Every Australian workplace must have an emergency evacuation plan. It is a legal obligation under Regulation 43 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations, the practical benchmark under Australian Standard AS 3745:2010, and, more practically, the single document that decides whether an incident is handled in minutes or becomes a tragedy.

This guide is the definitive Australian resource on emergency evacuation plans. It explains what a plan is, what it must contain, who is legally responsible, how often it must be reviewed, and how to build one. Where individual topics deserve their own deep dive (the step-by-step development process, design methodology, drill execution, or the compliance checklist), we point to dedicated companion guides rather than duplicate them here.

Table of Contents

1. What is an emergency evacuation plan?
2. Why your business needs one (legal and practical drivers)
3. Who is legally responsible for the plan?
4. What every Australian evacuation plan must include
5. How to create an evacuation plan: a 7-step framework
6. How often should the plan be reviewed?
7. 2026 regulatory landscape: what’s changed and what hasn’t
8. Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)
9. When the assembly area is no longer safe
10.  Training, drills, and validation
11.  Common reasons evacuation plans fail in practice
12.  Frequently asked questions

1. What is an emergency evacuation plan?

An emergency evacuation plan is a documented, facility-specific strategy that defines how occupants, wardens and emergency services respond to an emergency and exit a building or area safely. It is not a single diagram on a wall. A complete plan is a set of procedures, roles, communication arrangements, training requirements and supporting documents that together let a workplace respond to fire, bomb threat, medical emergency, severe weather, hazardous substance release, active threat, structural failure and other foreseeable scenarios.

Plan versus diagram: The plan is the complete documentation. The diagram is one component of it. An emergency evacuation diagram is the visual map showing routes, exits, alarms and assembly points; the plan is everything that surrounds it, including the procedures, roles, training records and review history.

2. Why your business needs one

There are three reasons every Australian workplace needs an evacuation plan, in order of finality:

It’s the law. Regulation 43 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations requires every workplace to prepare and maintain an emergency plan that covers evacuation procedures, communication mechanisms, emergency service notification, testing processes and worker training. This is mirrored in every state and territory WHS Act.

It’s the compliance benchmark. Australian Standard AS 3745:2010 (Planning for emergencies in facilities), with Amendments 1 (2014) and 2 (2018), sets the practical framework Australian regulators, insurers and auditors expect facilities to meet. For healthcare and aged care, AS 4083:2010 applies as well.

It saves lives and reduces business interruption. Beyond compliance, a working plan reduces injury and fatality risk, protects property, supports business continuity, and demonstrates duty of care to staff, visitors and contractors.

For the deeper case for evacuation planning, see our companion article on why your business needs an emergency evacuation plan.

3. Who is legally responsible for the plan?

Responsibility for the evacuation plan sits with multiple parties, and it’s a frequent source of confusion.

The PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking). Under WHS law, the PCBU has the primary duty to ensure an emergency plan exists, is reviewed, and is communicated to workers. In most workplaces this is the employer; in leased premises it is typically the building owner or facility manager for shared spaces, and the tenant PCBU for their own area. Where multiple PCBUs share a workplace, they must consult and coordinate to produce a master plan.

The Emergency Planning Committee (EPC). AS 3745 requires the appointment of an EPC that develops, implements and maintains the plan. The EPC sets policy and validates the plan.

The Emergency Control Organisation (ECO). The ECO (Chief Warden, Deputy Chief Warden, Floor/Area Wardens and Wardens) executes the plan during an emergency. The ECO does not own the document but is responsible for implementing it.

Building owners and managers. In multi-tenanted buildings, the owner or their agent is typically responsible for ensuring an ECO is in place for common areas and for coordinating with tenant ECOs.

For a full breakdown of ECO roles, training requirements and statutory training hours, see our AS 3745 Emergency Control Organisation roles and training hours guide.

