NSW publishes a prescribed-style fire-safety notice headed “OFFENCE RELATING TO FIRE EXITS”. If your building or project requires this notice, use the current wording and confirm placement with the project certifier or fire-safety professional.
What the NSW notice says
The current NSW Government notice states that it is an offence under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 to obstruct movement to and from a fire exit, interfere with the operation of fire doors, or remove, damage or interfere with the notice. The official wording should be treated as the source of truth.
Do not paraphrase prescribed wording
If a prescribed notice is required, changing the wording to make it shorter or more decorative can create unnecessary risk. Use the current official notice and confirm whether your project has any additional formatting or placement requirement.
Choose material for the mounting location
For an internal wall or door area, a rigid aluminium or ACP plate provides a durable finish. Where a self-adhesive application is appropriate, laminated vinyl may be suitable. The substrate and fixing should be decided before ordering.
Check existing notices during maintenance
Older buildings can have damaged, faded or outdated notices. During a fire-door or common-area audit, photograph the existing notice and compare it with current project and regulatory requirements before replacing it.
Order the notice with related fire signage
If you are already replacing fire-exit notices, review fire-door, stair, FIP and other nearby signs at the same time. A coordinated order keeps the building presentation consistent.
Source: NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, “Offence relating to fire exits” notice, version 22 December 2025.
Use the current government notice as the reference
Do not rely on a photograph of an old notice or text copied from a previous building. The NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure publishes the current notice, and that document should be checked whenever a replacement is being ordered for compliance purposes.
Check mounting position with the project team
The notice needs to be where the applicable requirement expects it to be seen. On a new project, confirm the installation point with the certifier or fire-safety practitioner. On an existing building, photograph the current location before removal so the replacement can be reviewed properly.
Keep the face clean and readable
Paint, stickers, damage and poor cleaning can make older notices difficult to read. Where a rigid replacement is used, choose a finish that stays legible under the building’s normal lighting and cleaning regime.
Do not confuse this notice with a general fire-door label
The offence notice has prescribed-style wording and a different purpose from a simple FIRE SAFETY DOOR – DO NOT OBSTRUCT plate. A building may require both types in different locations, so keep them as separate lines on the schedule.
Who should check the location?
For building work and compliance maintenance, the project certifier, fire-safety practitioner or other appropriately qualified adviser should confirm where the notice is required. In NSW, the current regulation applies where a building fire exit includes a fire-isolated stairway, passageway or ramp, and requires the notice adjacent to relevant doorways. That is more precise than the common assumption that the notice simply goes on every fire door.
The NSW Government publishes the current notice artwork and wording. Use that official source when checking a product or preparing artwork, because older installed notices can pre-date regulatory updates.
Order the notice as part of the fire-exit package
During a building audit, record the notice together with the nearby fire-door wording, fire-stair or level identification and any related room signs. This reduces repeat site visits and gives the building manager one list to review. For replacement work, also note the mounting surface and existing sign size so the new plate fits the location cleanly without covering hardware, glazing or required door information.
Order with SignShine
View SignShine’s fire and statutory signage and order the required finish for your project.
Products to compare
These SignShine products are useful starting points when building this part of a sign schedule: