When an alarm sounds in an Australian workplace, the response that follows is shaped almost entirely by the people who were trained to lead it. Those people are the Emergency Control Organisation (ECO), a structured team established under Australian Standard AS 3745:2010 (Planning for emergencies in facilities). Whether your facility is a high-rise office tower, a school, an aged care residence, a hospital, a manufacturing site or a retail centre, the law and the standard expect that ECO to exist, to be trained, and to be ready.

This guide explains the AS 3745 framework in full: what the standard requires, who sits on the Emergency Planning Committee (EPC) and the ECO, what each role does, and what training the standard actually expects. It is written as a pillar reference. For specific topics covered in companion guides, including the different types of wardens and how to identify them, the role of fire wardens in evacuation planning, and fire warden training in Australia, follow the dedicated links rather than expect this page to duplicate them.

Table of Contents

1. What AS 3745:2010 is and why it applies to your workplace
2. The two governance bodies: EPC and ECO
3. The Emergency Planning Committee (EPC)
4. The Emergency Control Organisation (ECO) structure
5. Every ECO role: duties and identification at a glance
6. Training requirements under AS 3745
7. Evacuation exercises and ongoing validation
8. Records, documentation and compliance evidence
9. Healthcare facilities: AS 4083 and additional obligations
10. 2024 to 2026 regulatory developments that affect ECO planning
11. Common compliance gaps we see in Australian workplaces
12. Frequently asked questions

1. What AS 3745:2010 is and why it applies to your workplace

Australian Standard AS 3745:2010 – Planning for emergencies in facilities is the practical compliance framework Australian regulators, insurers and auditors expect facilities to meet. It sets out how to identify the people, prepare the procedures, install the systems, and conduct the training necessary to manage emergencies in any non-residential facility, plus residential aged care and similar occupancies.

The standard is currently the operative version. It incorporates Amendment No. 1 (May 2014) and Amendment No. 2 (June 2018). Any claim that AS 3745 has been superseded or replaced in 2026 is incorrect.

AS 3745 sits alongside, not instead of, your statutory Work Health and Safety duties. Regulation 43 of the model Work Health and Safety Regulations requires every workplace to prepare and maintain an emergency plan covering evacuation procedures, communications, emergency service notification, testing and worker training. Compliance with AS 3745 is the way most Australian PCBUs (Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking) demonstrate they have met Regulation 43.

For the broader documentary plan that the ECO executes, see our complete guide to emergency evacuation plans for Australian business.

2. The two governance bodies: EPC and ECO

AS 3745 creates two distinct bodies in the facility, each with separate purposes. Confusing them is one of the most common compliance errors in Australian workplaces.

• The Emergency Planning Committee (EPC) develops, maintains and reviews the emergency plan. It is a governance body. It writes the rules.
• The Emergency Control Organisation (ECO) executes the plan when an emergency occurs. It is an operational body. It follows the rules.

Both bodies are required under AS 3745. The same person may serve on both, particularly in smaller facilities, but the two roles are distinct. The EPC owns the document; the ECO owns the response.

3. The Emergency Planning Committee (EPC)

The EPC is the strategic body responsible for the existence and currency of the facility’s emergency plan. AS 3745 Section 3 sets out the EPC’s membership and functions.

EPC membership

AS 3745 expects the EPC to include representatives of those with the authority and competence to develop, implement and maintain the emergency plan. In practice that typically means:

• The PCBU or their nominated representative
• The facility owner or facility manager
• A worker representative (often a Health and Safety Representative)
• The Chief Warden of the ECO (as a bridge between governance and operations)
• A first aid representative
• Subject-matter experts as required (fire safety engineer, security manager, building services manager)

In multi-tenanted buildings, the EPC may include representatives of multiple tenants and the building owner, with a coordinating master EPC and tenant-level sub-committees.

EPC functions under AS 3745

The EPC is responsible for:

• Developing the facility’s emergency plan and reviewing it at appropriate intervals
• Identifying the foreseeable emergencies for the facility
• Determining the size, structure and composition of the ECO
• Ensuring evacuation diagrams, alarm systems, training and exercises are in place
• Conducting and documenting an annual evacuation exercise
• Reviewing the plan after exercises, real incidents, building changes, occupancy changes and regulatory changes

AS 3745 expects the EPC to meet at intervals sufficient to discharge these functions. Industry practice is a minimum of two meetings per year, often quarterly in larger facilities.

