. It does not replace it.
Diagrams work best alongside current AS 3745 emergency procedures and warden training, so the people reading them know what to do next.
Frequently asked questions
Are evacuation diagrams a legal requirement in NSW?
Yes, in two ways. For building owners, section 81A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 requires essential fire safety measures to be inspected, tested and serviced in accordance with AS 1851-2012, from 13 February 2026. Where emergency planning is one of the building's essential fire safety measures, that brings in AS 1851 Section 14, which covers evacuation diagrams and refers to AS 3745-2010. For businesses, the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW) requires the business or undertaking to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan that includes evacuation procedures. The SafeWork NSW code of practice says emergency procedures should, where relevant, cover displaying a site plan that shows fire protection equipment, exits and assembly points, and points to AS 3745 for further guidance. Evacuation diagrams are the usual way to meet that expectation. Childcare services also have a direct rule: Regulation 97 requires an emergency and evacuation floor plan displayed near each exit.
Is AS 3745 mandatory in NSW?
Not on its own, but NSW law now reaches it. AS 1851-2012, which section 81A of the Development Certification and Fire Safety Regulation makes mandatory for maintaining essential fire safety measures, covers emergency planning and evacuation diagrams (Section 14, where emergency planning is an essential fire safety measure for the building) and refers to AS 3745-2010. AS 3745 is also the recognised benchmark for workplaces: the SafeWork NSW code of practice refers to it, Fire and Rescue NSW says most workplaces should prepare their emergency plan in line with it, and auditors commonly measure diagrams against it.
How often do evacuation diagrams need to be reviewed?
Two cycles apply. AS 1851-2012 Section 14 (Table 14.4.2, item 1.5) requires evacuation diagrams to be inspected every six months for relevancy and compliance with the emergency plan. Where emergency planning is one of the building's essential fire safety measures, section 81A makes that inspection part of the owner's legal maintenance duty. AS 3745 sets a five-year review benchmark for the diagram itself. Review sooner whenever the layout, exits, fire equipment or assembly area changes, and update the validity date after each review, even if nothing changed.
What does a childcare service have to display?
Under Regulation 97 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations, a service must have emergency and evacuation procedures that include an emergency and evacuation floor plan, and a copy of the floor plan and instructions must be displayed in a prominent position near each exit. Centre-based services must also rehearse the procedures every three months and document the rehearsals.
Can I use an architect’s floor plan as an evacuation diagram?
Not as it stands. A floor plan shows the building. An evacuation diagram is simplified and drawn for the spot where it hangs, with a "You Are Here" point, exits, fire equipment, the assembly area, a legend and a validity date, all oriented to the person reading it.
Who is responsible for evacuation diagrams in a shared building?
Each business has its own emergency plan duty for its workplace, and duty holders who share a site must consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other. In practice, the building owner or manager usually coordinates the base-building diagrams, and tenants confirm they match their own fit-out and procedures.
Need diagrams you can stand behind?
Our evacuation diagrams service covers site verification, drafting to the AS 3745 benchmark, printing and installation. Each diagram is drawn for the spot where it hangs. We work across Sydney and NSW, including Western Sydney, Campbelltown and Camden, Wollongong and the Illawarra, Newcastle and the Hunter and the Blue Mountains.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Requirements for a particular building depend on its use, approvals and occupants. Sources: Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021, section 81A; AS 1851-2012; Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (NSW); SafeWork NSW, Managing the work environment and facilities code of practice; Fire and Rescue NSW emergency planning guidance; Education and Care Services National Regulations, regulation 97; NSW Department of Education, emergency and evacuation floor plans guidance; AS 3745-2010.