Plenty of software can put a recurring visit in a calendar and attach a checklist to it. That is not the same as AS 1851 software. AS 1851-2012 sets out routine service activities for each type of fire protection system and equipment, at frequencies from monthly to thirty-yearly, and expects you to record the results against each item, compare them with baseline data, and report defects properly.
This checklist works through what the standard asks of a maintenance contractor and what software has to do for each part. Use it to judge any platform, including ours, and use it in a trial rather than a demo.
1. Every frequency, on every device
AS 1851 does not have one service interval per building. Each type of equipment has its own schedule of monthly, six-monthly, yearly and longer activities, and a single site might carry extinguishers, hose reels, hydrants, a sprinkler system, a fire indicator panel, detectors and exit lights, each on its own cycle. The longer schedules include the shorter ones: a yearly service on a device covers its six-monthly activities too.
Software should track each obligation per device: this extinguisher’s six-monthly, its yearly and its five-yearly pressure test, each with its own due date and its own record of when it was last done. A single “next service due” date per asset hides the long-interval work, and that is where most missed obligations sit.
2. Tolerance windows, not just due dates
AS 1851 allows a tolerance either side of each scheduled date, and an activity done outside it is an out of tolerance activity. Your software should show whether each visit was early, on time or late against that window, so you can plan routes without drifting out of compliance, and so a late visit is visible before an auditor finds it.
3. Baseline data on record
Many AS 1851 tests compare a result with the system’s baseline data: pump performance, flow and pressure readings, battery capacity and so on. If the baseline is missing, the routine test has nothing to be judged against. Software should hold baseline data against the asset or system and put it in front of the technician when the test needs it. Our guide to baseline data explains what to record.
4. Results per device, with the evidence
A routine service record should say what was tested, on which device, with what result. In practice that means pass, defect or not applicable per asset, with notes and photos, rather than a single tick for the whole building. When a device could not be reached, the record should say why: locked, occupied, obstructed, not found or unsafe.
It should also show what was expected but not visited. A report that lists only the devices the technician happened to open looks complete when it is not. In traqR, each contract report records which services were picked, which devices were tested, which had no access and why, and which were owed but never visited.
5. Defects classified the way the standard reads
AS 1851 separates critical defects, which make a system unlikely to perform, from non-critical defects and non-conformances. A critical defect has to be reported to the building owner promptly, not left for the end-of-month summary. Software should make the technician classify each defect on the spot, alert the office immediately for a critical one, and track every defect until it is fixed and checked.
6. Records you can produce on request
Building owners, certifiers, fire authorities and auditors ask for records in different ways: the history of one asset, the last year of a building, the evidence behind an annual statement. Software should keep each service, result, photo, defect and signature against the asset, and produce it in minutes. Corrections should be added as dated amendments rather than overwriting what was filed.
7. The annual statement
At the end of the year, the owner signs a statement that the essential measures were maintained: the NSW Annual Fire Safety Statement, the Victorian annual essential safety measures report, the Queensland occupier’s statement or the South Australian Form 3. AS 1851 software should know which measures are on the building, whether each was maintained in the last twelve months, and whether any critical defect is still open, before anyone signs.
The checklist
- Does it track each AS 1851 frequency per device, including five-yearly and longer work?
- Does a longer service complete the shorter ones on the same device?
- Does it show visits that are early, on time or late against the tolerance?
- Does it hold baseline data and show it during the test that needs it?
- Does it record a result per device, with photos, and a reason when there is no access?
- Does the report show devices that were owed a service but not visited?
- Are defects classified as critical, non-critical or non-conformance, with critical ones escalated straight away?
- Can you follow each defect from found to fixed to checked?
- Can you produce an asset’s full history in minutes, with corrections kept as amendments?
- Does it support the annual statement for the states you work in?
Frequently asked questions
What is AS 1851 software?
Software that plans, records and reports routine servicing of fire protection systems and equipment to AS 1851-2012. It tracks what each device owes at each frequency, records results per device with evidence, classifies defects and keeps the records owners and auditors ask for.
Can general job management software do AS 1851?
It can book recurring visits and attach checklists, but per-device obligations, tolerance, baseline data, defect classification and statement readiness have to be built and maintained by hand. That is where compliance gaps creep in.
Does AS 1851 software have to track five-yearly and longer work?
It should. Pressure tests, internal inspections and other long-interval activities are easy to miss because they fall outside the yearly cycle, and they are often not priced into the contract.
Is there AS 1851 software built in Australia?
Yes. traqR and Uptick are both Australian platforms built for AS 1851 work. Our 2026 roundup of fire protection software compares the options.