Evacuation Diagram Requirements in Western Australia

In Western Australia, the main legal duty behind evacuation diagrams is the emergency plan every workplace must have under work health and safety law. WorkSafe WA's code of practice says emergency procedures should address, where relevant, a displayed site plan showing fire protection equipment, emergency exits and assembly points, and it points to AS 3745 for further guidance. WA's vast geography, booming resources sector, and remote communities create unique challenges for evacuation planning.

This guide sets out what WA law asks for, who does what, and the local factors that shape a good diagram in Perth, on mine sites and across regional WA.

What WA Law Actually Requires

No WA building or fire law names evacuation diagrams. The main duty is the workplace emergency plan, and a few sectors add their own rules. Here is where each piece comes from:

• Emergency plan: the person running the business or undertaking must make sure one is prepared, maintained and put into practice, covering emergency procedures including evacuation, testing of those procedures, and information, training and instruction (regulation 43 of the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022). The regulation does not mention diagrams
• Code of practice: WorkSafe WA's Managing the Work Environment and Facilities (2022) lists a displayed site plan of fire protection equipment, emergency exits and assembly points among the things emergency procedures should address where relevant, and points to AS 3745:2010 for further guidance
• Building law: the Building Act 2011 and Building Regulations 2012 do not mention evacuation diagrams or AS 3745. Owners of existing apartment and commercial buildings must keep safety measures such as exits, exit signs, emergency lighting, fire equipment and alarms working to the standard the building was approved under (regulation 48A). There is no annual fire safety statement, and nothing is lodged each year
• Public buildings: cinemas, licensed venues and other public buildings the local government names can be required to have an emergency evacuation plan approved by the local government, to the AS 3745 standard named in the regulation (Health (Public Buildings) Regulations 1992)
• Childcare: education and care services must display an emergency and evacuation floor plan near each exit (regulation 97 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations, which apply in WA)

WorkSafe, Local Government and DFES

WorkSafe enforces the emergency plan duty: the WorkSafe Commissioner is the work health and safety regulator, and WorkSafe inspectors issue work health and safety improvement notices. Building and fire roles sit elsewhere:

• Local government is normally the permit authority under the Building Act 2011: it issues building and occupancy permits, can make building orders, and can authorise people to inspect existing buildings for the regulation 48A duty
• Building surveyors sign one-off certificates: design compliance before a building permit, construction compliance, and building compliance
• DFES gives advice, not approval: for most apartment and commercial buildings (Class 2 to 9), plans go to DFES for advice on its operational requirements before the certificate of design compliance is signed
• In gazetted fire districts, including Perth's Metropolitan Fire District and the Bunbury Fire District, the Fire Brigades Act 1942 lets DFES enter premises, order a fire danger removed, require fire-fighting equipment, and clear blocked exits or close an unsafe public building. None of these powers mentions evacuation diagrams, and DFES cannot issue improvement notices
• The Building Commissioner is WA's building regulator and, through the Building and Energy division, regulates builders, building surveyors and other building service providers

Perth CBD and Metropolitan Area

Perth's growing skyline and urban renewal bring specific considerations:

• New high-rise developments in Elizabeth Quay and Perth City Link need comprehensive evacuation planning from design stage
• Northbridge entertainment district has a high concentration of licensed venues; hotels, taverns and similar licensed premises can be required to have an emergency evacuation plan approved by the local government
• Fremantle's heritage buildings call for sensitive diagram installation methods
• Shopping centres in suburban growth corridors (Joondalup, Rockingham, Mandurah): WorkSafe's code says the centre manager or landlord should coordinate the emergency plan with all tenants. We recommend centre-wide diagrams plus tenant-specific ones
• Student accommodation near universities (UWA, Curtin, Murdoch, ECU): no WA rule requires diagrams in individual rooms, but people sleep there, so we recommend one inside each room door

Mining and Resources Sector

Mines have their own work health and safety rules. Each mine needs an emergency plan that includes procedures for safe evacuation, drills and the current mine survey plan, and WorkSafe's mines emergency code says plans should make appropriate use of illustrations such as up-to-date maps and diagrams. Key points for the sector:

• Mine safety sits under the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 and the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022, regulated by WorkSafe (WorkSafe Mines Safety). The Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994 no longer holds the safety rules, and a head office that is not at a mine is an ordinary workplace under the General Regulations
• Accommodation villages on a mining tenement used solely for mining fall under the mine's emergency plan. No rule requires diagrams in individual rooms or dongas, but we recommend them in common areas and inside each room door, as workers sleep there on rotating rosters
• Processing plants and workshops that store dangerous goods above manifest quantities keep a separate dangerous goods site plan showing where they are stored. No WA rule says hazardous materials must be shown on evacuation diagrams
• Remote sites may have long emergency response times, making clear diagrams critical for self-evacuation
• Fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers rotate regularly, so diagrams need to be clear enough for people who may not know the site well

Regional and Remote WA

WA's vast regional areas have specific challenges:

• Cyclone-prone areas in the Pilbara and Kimberley need evacuation plans that address both fire and cyclone
• Tourist accommodation in Broome, Exmouth, and Margaret River needs diagrams that make sense to visitors unfamiliar with the area
• Aboriginal community buildings follow the same rules as anywhere else: the emergency plan duty applies to every workplace
• Agricultural facilities (grain storage, processing plants) in the Wheatbelt may store flammable materials
• Emergency services response times can be hours in remote areas, making self-evacuation capability essential

Get Evacuation Diagrams for Your WA Site

EvacPath creates evacuation diagrams drawn to AS 3745 for buildings across Western Australia, from Perth CBD offices to remote mine site facilities. The Perth and Bunbury pages set out what buildings in each place usually need. Print-ready PDFs delivered in 3 to 5 business days. Pricing starts at A$70 per diagram. See pricing and order online, all done remotely with a first draft before you pay.

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 - Queensland evacuation diagram requirements - South Australia evacuation diagram requirements - Australian Capital Territory evacuation diagram requirements - Northern Territory evacuation diagram requirements - Tasmania evacuation diagram requirements