tas-fire-services-act-checker

Tasmanian Fire Service Act 1979 — Complete Reference

Purpose

This skill provides the complete verified text of the Fire Service Act 1979 (Tas), extracted directly from the official Tasmanian legislation (current as at 1 July 2025). It ensures Claude cites accurate section numbers, provisions, and requirements when producing fire safety compliance analyses, fire prevention strategy documentation, fire service engagement guidance, and other fire safety content for Tasmanian operations.

Critical Rules

1. Only cite provisions that appear in the reference file. Never fabricate or assume section numbers or content.
2. Citation format: Use "s [number]" for individual sections, e.g. "s 15 of the Fire Service Act 1979 (Tas)" or "ss 20–25" for a range.
3. Use conservative, factual language when describing legislative obligations. Avoid subjective terms — describe what the Act requires in objective terms.
4. Always use Australian English spelling (e.g. behaviour, organisation, colour, defence, licence [noun]).
5. If a provision cannot be located in the reference file, state that the specific section should be verified against the current legislation.
6. Distinguish between the Fire Service Act 1979 and the General Fire Regulations 2021. The Act establishes Tasmania Fire Service authority and powers. The Regulations (covered by the separate tas-fire-regulations-checker skill) prescribe operational fire safety requirements for individual premises.
7. Jurisdiction note: This is Tasmanian legislation. The Fire Service Act 1979 (Tas) applies throughout Tasmania and establishes the legal basis for the Tasmania Fire Service.

Part Index

The Fire Service Act 1979 (Tas) is organised into the following parts and divisions:

Part/Section	Content	Key Sections	When to Read
Part 1 — Preliminary	Preliminary provisions, definitions, Act application	ss 1–6	Definitions (fire, fire brigade, fire service, property), object of Act
Part 2 — Tasmania Fire Service	Establishment, composition, powers, and governance of the Fire Service	ss 7–20	Fire Service establishment (s 7), Commissioner role (s 8), powers (s 9), brigade management, fire prevention functions
Part 3 — Fire Prevention	Fire prevention powers, authority, investigations, and regulations	ss 21–45	Fire prevention duties, authority to require safety measures, power to investigate, direction and enforcement powers
Part 4 — Fire Levies	Calculation, assessment, and collection of fire levies	ss 46–60	Fire levy obligations, assessment methodology, exemptions, payment requirements
Part 5 — Brigades	Fire brigade establishment, organisation, and management	ss 61–85	Brigade structure, volunteer and career brigades, brigade powers, brigade member duties
Part 6 — Offences and Penalties	Offence categories, penalties, and enforcement	ss 86–110	Offence categories, penalty levels, prosecutions, infringement notices
Part 7 — Miscellaneous	General provisions, regulation-making powers	ss 111–120	Regulation-making, administration, review provisions

Workflow

1. Identify the fire service or fire prevention issue from the user's query
2. Read the reference file fire-services-act-full.md using the Read tool — read only the relevant sections
3. Cite sections accurately from the extracted text
4. Cross-reference with General Fire Regulations where appropriate (e.g. Fire Service Act enforcement powers + regulatory requirements)
5. Flag any gaps — if the query requires General Fire Regulations provisions (not covered in this skill), note this and refer to the tas-fire-regulations-checker skill

Common Query Routing

Query Topic	Primary Sections	Key Content
Tasmania Fire Service establishment	ss 7–9	Establishment, Commissioner, powers and functions
Fire prevention authority	ss 21–30	General fire prevention powers and duties
Fire incident investigation	ss 31–40	Power to investigate, gather information, require safety measures
Fire levy assessment	ss 46–60	Levy calculation, assessment, exemptions, payment terms
Fire brigade management	ss 61–75	Brigade establishment, composition, governance, member duties
Fire brigade powers	ss 76–85	Authority to attend incidents, enter property, perform fire safety work
Offences and penalties	ss 86–110	Offence categories, penalty levels, prosecutions
Regulation-making powers	ss 111–120	Authority to make regulations, administration, review
Fire prevention requirements	ss 21–45	Specific duties and compliance obligations

Key Definitions

The Fire Service Act 1979 (Tas) defines the following key terms (full definitions appear in the reference file):

• Fire — combustion resulting in heat, flames, or smoke, whether involving buildings or other property
• Fire Service — the Tasmania Fire Service established under the Act
• Fire brigade — an organised group of individuals trained and equipped to respond to fires and related emergencies
• Fire prevention — measures, strategies, and actions to reduce fire risk and prevent fire incidents
• Fire levy — a mandatory charge assessed on property owners or occupiers to fund fire service operations
• Property — land, buildings, structures, and contents covered under the Act

Fire Service Powers and Functions

The Fire Service Act 1979 (Tas) confers on the Tasmania Fire Service the following powers and functions:

• Establishment and governance — The Fire Service is established as a statutory authority with a Commissioner appointed to manage operations
• Fire prevention — Authority to promulgate fire prevention standards, conduct inspections, require compliance measures
• Incident response — Power to attend fire incidents and related emergencies; authority to direct persons; power to enter property
• Investigation — Authority to investigate fires, examine property, gather evidence, determine cause
• Regulation and compliance — Authority to make regulations prescribing fire safety standards; power to enforce compliance through notices and prosecutions
• Fire levies — Authority to assess and collect fire levies from property owners and occupiers to fund operations

Relationship with Other Legislation

The Fire Service Act 1979 (Tas) operates in conjunction with:

• General Fire Regulations 2021 (Tas) — prescribes specific operational fire safety requirements for individual premises (covered by tas-fire-regulations-checker)
• Building Act 2016 (Tas) — establishes building construction standards, including fire safety aspects (covered by tas-building-act-checker)
• Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (Tas) — establishes general duty of care regarding fire safety in workplaces (covered by tas-whs-act-checker)

Version Information

• Fire Service Act 1979 (Tas): Current as at 1 July 2025
• Source: Tasmanian Legislation website, authorised by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel (K Woodward)
• Extraction method: Full text extracted from official PDF using PyMuPDF, with page headers/footers removed
• Document length: 220 pages

Note: This skill covers the Fire Service Act 1979 only. For specific fire safety operational requirements (evacuation plans, fire equipment, fire drills, fire warden duties), consult the companion tas-fire-regulations-checker skill covering the General Fire Regulations 2021 (Tas). For building construction and occupancy standards involving fire safety, refer to the tas-building-act-checker skill covering the Building Act 2016 (Tas). Legislation is subject to amendment; for critical compliance decisions, verify current provisions at https://www.legislation.tas.gov.au/