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What an evacuation scheme has to cover in New Zealand
Some New Zealand buildings need an approved evacuation scheme, and the people running them are often unclear on what that actually means in practice. Here is the shape of it — what a scheme covers, who needs one, and where a sign-in system fits.
Who needs one
Requirements come from the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 and the evacuation regulations made under it. Broadly, buildings above certain occupancy thresholds, or used for particular purposes — gathering places, accommodation, care, and buildings holding hazardous substances — need a scheme approved by Fire and Emergency New Zealand. Whether yours qualifies depends on its use and how many people it holds, so check rather than assume.
What a scheme covers
- How the alarm is raised, and how everyone in the building comes to hear it.
- The routes people take out, and how they are kept usable.
- Where people assemble, and the alternative if that place is unusable.
- Who has a role — wardens, deputies, an incident controller — and what each does.
- How people who need assistance to evacuate are helped, by name where that is knowable.
- How everyone is accounted for once out of the building.
- How often the scheme is practised, and how those trials are recorded.
Trial evacuations
An approved scheme is not a document you file. It has to be practised, at the intervals your scheme sets — six-monthly is common — and the trials have to be recorded. The record is what demonstrates the scheme is real. Confirm the interval that applies to your building with Fire and Emergency New Zealand rather than working from what another site does.
Where accounting for people fits
A scheme that cannot say who was in the building is incomplete in the way that matters most. Separately, the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 makes a PCBU responsible for the health and safety of everyone at its workplace — which includes the visitors and contractors an employee list will never contain. The two obligations meet at the same practical question: when the building is empty, who is still in it?
The part that usually gets missed
Schemes are typically written around staff, because staff are the people who are known. The gaps are the visitor in a meeting room, the contractor on the roof, and the delivery driver in the loading bay. If those three are not on the list your wardens check, the scheme has a hole in it regardless of how well it is written.
Frequently asked questions
Does every building need an approved evacuation scheme?▾
No. It depends on the building’s use and occupancy. Buildings below the thresholds may still need evacuation procedures — the health and safety duty to plan for an emergency applies regardless of whether a scheme is required.
How often do we have to run a trial evacuation?▾
At the interval set for your scheme, which is commonly six months. Check what applies to your building with Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
Do we have to keep records?▾
Yes — the record of trials is how you show the scheme is being practised rather than merely held. Keep the date, the times, who was accounted for and what you changed as a result.
Does a sign-in system satisfy the requirement?▾
No single tool satisfies it. A sign-in system gives you the accurate on-site list a roll-call depends on, and the record of trials afterwards — which are two of the harder parts to do well on paper.
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Create your free organisationThis guide is general information, not legal advice. Check your own obligations and, where needed, take professional advice.