When Are Refuge Areas Required in Australia?
A person who cannot independently descend stairs should not be left without a considered evacuation option simply because a lift is unavailable during a fire. That is the practical issue behind the question, when are refuge areas required? For project teams, the answer is rarely a simple building-height threshold. It depends on the National Construction Code (NCC), the building classification and use, the egress design, the people expected to occupy the building, and the fire safety strategy.
A refuge area can be an effective part of an accessible evacuation solution, but it is not a universal substitute for an exit, an evacuation lift or a properly developed emergency plan. It must be designed, documented and managed as part of the building’s overall life safety system.
What is a refuge area?
A refuge area is a protected location where a person who cannot use stairs can wait temporarily for assistance during an emergency. It is intended to provide a level of protection from fire and smoke while evacuation is coordinated.
In practice, a refuge area may be located within a fire-isolated stair enclosure, an adjoining protected space, or another area justified through the building’s fire engineering and access strategy. It needs to be sufficiently protected, large enough for its intended users, clearly identified, and connected to a reliable method of communication.
A landing beside a stair, an open corridor, or a widened circulation space does not automatically become a refuge area. If it is exposed to smoke, obstructs the path of travel, compromises exit width, or has no means for occupants to call for assistance, it is unlikely to provide a credible solution.
When are refuge areas required under the NCC?
The NCC does not create a blanket rule that every multistorey building must include a refuge area. Rather, refuge areas may be required where they form part of the solution needed to satisfy the applicable Performance Requirements for safe evacuation and equitable access.
The Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions establish the baseline requirements for exits, paths of travel and access. However, particular building layouts, uses and occupant profiles can reveal a gap between conventional stair-based egress and the needs of people with disability. Where that gap cannot be adequately addressed through the standard provisions and operational measures, a Performance Solution may identify a refuge area as one component of the required design response.
The applicable NCC edition and the way it has been adopted in the relevant state or territory must always be confirmed. Project teams should also consider relevant Australian Standards, fire safety engineering reports, approval conditions and the building’s emergency management arrangements. A concept that appears reasonable on a plan may not be accepted by the building certifier or fire authority if the full evacuation strategy has not been resolved.
Buildings where the question commonly arises
Refuge areas are most often considered in multistorey buildings where people may be unable to use stairs without assistance and where evacuation cannot be completed directly to a place of safety on the same level. This may include office buildings, education facilities, health and aged care environments, public buildings, accommodation, assembly buildings and mixed-use developments.
The case is particularly strong where a building is expected to be used by the public, has higher occupant loads, contains spaces above or below the level of exit discharge, or includes users with mobility, sensory or cognitive disability. A building’s stated use matters as much as its classification. For example, an upper-floor meeting suite used for public consultation may present a different risk profile from a restricted plant room with infrequent access.
Heritage projects and existing buildings also require careful assessment. Physical constraints can make a new lift, additional stair or enlarged fire-isolated shaft difficult to deliver. Those constraints do not remove the need for safe and equitable access. They make early, evidence-based consideration of alternatives more important.
A refuge area is not automatically the right answer
A well-designed refuge area may be appropriate, but it involves trade-offs. It can provide temporary protection and a clear location for emergency assistance, yet it also relies on management, communication and a realistic rescue process. A refuge strategy that assumes someone will arrive without identifying who, how, and within what likely timeframe is not complete.
In some projects, an evacuation lift, a horizontal exit to a fire compartment, direct egress at the accessible level, or operational changes that avoid placing key services on inaccessible levels may provide a more reliable outcome. In care settings, staged or progressive evacuation may be central to the fire safety strategy. In a small workplace, relocating frequently used facilities to the entry level may remove the need for a complex intervention altogether.
The most suitable approach depends on the building, its users and the operational capacity of the owner or operator. Compliance should not be treated as a choice between a refuge area and doing nothing.
Design issues that need to be resolved early
Where a refuge area is proposed, it should be considered from concept design rather than added late in documentation. Late changes can affect stair widths, fire compartmentation, door swings, services coordination, wayfinding and the net lettable area.
A credible design normally addresses the following matters together:
- fire and smoke protection appropriate to the agreed evacuation strategy;
- adequate clear space for wheelchair users and any person assisting them, without reducing required egress capacity;
- accessible approach paths, door operation and circulation clearances;
- two-way communication that can be used by people with hearing, speech, vision or mobility impairments;
- emergency lighting, signs and wayfinding that identify the location and support decision-making under stress;
- procedures for monitoring, assisting and evacuating occupants from the refuge area; and
- coordination with fire detection, alarm, intercom and building management systems.
The final point is frequently underestimated. A communication device installed at an inaccessible height, without visual feedback or an operational response protocol, may satisfy neither its intended function nor the needs of building occupants. Similarly, signage alone cannot make an unsuitable space safe.
Do not compromise the exit path
One of the most common design errors is treating the required stair landing or exit corridor as spare space. A wheelchair positioned in that location can interfere with people evacuating down the stair and may restrict emergency services entering the building.
The refuge location must therefore be tested against the required exit width, travel path, door movement and likely occupant numbers. This is a coordination exercise involving the architect, access consultant, fire safety engineer, services consultants, certifier and, where relevant, the building operator. It cannot be resolved by adding a symbol to a fire plan.
The operational plan matters as much as the room
A refuge area has an ongoing operational requirement. Building management needs to know who monitors the location, how assistance is requested, whether staff are trained, how personal emergency evacuation plans are prepared, and how the procedure works outside normal business hours.
AS 3745 provides a framework for emergency planning in facilities, but the emergency plan must reflect the actual building design and occupants. This may include visitors, contractors, students, residents, patients and people who are unfamiliar with the premises. It should not depend solely on an individual disclosing disability in advance.
Regular drills and reviews are valuable because they expose practical problems that drawings cannot show: furniture stored in circulation zones, a communication system that is not monitored, a locked fire door, or staff who do not understand the procedure. Changes in tenancy, staffing or building use can also alter whether the original strategy remains suitable.
When to seek specialist advice
Specialist input is most valuable before the floor plate, vertical circulation and fire strategy are fixed. An access consultant can assess whether people can reach, enter and use the proposed refuge location, while a fire safety engineer can evaluate its role within the wider evacuation strategy. The architect then has the information needed to integrate the solution without creating avoidable cost or spatial conflict.
Advice is especially warranted where a Performance Solution is proposed, an existing building is being upgraded, a project includes vulnerable occupants, or the development has complex public access. It is also prudent when a certifier asks how accessible evacuation has been addressed. A clear, coordinated rationale reduces approval risk and produces a more buildable result.
At Sydney Access Consultants, this work is approached as both a compliance and design question: how can the building support safe participation for the people who will actually use it, while remaining practical to construct and operate?
A refuge area should never be an afterthought or a token response to accessibility. When it is genuinely required, the best outcome is a protected, usable and managed part of a broader evacuation strategy that gives every occupant a credible path to safety.