4. What every Australian evacuation plan must include

Drawing on Regulation 43, AS 3745:2010, and current Safe Work Australia guidance, a compliant Australian evacuation plan must address the following:

• Risk assessment. Identification of foreseeable emergencies (fire, bomb threat, medical, hazmat, severe weather, active threat, lithium-ion battery fire where applicable) and their likelihood and consequence.
• Evacuation procedures. Step-by-step response procedures for each emergency type, including triggers for full versus partial evacuation, shelter-in-place criteria, and lockdown protocols.
• ECO structure and contact details. Named Chief Warden, Deputy Chief Warden, Floor Wardens and Wardens with current contact details.
• Primary and secondary evacuation routes. All exits clearly identified, with an alternative route from every occupied area in case the primary is blocked.
• Assembly areas. Primary and secondary assembly points at safe distances, with capacity assessed and access routes verified.
• Evacuation diagrams. Compliant diagrams positioned per AS 3745:2010 specifications, oriented to the viewer’s location, with the bottom edge at least 1.2 metres above the floor.
• Communication arrangements. Method of alerting occupants (alarm, PA, EWIS), method of notifying triple zero (000) and alternative arrangements if the primary telecommunications path fails (a relevant consideration following the 2025 Optus and TPG Triple Zero outages).
• Provisions for people who need assistance. Identification of occupants with mobility, sensory or cognitive needs, with individual Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) prepared where required.
• Coordination with emergency services. Documented expected response times, site familiarisation arrangements, and access details (gate codes, key safes, hazard locations).
• Training and competency requirements. Initial and refresher training schedule for ECO members and general occupants.
• Testing and exercise schedule. Annual evacuation exercise at minimum, with documented results.
• Post-incident procedures. Debriefing, incident reporting, plan revision, and statutory notification (extended in 2025 under the model WHS amendments to cover violent incidents, work-related suicide attempts and 15+ day worker absences in jurisdictions that have adopted them).
• Document control. Version control, review history, and named owner for plan maintenance.

For a one-page audit of these elements, use our emergency evacuation procedure checklist.

5. How to create an evacuation plan: a 7-step framework

The summary below is the framework. For the detailed process, including templates and worked examples, follow our step-by-step guide to developing an evacuation plan. For the underlying design philosophy that prioritises decisive action in the first five minutes, see designing fire evacuation plans for the first five minutes.

Step 1. Establish the Emergency Planning Committee

Appoint an EPC under AS 3745. Include the PCBU representative, facility manager, building owner where relevant, a worker representative, the Chief Warden, and a first aid representative. The EPC owns the plan.

Step 2. Conduct a facility risk assessment

Identify the human environment (occupant numbers, peak periods, visitor traffic, vulnerable occupants), the physical environment (building layout, exits, hazards, fire-load areas), the technological environment (IT dependencies, EWIS, automated systems) and the external environment (neighbouring buildings, traffic, weather exposure). Identify every foreseeable emergency and rank by likelihood and consequence.

Step 3. Engage emergency services

Contact local Fire and Rescue, police and ambulance. Confirm response times. Arrange a site familiarisation. Document access information, hazardous materials locations and structural considerations. Provide them with current evacuation diagrams.

Step 4. Define procedures and the ECO

Write the procedures for each emergency type. Appoint and train the ECO. For a deep dive on warden roles and the actions each performs during an evacuation, see the role of fire wardens in evacuation planning.

Step 5. Map routes, exits and assembly areas

Establish primary and secondary routes from every occupied area. Verify they remain unobstructed. Designate primary and secondary assembly areas with verified capacity. Produce AS 3745-compliant evacuation diagrams (see essential elements for evacuation diagrams).

Step 6. Document, communicate and train

Publish the plan, brief all occupants, install diagrams in compliant locations, and deliver initial training. AS 3745 requires that ECO members receive skills retention training at intervals no greater than six months.

Step 7. Test, review and improve

Conduct at least one full evacuation exercise per year. Debrief after every drill and every real incident, capture lessons, and update the plan. For practical drill design, see running effective evacuation drills and exercises.

6. How often should the plan be reviewed?

There is no single statutory interval. The plan must be reviewed:

• At least annually. Annual review is the practical industry benchmark and is required by most insurers.
• After every evacuation exercise. The post-exercise debrief should feed corrections back into the plan.
• After every real incident. Real incidents reveal procedural weaknesses that drills do not.
• On significant change. Changes to building design, occupancy type, work activities, emergency systems, ECO membership or workforce arrangements (including increased contractor or remote-worker numbers) trigger an out-of-cycle review.
• On regulatory change. Review when the WHS regulations or relevant Australian Standards are amended in your jurisdiction.
• Evacuation diagrams: every five years minimum, or whenever building layout or fire-fighting systems change, per AS 3745:2010.

