Small fit-outs rarely need the expensive fire systems people fear, such as new sprinklers or hydrants. What holds up an opening is usually smaller: a back-of-house layout that makes the walk to the exit too long, a duct through a fire-rated wall without the right collar, or a missing certificate for a measure nobody tested. The fire safety requirements for cafés in NSW, and for shops and clinics, are mostly about getting those details right on paper.
This guide covers what your certifier will ask about, in the order it usually comes up, and the paperwork you need before you can open.
Which building class sets the fire safety requirements for cafés in NSW?
Most cafés, shops and salons are Class 6. It's the first question your certifier asks, because the class sets most of the fire rules. NCC 2022 is the building code in force in NSW until NCC 2025 is adopted on 1 May 2027.
| Class | What the building code says it covers | Typical business |
|---|---|---|
| Class 5 | An office building used for professional or commercial purposes | Small offices, some consulting rooms |
| Class 6 | A shop or building for retail sale or services direct to the public, including a café, restaurant, eating room, hairdresser or barber | Cafés, restaurants, takeaways, shops, salons |
| Class 9a | A health-care building, including a clinic where treatment leaves patients unable to walk out unaided and needing supervised care afterwards | Day surgery type clinics only |
| Class 9b | An assembly building, including a bar with live entertainment or a dance floor | Bars and venues |
Most beauty clinics and consulting rooms are not Class 9a, because patients walk in and walk out. The certifier decides, and a building can have more than one class. A small secondary use, under 10% of a storey's floor area, can take the main class.
If you're changing the use of a shop, ask early what the building needs. Inner West Council notes that a change of use may need extra fire safety measures, and councils can require an older building to be brought up to the current code as a condition of consent.
How many exits does a small shop need?
Often just one, if the walk to it is short enough. Under the building code, every storey needs at least one exit, and for Class 5 and 6 buildings no point may be more than 20 m from an exit. That stretches to 30 m where the single exit opens at street level. Exits must be at least 1 m wide and 2 m high.
The walk is measured from the furthest point, which in a café is usually the back of the kitchen or the storeroom. A deep shop with the kitchen at the rear and the only door at the front can exceed it. That's why exits are a layout question, decided before the kitchen is placed.
Two concessions help small shops. For a Class 6 tenancy of 200 m² or less, the only exit can be a roller shutter, if it's held open while people are inside, and the door can swing inwards, if it has a hold-open device. Above 200 m², neither applies.
The building code also counts people by floor area, not by seats. Its densities include:
| Use | Area per person |
|---|---|
| Café, restaurant or dining room | 1 m² |
| Shop sales floor at street level | 3 m² |
| Kitchen | 10 m² |
| Office | 10 m² |
| Storage | 30 m² |
So a café with 45 m² of dining, a 15 m² kitchen and an 8 m² store counts as about 47 people for exits, even if it has 30 chairs. Some certifiers accept a more exact count, so ask. The same number decides how many customer toilets you need, which our disability access guide covers.
Do you need exit signs and emergency lighting?
It depends on size and layout. Under the building code's standard rules, emergency lighting is required in a storey over 300 m², in a room over 100 m² that doesn't open onto a lit corridor or the street, and in any room over 300 m². Exit signs follow some of the same triggers, and direction signs are needed wherever an exit isn't obvious.
So a small ground-floor café or shop under 300 m² that opens straight onto the street may not need them. An L-shaped plan, a rear exit through the kitchen, or a large room can change that. And if the building's existing fire safety schedule already lists exit signs and emergency lights, they stay and must keep working. Your certifier makes the call.
What fire extinguisher does a commercial kitchen need?
A Class F extinguisher. The building code requires one to cover fires involving cooking oils and fats in kitchens. Most small cafés and shops also need Class A extinguishers, which cover ordinary materials like timber, paper and fabric, where there are no fire hose reels. The supplier lays them out to the Australian Standard, AS 2444.
