Strata and Body Corporate Evacuation Diagrams Australia

If you manage a strata building or sit on a body corporate committee, evacuation diagrams are your responsibility. Not the individual lot owners. Not the tenants. The body corporate or owners corporation is legally responsible for emergency planning in common areas.

This guide covers what strata managers and body corporates need to know about evacuation diagram compliance in Australia.

Who Is Responsible for Evacuation Diagrams in Strata Buildings?

The responsibility is split between common property and individual lots:

• Body corporate / owners corporation: responsible for all common areas including lobbies, corridors, stairwells, car parks, pool areas, gyms, and shared meeting rooms
• Individual lot owners or tenants: responsible for diagrams within their own lot if it is a commercial space (office, retail, medical practice)
• Residential lots: generally do not require individual evacuation diagrams unless the building fire safety statement or local council specifically requires them

What Common Areas Need Diagrams?

Every common area where occupants may need to find an exit should have an evacuation diagram. Typical locations include:

• Main lobby and reception area
• Each floor landing in fire stairs
• Lift lobbies on every level
• Basement car park entry points (pedestrian doors and lift lobbies)
• Pool, gym, and recreation areas
• Community meeting rooms or function spaces
• Mail room and parcel collection areas
• Loading dock and service entrance

Mixed-Use Buildings

Many strata buildings in Australia are mixed-use, with retail or commercial on lower floors and residential above. These buildings need careful diagram planning:

• Commercial tenants (ground floor shops, offices) need their own diagrams covering their tenancy
• The body corporate covers all shared corridors, lobbies, fire stairs, and car parks
• Exit routes from residential floors through commercial areas must be clearly shown
• Separate assembly areas may be needed for residential and commercial occupants
• The fire safety statement should specify which areas fall under body corporate responsibility

High-Rise Residential Buildings

Buildings over 25 metres (approximately 8 stories) have additional requirements under the National Construction Code. These include:

• Diagrams on every floor showing the fire stair locations and which stairs serve which floors
• Clear marking of fire refuge areas if the building has them
• Warden intercommunication point (WIP) locations shown on diagrams
• Fire control room location shown on ground floor diagrams
• Assembly area must be far enough from the building to account for falling debris risk

Common Compliance Problems in Strata Buildings

Fire safety auditors regularly find these issues in strata properties:

• Diagrams were installed when the building was first built and never updated despite renovation or refurbishment
• Car park diagrams are missing entirely
• Diagrams in fire stairs show the correct floor but the "You Are Here" position is wrong (copied instead of customised per location)
• Assembly area shown on the diagram has since become a construction zone or is now used for another purpose
• The body corporate assumes the building manager handles it, the building manager assumes the strata company handles it, and nobody actually does

Annual Fire Safety Statement

In NSW and several other states, building owners must submit an Annual Fire Safety Statement (AFSS) confirming that all fire safety measures are operational. Evacuation diagrams are one of the items that may be checked.

If your building is required to submit an AFSS and your diagrams are out of date or missing, the certifying fire safety practitioner may flag this as non-compliant. The body corporate is then required to rectify it before the statement can be signed.

How to Manage Diagrams Across a Large Building

For buildings with 20, 30, or more diagram locations, managing updates can be complex. Some practical tips:

• Create a diagram register listing every location, the diagram version, and the date it was installed
• Number each diagram location and match it to the floor plan
• When updating, replace all diagrams at once to avoid version mismatches
• Keep digital copies (PDF) in the body corporate records for easy reprinting
• Include diagram review as part of your annual fire safety check

Get Strata Evacuation Diagrams

EvacPath works with strata managers and body corporates across Australia. We handle multi-floor, multi-location buildings efficiently. Send us your floor plans and we will produce a complete set of AS 3745-compliant diagrams, each customised with the correct "You Are Here" position for its specific location.

Volume pricing available for buildings requiring 9 or more diagrams. Print-ready PDFs delivered in 3 to 5 business days.