7. 2026 regulatory landscape: what’s changed and what hasn’t

AS 3745:2010 remains current. It has not been superseded. It incorporates Amendment No. 1 (May 2014) and Amendment No. 2 (June 2018). Any source telling you AS 3745 has been replaced in 2026 is incorrect.

What has changed in 2024 to 2026 and affects your evacuation plan:

• Model WHS amendments (2025). Safe Work Australia approved amendments to the model WHS Act and Regulations that extend incident notification duties to include certain violent incidents, work-related suicide and attempted suicide, and extended worker absences of 15 or more calendar days. Application depends on whether your jurisdiction has adopted them, so check with your state or territory WHS regulator before updating post-incident reporting procedures.
• NSW WHS Regulation 2025 commenced on 22 August 2025 and includes new requirements around lithium-ion battery storage (workplaces storing, handling or installing 25+ tonnes must lodge emergency plans with Fire and Rescue NSW), psychosocial risk controls, and crystalline silica exposure registers. NSW facilities should update their emergency plans accordingly.
• Triple Zero resilience. Following the September 2025 Optus and November 2025 TPG Triple Zero outages, evacuation plans should now explicitly document a fallback path for emergency service notification when the primary telecommunications carrier is unavailable. This was not previously a routine inclusion in most plans.
• AS 4083:2010 (Planning for emergencies in healthcare facilities) continues to apply to hospitals, aged care and similar facilities, with additional requirements for patient mobility and clinical-area considerations.

8. Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)

PEEPs are individualised plans for occupants who cannot evacuate unaided. They are a required component of any compliant evacuation plan where applicable. A PEEP documents egress routes, required equipment, assistance needs, appointed assistants, and training requirements for one named individual. For at-risk occupants in high-rise environments, see PEEPs in high-rise buildings. For the underlying service, see our Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans service.

9. When the assembly area is no longer safe

Every plan needs a secondary assembly area. The primary may be compromised by the emergency itself (bomb threat, hazmat plume, structural collapse, fire spreading outward) or by access (blocked road, crowd, construction). Key considerations for the secondary site:

• Safe distance from the primary threat and from foreseeable hazards (gas lines, fuel storage, neighbouring high-risk facilities).
• Accessible by foot from all evacuation routes, including for occupants with mobility needs.
• Sufficient capacity for the full occupant count including visitors and contractors.
• Clear signage and pre-briefing so occupants know where to go without a warden directing each person.
• A communication channel (PA, SMS, app notification) for redirecting from the primary to the secondary site mid-evacuation.

10. Training, drills, and validation

A plan that is not trained and not tested is a plan that will fail under stress.

• ECO training: AS 3745 requires initial training and skills retention at intervals no greater than six months.
• General occupant briefing: induction-level awareness for all workers, plus briefing for contractors and long-term visitors.
• Annual evacuation exercise: a full exercise of the plan at least once per year, with documented attendance and outcomes.
• Scenario diversity: over a multi-year cycle, exercise different scenarios (bomb threat, partial evacuation, key-warden-unavailable, telecommunications failure) rather than the same fire drill annually.
• Debrief and update: every exercise produces lessons; every lesson updates the plan.

11. Common reasons evacuation plans fail in practice

From our 30+ years delivering emergency preparedness to Australian facilities, these are the recurring weaknesses we see in plans that look compliant on paper:

• The plan is written for the auditor, not the occupant. Procedures are too long, too prescriptive, and too jargon-heavy to be useful under stress.
• Roles aren’t named. The plan says ‘the Chief Warden will…’ but nobody knows who that is today.
• Routes aren’t walked. Primary and secondary routes look fine on a diagram but are blocked by stacked stock, locked doors, or construction.
• Diagrams are out of date. Building modifications happened; diagrams didn’t.
• Drills test the easy scenario. Same fire alarm, same time of year, same warden present. Real emergencies don’t cooperate.
• PEEPs are missing or generic. Generic templates were filled in once and never revisited as occupants changed.
• Communications have one point of failure. Triple Zero on the Chief Warden’s mobile, with no alternative carrier or landline fallback.
• Lessons aren’t captured. Drills happen, but the debrief notes never become plan changes.