What about a fire blanket? We couldn't find a building code requirement for one. The code's note on AS 2444 says the standard's fire blanket sections don't apply under the building code. Many kitchens keep one anyway, and your landlord, shopping centre or insurer may ask for it, so check your lease and policy.
Fire hose reels and hydrants are usually part of the base building. Hose reels are triggered for fire compartments over 500 m², and hydrants for buildings over 500 m² in total, so a small tenancy rarely adds them.
Will your fit-out need sprinklers?
Rarely because of the fit-out itself. A Class 6 building needs sprinklers when a fire compartment exceeds 3,500 m², or the building is over 25 m in effective height.
The common problem is the opposite: the building already has sprinklers, and the new fit-out gets in their way. New walls, bulkheads, feature ceilings and canopies can block the spray or leave areas uncovered. Shopping centres are strict about this. One Sydney centre's tenancy fire rules, for example, require quick-response sprinkler heads, don't allow concealed or recessed heads, and say canopies may need extra sprinklers underneath. At Central Eyecare in Punchbowl, the design worked within the shopping centre's own design and tenancy requirements, which is normal for any centre tenancy.
So before designing a feature ceiling, find out whether the building is sprinklered and get the centre's fire rules, if there are any. Moving sprinkler heads is routine, but it's cheaper when it's planned.
What can go behind the cooktop, and what about the exhaust?
Heat near cooking is mostly about clearances and materials, and the exhaust.
- Clearances. Gas appliances must keep the distance from combustible materials set in the manufacturer's instructions, under the gas installation standard AS/NZS 5601.1. Building Commission NSW lists appliances installed too close to combustible materials among the common faults it finds.
- Walls behind the cooking line. The council guide to AS 4674 that Inner West points to asks for stainless steel from the hood down to the floor, and appliances sealed only to non-combustible walls.
- The exhaust hood. Required once the cooking power passes the building code's limits (our commercial kitchen guide explains the test). It's designed to AS 1668.1, which covers fire and smoke, and AS 1668.2, which covers ventilation. Campbelltown, for example, wants a mechanical engineer's certificate for the installed system before the occupation certificate.
- Gas paperwork. Since 1 March 2026, NSW gasfitters lodge their certificate of compliance through the Building Commission's online eCert system, within five business days of finishing the work.
Why do fire-rated walls hold up the final inspection?
Because of the holes in them. When a pipe, cable tray or duct passes through a wall or floor that needs a fire rating, such as the wall between two tenancies or the slab under apartments, the building code requires a system tested for that purpose: a fire collar, a sealant or a damper. A kitchen exhaust duct through a fire-rated slab is a fire design item as well as a mechanical one.
These are easy to miss and hard to fix after the ceiling is closed. Keep a record of each product and who installed it, because the certifier will ask for it.
Linings matter too. Every wall and ceiling lining in a shop or café, including timber batten ceilings and acoustic panels, has to meet the building code's fire ratings. Ask for the product's group number before ordering. Our materials and finishes guide covers this.
Which certificates do you need before you can open?
Three documents, in order.
| Document | What it is | When |
|---|---|---|
| Fire safety schedule | The list of every fire safety measure in the building and the standard each must meet | Issued with the construction certificate or CDC for your work |
| Final fire safety certificate | The owner's declaration that each measure has been checked by a properly qualified person and works as it should | Before the occupation certificate. Burwood Council notes the checks must be within three months before it's issued, and interim certificates are no longer available |
| Annual fire safety statement | A yearly declaration, after an accredited practitioner has assessed each measure | Every year. For a new or altered building, the City of Sydney says the first is due within 12 months of the fire safety certificate |
Copies go to the council and to Fire and Rescue NSW, and the certificate and schedule must be displayed in the building.
Two changes in 2026 matter. Since 13 February 2026, fire safety measures in commercial buildings must be inspected and tested to the maintenance standard AS 1851, with records kept for seven years. Building Commission NSW lists fines of $33,000 for individuals and $66,000 for companies. And late annual statements are costly: in the City of Sydney, penalty notices start at $1,000 at one week late and rise from there.