4. The Emergency Control Organisation (ECO) structure

The ECO is the team that responds when something happens. AS 3745 Section 4 prescribes the structure, identification and training requirements for the ECO. The size and complexity of the ECO must be proportionate to the facility (number of occupants, building geometry, warning systems installed, range of foreseeable emergencies).

A typical Australian ECO structure looks like this:

• Chief Warden at the top, with operational command during an emergency
• Deputy Chief Warden(s) to step up if the Chief Warden is unavailable
• Communications Officer managing the warden intercommunication system and external contact
• Area Wardens or Floor Wardens coordinating their assigned zones
• Wardens performing sweeps, directing occupants and assisting evacuation
• Emergency Coordinators (where used) coordinating specific operational matters
• First Aid Officers where the facility has trained first aiders integrated into the ECO

For multi-storey or large facilities, an additional layer of Area Wardens sits between Floor Wardens and the Chief Warden, providing geographic coordination across multiple floors or zones.

5. Every ECO role: duties and identification at a glance

The table below summarises the role, principal duties and AS 3745 colour identification for each ECO member. For the full warden identification guide including helmet, cap and tabard specifications, see the different types of wardens and how to identify them.

 

For a deeper walk-through of what each warden actually does during an emergency, including how their actions change by emergency type (fire, bomb threat, medical, hazmat, active threat), see our guide to the role of fire wardens in evacuation planning.

6. Training requirements under AS 3745

This is the section where the standard says less than people expect, and the gap between expectation and reality creates compliance confusion.

What AS 3745 actually requires

AS 3745:2010 requires that ECO members be trained to perform their role. The standard does not prescribe a fixed number of hours. What it does require is:

• Initial training for every ECO member appropriate to their role, conducted before they take up the position
• Skills retention training at intervals no greater than six months
• An annual evacuation exercise that tests the full ECO and the facility’s response procedures
• Training records demonstrating who has been trained, in what, and when

The “no greater than six months” interval for skills retention training is the operative compliance benchmark. Many Australian facilities default to annual training; this does not meet the standard.

Training content the standard expects

AS 3745 expects ECO training to cover:

• The facility’s emergency plan and the procedures it contains
• Identification of foreseeable emergencies and their indicators
• Operation of relevant emergency equipment (alarms, EWIS, WIP, extinguishers, PEEPs where applicable)
• Communication procedures during emergencies
• Evacuation procedures including assembly areas and routes
• Coordination with emergency services
• Specific duties of the warden’s assigned role
• Procedures for assisting occupants who require assistance (linking to Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans where relevant; see our PEEPs service)

For Chief Wardens and Deputy Chief Wardens, additional leadership training is industry practice. See our Chief Warden training program.

First 5 Minutes’ standard ECO training schedule

While the standard does not prescribe hours, First 5 Minutes’ AS 3745-compliant ECO training is typically delivered as:

• Initial ECO training session: approximately 4 to 5 hours covering the role, the facility’s plan, and practical scenario exercises
• Chief Warden and Deputy Chief Warden leadership session: additional 1 to 2 hours of decision-framework and communication training
• Six-monthly skills retention sessions: approximately 60 to 90 minutes per session
• Annual facility-wide evacuation exercise: delivered, observed and debriefed

These durations are practitioner experience, not standard prescription. The right duration for your facility depends on the complexity of the building, the range of foreseeable emergencies, and the experience level of the ECO.

For more on the specific training a warden needs and how often, see our companion guide on what training a fire warden needs.

7. Evacuation exercises and ongoing validation

A plan that has never been exercised is a plan that has never been tested. AS 3745 requires at least one full evacuation exercise per year. The exercise must:

• Test the full ECO, not just one role
• Be observed and documented
• Be debriefed within a reasonable interval afterwards
• Generate lessons that feed back into the emergency plan via the EPC

Best practice across multi-year cycles is to vary the scenarios. An ECO that has only ever drilled a routine fire scenario has only ever validated one slice of the plan. Realistic exercise scenarios include:

• Bomb threat with quiet evacuation (see our bomb threat procedures guide)
• Partial evacuation due to localised incident
• Hazmat shelter-in-place
• Telecommunications failure during a medical incident
• Key warden unavailable (Chief Warden out of building)
• Severe weather requiring lockdown rather than evacuation

For practical pointers on drill design, see our guide to running effective evacuation drills and exercises.

