A lot has happened for commercial kitchen operators in NSW since the passing of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Amendment Regulation 2025. From 13 February 2026, owners of covered buildings are required to ensure maintenance of essential fire safety measures according to AS 1851-2012. In Muswellbrook, this applies directly to the kitchen exhaust that is identified in the Fire Safety Schedule as one of the essential fire safety measures. These kitchen operators find themselves in a new position compared to how things were twelve months ago.
Understanding the requirements of the standard for commercial exhaust cleaning Muswellbrook and determining who can meet them is a good place to start for regional operators.
What AS 1851-2012 Requires at a Practical Level?
AS 1851 stipulates the requirements for maintenance of fire protection systems. In the case when kitchen exhaust is included in the Fire Safety Schedule as an essential fire safety measure, the requirements of this standard apply. In practice, this means that filters, hoods and grease catch systems are to be inspected and cleaned on a monthly basis, while duct cleaning should take place as needed, based on the actual build-up rate of grease.
According to the standard, a competent person should conduct the work. In terms of exhaust cleaning, a competent person is a specialist contractor who is able to assess the system, enter the duct, identify deficiencies, and create a record that satisfies the seven-year record-keeping requirement of NSW regulations. General cleaning services that only clean the canopy exterior and replace a filter visible from the outside cannot comply with the requirement and create acceptable documentation.
What Gets Missed When the Wrong Contractor Does the Job?
The most consistent gap in commercial exhaust maintenance is the difference between what looks clean and what actually is. A rangehood that presents well from the kitchen floor can carry a duct interior that has not been properly serviced in years. Grease accumulates past the filter line, in bends and transitions, in horizontal duct runs, on fan blades, and inside the housing. None of those areas is accessible without specialist tools.
Fan components are particularly overlooked. Grease loading on impeller blades creates an imbalance in the rotating assembly, increasing vibration and accelerating bearing wear. A fan running under that mechanical stress draws more power, generates more heat, and is more likely to fail. Beyond the fire risk from accumulated grease, there is a separate operational degradation happening inside the system that only a specialist inspection will detect.
Seals, gaskets, and access panel condition are also assessed during a proper professional service. Failed seals allow grease-laden air to leak into ceiling cavities, creating a risk that sits entirely outside the main duct and is rarely found without deliberate inspection.
What Maintenance Records Need to Contain?
NSW regulations mandate that owners of buildings retain AS 1851-compliant maintenance records onsite for a minimum period of seven years. Records are the focus of the regulatory requirement and not some specific certificate form. According to the AIRAH 2022 Best Practice Guide, the best practice after each service is the use of a verification certificate/report including details such as the date of service, scope of work performed, system condition pre and post-cleaning, grease levels measured, and deficiencies observed. It is the level of documentation that allows for a seven-year compliance record and that is what any inspector and insurance company would want to see.
Where exhaust systems are included among the essential fire safety measures in Muswellbrook businesses, the maintenance records also need to be incorporated in the Annual Fire Safety Statement to be provided to Muswellbrook Shire Council and Fire and Rescue NSW.
How Regional Kitchens Can Approach This Practically?
Cooking activity levels in regional commercial kitchens can be quite similar to those in metropolitan commercial kitchens of equivalent capacity, with the same amount of airborne grease generated per serving as the result of using the same equipment. The most practical way of meeting the compliance requirement while avoiding disruption of income is the scheduling of the specialist cleaning service during kitchen downtime.
Commercial kitchen operators without a previous record-keeping system should use their next professional service as the starting point of their compliance file.
