This was one of the interesting conversations coming out of our recent commercial property upskilling workshops.
Essential Safety Measures are an area where even experienced property practitioners can discover something they hadn’t previously considered. Take a property with multiple tenancies, buildings or areas of occupation. An Annual Safety Measures Report (ASMR) has been provided. But does it cover the entire property? Or only a particular building or part of the site?
Who arranged for it to be completed? Was it the owner, a major tenant or another party? And importantly, do you have the records needed to understand how the property’s Essential Safety Measures obligations are being managed?
In Victoria, building owners have statutory responsibilities relating to Essential Safety Measures, although lease arrangements may allocate certain activities or costs between parties. It’s important to understand those responsibilities rather than simply assuming someone else is managing them. This becomes particularly relevant when taking over the management of an existing property. Receiving a report doesn’t necessarily mean you have received the complete compliance history.
One of the things I value about bringing experienced industry specialists into our Academy workshops is that these discussions challenge everyone in the room, including me. There’s always something worth questioning, checking or understanding more thoroughly.
A document on file is not the same as knowing that the property’s compliance obligations have been addressed.
Perhaps it’s time to take another look at the Essential Safety Measures records in your portfolio.
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