8. Records, documentation and compliance evidence

AS 3745 expects documentary evidence that the EPC and ECO are operating as required. Auditors, insurers and regulators will ask for:

• Current emergency plan with version control and review history
• EPC membership list and meeting minutes
• ECO membership list with named roles and current contact details
• Training records, attendance registers and assessment outcomes for every ECO member
• Evacuation exercise reports including scenario, attendance, timing, observations and lessons
• Incident reports for any real emergency and the post-incident debrief
• Evacuation diagrams with installation dates and review history
• PEEP records for occupants who require assistance
• Maintenance and inspection records for emergency systems (alarms, EWIS, emergency lighting)

The EPC owns the document control function. The ECO contributes attendance, exercise and incident records.

9. Healthcare facilities: AS 4083 and additional obligations

For hospitals, aged care facilities, and similar healthcare settings, AS 3745:2010 is supplemented by AS 4083:2010 – Planning for emergencies in healthcare facilities. AS 4083 adds requirements for patient mobility, clinical continuity, multiple-occupancy hazards (oxygen, anaesthetic gases, hazardous chemicals), and the ability to continue critical care during an emergency.

Best practice is to align ECO training schedules with AS 3745, while ensuring AS 4083-specific requirements (patient transfer procedures, evacuation of critical care areas, coordination with on-shift clinical staff) are explicitly covered.

For more on the additional training requirements for healthcare ECOs, see our guide on planning for emergencies in healthcare facilities.

10. 2024 to 2026 regulatory developments that affect ECO planning

AS 3745:2010 itself is unchanged. The broader regulatory landscape, however, has shifted in ways that affect what your ECO must be prepared for.

• Model WHS Regulations 2025 amendments (Safe Work Australia). Extended incident notification duties now cover certain violent incidents, work-related suicide and attempted suicide, and worker absences of 15 or more calendar days, where the relevant jurisdiction has adopted the amendments. ECO post-incident procedures should be reviewed accordingly.
• NSW Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 (commenced 22 August 2025). New requirements include lithium-ion battery storage emergency plans (workplaces storing, handling or installing 25 or more tonnes must lodge plans with Fire and Rescue NSW), psychosocial risk controls, and crystalline silica exposure registers. NSW facilities should update ECO procedures and the EPC’s risk assessment.
• National Terrorism Threat Advisory remains at PROBABLE (raised by ASIO in August 2024 from “Possible” and maintained since). This elevated baseline is relevant context for bomb threat and active threat scenario planning. See our bomb threat procedures guide.
• Triple Zero telecommunications resilience. Following the September 2025 Optus and November 2025 TPG Triple Zero outages, ECO communications procedures should include a fallback for emergency service notification when the primary telecommunications carrier is unavailable.

11. Common compliance gaps we see in Australian workplaces

From more than 30 years delivering AS 3745-compliant training across Australian facilities, these are the recurring weaknesses we encounter in ECOs that look compliant on paper:

• The ECO list is out of date. The Chief Warden left six months ago. Nobody updated the plan. In an emergency, no one knows who is in charge.
• Skills retention training has slipped to annual. AS 3745 requires “no greater than six months”. Annual training does not meet the standard.
• The ECO has never trained for anything other than fire. Bomb threat, medical, hazmat, active threat: none of these have been exercised.
• The Communications Officer has never used the WIP under realistic conditions. The first time they touch it is the real event.
• First Aid Officers exist but are not integrated into the ECO. Their role during an emergency is improvised.
• The EPC has not met in two years. The plan is unreviewed. Building changes have happened. Diagrams are out of date.
• The exercise debrief did not feed back into the plan. Lessons are captured but never become procedural changes.
• PEEPs exist but assistants are no longer rostered. The person nominated to assist a mobility-impaired occupant has changed roles or left.

If any of these sound familiar, the path forward is straightforward: refresh the membership, refresh the training, and exercise scenarios you have not exercised before.

Get your ECO compliant and ready

First 5 Minutes is the largest Emergency Control Organisation training team in Australia, with over 30 years of delivery to Australian facilities under AS 3745. Whether you need full ECO training, Chief Warden training, AS 3745 compliance essentials, a facility emergency evacuation plan service, or a single refresher for an existing team, we can help.

