Fire safety in budget accommodation buildings

Budget accommodation buildings must follow mandatory fire safety standards under the Queensland Development Code (QDC) MP 2.1 Fire safety in budget accommodation buildings.

What is a budget accommodation building?

A budget accommodation building provides accommodation for 6 or more people and all or some of the occupants share a bathroom.

Budget accommodation includes:

• boarding houses
• backpacker hostels
• bed and breakfasts
• farm stays
• supported accommodation
• hotels that provide sleeping accommodation as a community service or at commercial rates.

Budget accommodation excludes:

• hotels without paying guests
• motels that don't operate backpacker style (i.e. individual beds can't be let)
• buildings that are let only as a whole
• employer-provided accommodation
• educational institutions
• women's refuges or shelters
• lifesaver accommodation
• recreational camps for particular groups.

Compliance

Owners of budget accommodation buildings built, approved or applied for before 1 January 1992 must:

• comply with the fire safety standard QDC MP 2.1 – Fire safety in budget accommodation buildings (PDF, 182KB)
• have a fire safety management plan (PDF, 99KB)
• ensure that buildings conform with the fire safety standard provisions relating to emergency lighting and early warning systems within 1 year after the standard commences, and the remaining standard provisions within 3 years unless a longer period has been approved – maximum penalty of 165 penalty units ($23,718.75).

Note: Legislation requires that penalties are calculated by the amount of penalty units relating to each particular offence. The value of each penalty unit is $143.75 (current from 1 July 2022 – the value changes each year on this date).

Budget accommodation buildings built from 1992 must:

• comply with section A3 of MP 2.1
• comply with fire safety standards in the:
  • Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990
  • Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008
  • National Construction Code
• have a fire safety management plan (PDF, 99KB).

Help with compliance

Fire safety management plans

Create a fire safety management plan (PDF, 99KB) using one of these checklists:

• small building checklist (PDF, 171KB) – for buildings with a floor area smaller than 300m²
• medium building checklist (PDF, 239KB) – for buildings with a floor area of 300–500m²
• large building checklist (PDF, 266KB) – for buildings with a floor area larger than 500m².

Compliance assessment and self-assessment

For help with compliance assessment for new or existing buildings:

• use the guidelines and checklists provided on this page
• contact your local government, which will conduct the compliance assessment for you.

Councils may use the notice of compliance template (DOC, 53KB) to issue compliance notices under MP 2.1.

Approved contractors and dispute resolution

For lists of approved contractors and help to resolve disputes between owners and contractors, see the Queensland Building and Construction Commission.