Evacuation Diagram Requirements in Queensland

Queensland's fire safety compliance framework is administered by the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) and local councils under the Fire Services Act 1990 and the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008. If you last dealt with Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES), that agency was replaced by QFD on 1 July 2024, and the Act was renamed from the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 at the same time. Queensland has unique considerations including cyclone-prone regions, high tourist populations, and a large stock of older timber buildings in regional areas.

This guide covers Queensland-specific evacuation diagram requirements. Accommodation buildings carry the most explicit obligations of any building type here, and our hotel and accommodation evacuation diagram guide covers where diagrams go in hotels, motels and serviced apartments.

Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008

Under the Fire Services Act 1990 and the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008, building occupiers must:

• Prepare and maintain a fire and evacuation plan. The duty sits on the occupier of any building other than a single dwelling house, with no size threshold (Fire Services Act 1990, section 146O)
• Include an evacuation diagram in that written plan, whatever the floor area (Building Fire Safety Regulation, section 21(2)(c))
• Display evacuation diagrams along the evacuation routes once the building's total floor area is 300 m2 or more (section 30)
• Carry out an evacuation practice at least once a year and keep a record of each one (sections 43, 44 and 46)
• Appoint a fire safety adviser if the building is a high occupancy building (section 34). That includes a workplace in one of the listed industries where 30 or more workers are normally employed, and a class 2 or 3 building more than 25 m high (schedule 3)

The 300 m2 threshold for small sites

The display duty has a floor-area threshold that matters if you run a small site. Under section 30(4) of the regulation, the obligation to display diagrams on the walls only applies once the building's total floor area reaches 300 m2. Below that, Queensland law does not force you to hang diagrams, but your written fire and evacuation plan must still include an evacuation diagram (section 21(2)(c)), so a compliant diagram is required at any size. Most small operators display it anyway: a diagram in a drawer helps nobody mid-evacuation.

One more point worth knowing: the regulation itself never mentions AS 3745. What a Queensland diagram must show is set out in section 18, and the display rules are in section 30. AS 3745 is the national standard EvacPath draws to, and it covers everything section 18 asks for.

QFD Inspections

Most duties in the Building Fire Safety Regulation carry a maximum penalty of 20 or 30 penalty units. The Queensland Fire Department can:

• Enter and inspect a building through its authorised fire officers, to check that fire safety measures are in place and the law is being followed (Fire Services Act 1990, section 149K)
• Give the occupier or owner a written notice to fix a breach of the regulation within a stated period, for example missing or out-of-date evacuation diagrams. The occupier or owner must comply with the notice (section 146Y)

Brisbane and South East Queensland

The SEQ corridor (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast) has a rapidly growing building stock with specific considerations:

• Gold Coast apartments let to holidaymakers or run as serviced apartments need an evacuation sign inside each unit (section 48). Units lived in by their owner or a tenant are excluded (section 47(2))
• Brisbane's Fortitude Valley and South Bank entertainment precincts have high concentrations of licensed venues needing compliant diagrams
• Shopping centres in suburban growth corridors may be subject to QFD audit programs
• Mixed-use buildings (retail below, residential above) are increasingly common and need coordinated evacuation planning
• Flood-prone areas along the Brisbane River need evacuation plans that consider both fire and flood scenarios

Cyclone and Severe Weather Considerations

North Queensland and coastal areas face cyclone risks that affect evacuation planning:

• Emergency plans should address cyclone shelter-in-place procedures (the opposite of fire evacuation)
• Some buildings serve as designated cyclone shelters and need diagrams showing both evacuation routes and shelter areas
• Post-cyclone damage may block normal exit routes, making alternative routes on diagrams critical
• Tourist accommodation in Cairns, Townsville, and the Whitsundays should inform guests about both fire evacuation and cyclone procedures
• Storm surge zones in coastal areas may affect assembly area locations

Regional Queensland

Regional and rural Queensland has its own challenges:

• Many older buildings are timber-framed Queenslander style with high fire risk
• Mining towns and resource sector facilities have strict workplace fire safety requirements
• Agricultural buildings (packing sheds, processing facilities) may store chemicals or fuel
• Remote locations may have long emergency response times, making self-evacuation critical
• Indigenous community buildings and facilities have the same requirements as urban buildings

Get Queensland-Compliant Evacuation Diagrams

EvacPath creates AS 3745-compliant evacuation diagrams for buildings across Queensland, from Brisbane CBD offices to Gold Coast resorts and regional commercial properties. City pages cover Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Mackay, and the rest are listed with every Queensland city we cover. Every diagram is drawn to AS 3745 and to what the regulation says a diagram must show (section 18). The diagrams go into the building's fire and evacuation plan.

Print-ready PDFs delivered in 3 to 5 business days. Pricing starts at A$70 per diagram. Get your instant price, with no site visit and no payment until you approve the first draft.

Other Australian state guides

Evacuation diagram requirements vary by state. AS 3745 provides the technical baseline nationally; each state and territory layers its own fire safety regulations on top. For state-specific guides, see:

- New South Wales (NSW) evacuation diagram requirements - Victoria evacuation diagram requirements - Western Australia evacuation diagram requirements - South Australia evacuation diagram requirements - Australian Capital Territory evacuation diagram requirements - Northern Territory evacuation diagram requirements - Tasmania evacuation diagram requirements