Book Emergency Control Organisation training, or contact our team on 1300 321 120 to discuss your facility’s needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Emergency Control Organisation under AS 3745?
The Emergency Control Organisation (ECO) is a structured team of trained occupants required under Australian Standard AS 3745:2010 to manage emergencies in a facility. The ECO typically includes a Chief Warden, Deputy Chief Warden, Communications Officer, Area or Floor Wardens, Wardens, and (where applicable) First Aid Officers and Emergency Coordinators. The ECO executes the emergency plan during an incident. The plan itself is owned by the Emergency Planning Committee (EPC).

What is the difference between the EPC and the ECO?
The Emergency Planning Committee (EPC) is a governance body that develops, maintains and reviews the facility’s emergency plan. The Emergency Control Organisation (ECO) is an operational body that executes the plan during an actual emergency. Both are required under AS 3745. The same person may sit on both, but the functions are distinct.

Does AS 3745 prescribe a fixed number of training hours?
No. AS 3745:2010 requires that ECO members receive training appropriate to their role and skills retention training at intervals no greater than six months. The standard does not prescribe a fixed number of hours. Industry practice, including First 5 Minutes’ standard delivery, is approximately 4 to 5 hours for initial ECO training, 60 to 90 minutes for six-monthly skills retention, and an additional 1 to 2 hours for Chief Warden and Deputy Chief Warden leadership training.

How often must ECO refresher training be conducted?
AS 3745:2010 requires skills retention training at intervals no greater than six months. Many Australian facilities default to annual refresher training, which does not meet the standard. Six-monthly refreshers are the compliance benchmark.

Who is responsible for the AS 3745 emergency plan?
The Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) has the primary statutory duty under WHS law. Day-to-day, the Emergency Planning Committee (EPC) develops and maintains the plan under AS 3745. The Emergency Control Organisation (ECO) executes it during an emergency. In multi-tenanted buildings, the facility owner or manager is typically responsible for ensuring the master plan and shared-area ECO are in place.

How often must the EPC meet?
AS 3745 expects the EPC to meet at intervals sufficient to discharge its functions, including reviewing the plan, validating the ECO, and conducting an annual evacuation exercise. Industry practice is a minimum of two meetings per year, often quarterly in larger or higher-risk facilities.

How often is an evacuation exercise required?
AS 3745:2010 requires at least one full evacuation exercise per year. Best practice is to rotate the scenarios across multi-year cycles so the ECO has exercised bomb threat, hazmat, partial evacuation, medical and active threat scenarios alongside the standard fire drill.

Has AS 3745 been updated in 2026?
No. AS 3745:2010 remains the current standard. It incorporates Amendment No. 1 (2014) and Amendment No. 2 (2018), and has not been superseded. The relevant recent regulatory developments are the 2025 model WHS amendments, the NSW WHS Regulation 2025, and the 2024 elevation of Australia’s National Terrorism Threat Level to PROBABLE.

What does AS 4083 add for healthcare facilities?
AS 4083:2010 applies to healthcare facilities including hospitals and aged care. It supplements AS 3745 with additional requirements around patient mobility, clinical continuity, evacuation of critical care areas, and coordination with on-shift clinical staff. Healthcare ECOs should be trained under both standards.

Do small workplaces still need an ECO?
Yes. AS 3745 applies to facilities of all sizes. The ECO structure can be scaled to the facility: a small workplace might have a Chief Warden and one or two Wardens, while a large multi-storey building has a layered structure with Area Wardens, Floor Wardens and dedicated Communications Officers. The principle is the same: someone is in charge, someone communicates, and someone sweeps and accounts.

Can the same person hold multiple ECO roles?
Yes, in smaller facilities. The Chief Warden and Communications Officer may be the same person in a small workplace, for example. In larger facilities, separating the roles is essential because each function requires focused attention during an incident. AS 3745 requires the structure to be proportionate to the facility.

Where can I get AS 3745-compliant ECO training in Australia?
First 5 Minutes is the largest ECO training team in Australia, delivering AS 3745-compliant training nationally for over 30 years. Training programs are available for initial ECO formation, six-monthly skills retention, Chief Warden leadership, AS 4083 healthcare-specific delivery, and bespoke high-risk facility programs.