Essential Safety Measure Audits

Auditing a site's Essential Safety Measure (ESM) maintenance activity for compliance is the core of what we do at Stokes Safety, so getting it right matters. Legislated under the Building Act 1993 and the Victorian Building Regulations 2018, and shaped by relevant Australian Standards, ESM auditing exists to confirm that the safety systems installed in a building, from fire systems to emergency lighting to paths of egress, are actually being maintained the way they're supposed to be.

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Our approach to auditing

We support an annual, desktop-audited site visit as the minimum requirement for our auditors to assess ESM compliance and paths of egress, meeting the certification requirements of most states and territories. In practice, we recommend quarterly visits for most sites, as this achieves and maintains a stronger standard of compliance over time rather than treating the audit as a once-a-year formality. We also support logbook-based auditing, again with an annual minimum and a quarterly recommendation, giving clients ongoing support and better visibility of their compliance position between formal certification periods.

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Chasing up ESM specialist suppliers

One of the most common reasons ESM compliance breaks down is unresponsive specialist suppliers, contractors who receive a generic compliance email and either ignore it or let it land in an unmonitored inbox. Rather than adding to that noise, our team follows up directly with detailed emails and phone calls. It adds a little more cost to our delivery, but it's far more effective at actually closing out compliance gaps, and it keeps the site moving toward its collective compliance objective in a reasonable timeframe.

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Client engagement and site sensitivity

We understand that not every site wants an auditor turning up unannounced. Some buildings are sensitive to timing, occupant disruption, or the visibility of our attendance. We can accommodate reasonable requests around all of this, we just ask that we're made aware of any specific requirements when we set up a new site.

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Requesting a fee proposal

The more documentation you can provide when requesting a fee proposal, the more accurately we can scope the audit. Useful documents include the Occupancy Permit, Maintenance Determination, Maintenance Schedule, Fire Engineering Reports (FER), "As Builts," and any previous compliance certificates such as an AESMR, AFSS, or Occupier's Statement.

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Outcomes for our clients

Clients who engage Stokes Safety for ESM auditing get regular, reliable visibility of their site's compliance position, communicated clearly through our client portal, along with a team that actively chases down unresponsive suppliers on their behalf rather than leaving that burden with the property owner or facility manager.

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Get started

If you'd like a fee proposal for ESM auditing at your site, get in touch with whatever documentation you have on hand, whether that's an Occupancy Permit, Maintenance Schedule, or previous compliance certificate, and we'll take it from there.