❓ The WA government is reviewing fire safety systems in aged care facilities, a process delayed by COVID-19 and awaiting findings from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. The review is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021.
AnsweredQoN 6430Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the review into fire safety systems at aged care facilities, which the WA Seniors Alliance was advised commenced in 2018, and ask: (a) has the review been completed and if so, will you table a copy of the same; and (b) if the review has not been completed can you please advise: (i) why there has been such a significant delay in undertaking the review; (ii) what work has been done to date; and (iii) when the review will be finalised?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
4 November 2020
Responded by
Minister for Commerce
Response time
9 days
(a) - (b) Western Australia adopts the Building Code of Australia (the Code) standards for the construction of buildings, including those used for aged care facilities. The Code has had fire sprinkler provisions for some aged care facilities since 2002. In 2015, the Code was amended to apply the fire sprinkler provisions to all newly constructed aged care facilities.
While the Code now provides for the installation of fire sprinklers in all newly constructed aged-care facilities, there will be facilities that were constructed before the 2015 Code required fire sprinklers for all newly constructed aged care facilities. Nevertheless, the operators of the older aged care facilities, which are regulated by the Commonwealth Government are expected to have adequate management practices in place to ensure complete safety of the residents.
The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) review into fire safety systems at aged care facilities (the review) is in progress. This work has progressed concurrently with other urgent building safety policy priority work.
DMIRS’ work with the aged care sector on the review was delayed as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This was to allow the aged care sector to focus its attention on dealing with the challenges of the pandemic.
Work has been undertaken to gain an understanding of the impact of retrospective application of fire safety systems to existing aged care facilities which will inform the regulatory impact assessment. DMIRS is also been monitoring progress of the Commonwealth Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to determine if the findings of the Royal Commission will have any implications on the review. DMIRS anticipates the review will be completed in the second half of 2021.
While the Code now provides for the installation of fire sprinklers in all newly constructed aged-care facilities, there will be facilities that were constructed before the 2015 Code required fire sprinklers for all newly constructed aged care facilities. Nevertheless, the operators of the older aged care facilities, which are regulated by the Commonwealth Government are expected to have adequate management practices in place to ensure complete safety of the residents.
The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) review into fire safety systems at aged care facilities (the review) is in progress. This work has progressed concurrently with other urgent building safety policy priority work.
DMIRS’ work with the aged care sector on the review was delayed as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This was to allow the aged care sector to focus its attention on dealing with the challenges of the pandemic.
Work has been undertaken to gain an understanding of the impact of retrospective application of fire safety systems to existing aged care facilities which will inform the regulatory impact assessment. DMIRS is also been monitoring progress of the Commonwealth Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to determine if the findings of the Royal Commission will have any implications on the review. DMIRS anticipates the review will be completed in the second half of 2021.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.