Get your evacuation plan compliant and exercise-ready

First 5 Minutes has been delivering AS 3745-compliant emergency planning services to Australian facilities for more than 30 years, with the largest Emergency Control Organisation training team in the country. Whether you need a full facility emergency evacuation plan service, up-to-date emergency evacuation diagrams, or an individual PEEP program, we can help.

Contact our team on 1300 321 120 to discuss your facility.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an emergency evacuation plan a legal requirement in Australia?

Yes. Regulation 43 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations requires every Australian workplace to prepare and maintain an emergency plan. The plan must cover evacuation procedures, communication mechanisms, emergency service notification, testing processes, and worker training. AS 3745:2010 provides the practical compliance framework most facilities and regulators rely on.

Who is legally responsible for the evacuation plan?

The PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) has the primary duty under WHS law. In practice, the Emergency Planning Committee (EPC) develops and maintains the plan under AS 3745, the Emergency Control Organisation (ECO) executes it during an emergency, and building owners or facility managers are typically responsible in multi-tenanted premises. Where multiple PCBUs share a workplace, they must coordinate to produce a master plan.

How often should an emergency evacuation plan be reviewed?

At least annually. Also review after every evacuation exercise, after any real incident, whenever there are significant changes to the building, occupancy, work activities or ECO membership, and when relevant WHS regulations or Australian Standards are amended in your jurisdiction. Evacuation diagrams must be updated whenever the building layout or fire-fighting systems change, or every five years at minimum.

What must an Australian evacuation plan include?

A complete plan covers risk assessment, evacuation procedures for all foreseeable emergencies, the ECO structure with named members, primary and secondary routes, assembly areas, compliant evacuation diagrams, communication arrangements (including a fallback for Triple Zero), provisions for people requiring assistance (PEEPs), coordination with emergency services, training and exercise schedules, post-incident procedures, and document control.

What is the difference between an evacuation plan and an evacuation diagram?

The plan is the complete documentation of how the facility responds to emergencies, including procedures, roles, training and communications. The diagram is the visual map showing routes, exits, fire-fighting equipment and assembly points. Diagrams are one component of the broader plan.

Has AS 3745 been updated in 2026?

No. AS 3745:2010 remains the current standard. It incorporates Amendment No. 1 (May 2014) and Amendment No. 2 (June 2018), and has not been superseded. The most recent regulatory developments affecting evacuation planning are the 2025 model WHS amendments (which extend incident notification duties), the NSW WHS Regulation 2025 (which adds lithium-ion battery storage and psychosocial risk requirements), and lessons from the September 2025 Optus and November 2025 TPG Triple Zero outages.

How often must evacuation exercises (drills) be conducted?

At least annually, per AS 3745:2010. Best practice is to vary the scenarios across multi-year cycles (fire, bomb threat, partial evacuation, telecommunications failure, key-warden-unavailable) rather than running the same fire drill each year.

Can I write the evacuation plan myself or should I use a professional service?

Small, low-risk facilities can produce a basic plan in-house. Larger sites, multi-tenanted buildings, healthcare facilities, high-rise buildings and any facility with complex risk profiles should engage a professional service to ensure AS 3745 compliance, realistic procedures and effective integration with ECO training.

What’s the difference between AS 3745 and AS 4083?

AS 3745:2010 applies to general facilities (offices, retail, education, industrial, government). AS 4083:2010 applies specifically to healthcare facilities including hospitals and aged care, where patient mobility and clinical considerations require additional planning.

What happens when the assembly area is no longer safe?

Every plan should designate a secondary assembly area at a safe distance from foreseeable hazards. Wardens redirect occupants via PA, SMS or runner if the primary is compromised. This is particularly important for bomb threats, hazmat releases or fires spreading toward the primary site.

Do I need a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) for every employee?

No. PEEPs are required for individuals who cannot evacuate unaided, including people with mobility, sensory or cognitive impairments, certain medical conditions, or temporary disability (e.g. injury). The PEEP is individual to the person and reviewed whenever their circumstances change.

What records must I keep to demonstrate compliance?

Keep the current plan with version history, the EPC and ECO membership records, training records and attendance registers, evacuation exercise reports, incident reports and debrief notes, evacuation diagram versions, PEEP records, and any regulator correspondence. AS 3745 expects documentary evidence on inspection.

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