The running costs are modest. A Sydney cost guide updated in October 2026 puts an annual fire safety statement for a small commercial building at about $375 plus GST to $600, and extinguisher servicing at about $8 to $30 per unit every six months.
Who is responsible: the landlord or the tenant?
Both, in different ways. Under the NSW fire safety regulation, the building owner is responsible for maintaining the fire safety measures and lodging the annual statement. But your fit-out adds or changes measures, and you can't open until the fire safety certificate for your work is issued. Inner West Council describes fire safety as shared by owners, property managers, tenants and business operators.
Who pays for what, including servicing, is a lease question. Ask before you sign (our before you sign the lease guide lists the questions), and get the building's current fire safety schedule and last annual statement from the landlord. They tell you what's already there.
What this means for you
Before you sign a lease or finalise the plan, check these:
- Get the building's fire safety schedule and latest annual fire safety statement from the landlord
- Confirm the building class with your certifier, and whether your use changes anything
- Ask whether the building is sprinklered, and get any shopping centre fire rules
- Measure the walk from the back of the kitchen or store to the exit
- Decide the exit door type against the 200 m² concessions
- Get the appliance list early, for the exhaust and gas clearances
- Ask the certifier which measures go on the new schedule and who will check each one
- Put the final fire safety certificate on your opening timeline
- Put the first annual statement in the diary, and agree who arranges servicing
Our before you sign the lease check looks at the building, the planning question and the red flags before you commit, and our opening timeline guide shows where the certificates fall. See how we work on café and restaurant design.
Questions people ask
Does a small café in NSW need exit signs?
Not always. Under the building code's standard rules, exit signs and emergency lighting are triggered by size and layout, such as a storey over 300 m² or a room over 100 m² that doesn't open onto the street. A small ground-floor café opening straight onto the street may not need them. But if the building's fire safety schedule already lists them, they must stay and be maintained. Your certifier decides.
What type of fire extinguisher is required in a commercial kitchen in NSW?
A Class F extinguisher, which the building code requires for fires involving cooking oils and fats. Most small cafés also need a Class A extinguisher for ordinary materials, where there are no fire hose reels. A supplier lays them out to AS 2444 and services them every six months; a Sydney cost guide puts servicing at about $8 to $30 per unit.
What is a final fire safety certificate and who issues it?
It's the building owner's declaration that each fire safety measure in the schedule, new or existing, has been checked by a properly qualified person and works as it should. It's issued when the work is finished and before the occupation certificate, so you can't open without it. Copies go to the council and Fire and Rescue NSW, and it's displayed in the building.
Is a hairdresser or beauty clinic a Class 6 building?
A hairdresser or barber is named in the building code's description of Class 6. Most beauty clinics are classified the same way, or as Class 5, because patients walk in and out. A clinic is only Class 9a, a health-care building, when treatment leaves patients unable to walk out unaided and needing supervised care afterwards. Your certifier confirms the class.
Sources
- NCC 2022 Volume One, Part A6 Building classification, Australian Building Codes Board
- NCC 2022 Volume One, Part D2 Provision for escape, Australian Building Codes Board
- NCC 2022 Volume One, Part D3 Construction of exits, Australian Building Codes Board
- NCC 2022 Volume One, Part E1 Fire fighting equipment, Australian Building Codes Board
- NCC 2022 Volume One, Part E4 Emergency lighting, exit signs and warning systems, Australian Building Codes Board
- Fire safety statements: frequently asked questions, NSW Department of Planning
- Fire safety certificates, Burwood Council
- Responsibilities of building owners under AS 1851-2012, Building Commission NSW (updated February 2026)
- Register your annual fire safety statement, City of Sydney
- Gas compliance requirements, Building Commission NSW (updated April 2026)
