74Exemption from BCA standards for fire safety building work

74 Exemption from BCA standards for fire safety building work

74 Exemption from BCA standards for fire safety building work

(1) A person may lodge an objection with a certifier that compliance with a specified provision of the Building Code of Australia relating to the operational performance of a relevant fire safety system is unreasonable or unnecessary in the circumstances.

(2) A person may lodge an objection under this section only if the person has, or will have, the benefit of—

(a) a construction certificate subject to a condition under section 22 in relation to building work involving the minor modification or extension of a relevant fire safety system, or

(b) a complying development certificate subject to a condition imposed by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021, section 147 in relation to building work involving the minor modification or extension of a relevant fire safety system.

(3) The objection must—

(a) specify the grounds of the objection, and

(b) be accompanied by a copy of the building work plans and specifications.

(4) The certifier may, if satisfied an objection is well-founded, exempt the building work, either conditionally or unconditionally, from a specified provision of the Building Code of Australia.

(5) A certifier may exempt the building work only if—

(a) the non-compliance with the Building Code of Australia relates only to the operational performance of the relevant fire safety system, and

(b) the certifier is satisfied the non-compliance will not reduce the operational performance of the relevant fire safety system, and

(c) an accredited practitioner (fire safety), other than the accredited practitioner who prepared the building work plans and specifications, has endorsed the non-compliance, and

(d) a current fire safety certificate or a current fire safety statement that relates to or includes the fire safety system being modified or extended has been issued for the building.

(6) This section does not apply to building work required by a fire safety order.