This pages covers some background on the legislation and the requirements of the regulations, provided by the council.
The Artifactory is considered a public building under the Health Act 1911 (the Act), available from State Law Publisher. The definition of a public building (s. 173) is:
(a) a building or place or part of a building or place where persons may assemble for —
(i) civic, theatrical, social, political or religious purposes;
(ii) educational purposes;
(iii) entertainment, recreational or sporting purposes; and
(iv) business purposes;
and
(b) any building, structure, tent, gallery, enclosure, platform or other place or any part of a building, structure, tent, gallery, enclosure, platform or other place in or on which numbers of persons are usually or occasionally assembled, but does not include a hospital;
The Artifactory's core activities around being a hacker space, in addition to the events such as NoizeMaschin and Rapture, trigger aspects of part a) of the above definition. And the definition of structure where we meet, part b) of the above definition, is sufficiently broad that our venue is considered covered by this definition.
The rest of the public building part of the Act, s. 174 - 180, deals with the application for a building to be considered a public building and providing the authority for certain people to administer this legislation and the "state" to establish the regulations. It is important that Artifactory members do not prevent or hinder authorised persons, being local government officials, Western Australia police officers or Health Department officers, from entering the space when they are taking actions in relation to this legislation (s.174 and s.179).
Health (Public Buildings) Regulations 1992 (the Regulations), provides the actionable requirements for public buildings. The duties to meet these regulations are placed on the occupier. The occupier is defined in the Act (s. 3) as:
occupier includes a person having the charge, management, or control of premises, and in the case of a house which is let out in separate tenements, or in the case of a lodging‑house which is let to lodgers, the person receiving the rent payable by the tenants or lodgers, either on his own account or as the agent of another person; and in the case of a vessel, the master or other person in charge thereof; the term also includes any person in occupation of the surface of any lands of the Crown, notwithstanding any want of title to occupy same
The Artifactory controls the premises we occupy and thus would be the occupier for many of the requirements under the Regulations. Limited aspects of the Regulations the owner maybe responsible for. We will need to work with the owner to meet these requirements of the Regulations, should the premises currently fall short, as these requirements would not be needed for a typical commercial tenant.
The Stirling City Council have provided a list of requirements in Health & Compliance Services - Health (Public Buildings) Regulations 1992 - Occupiers Operational Responsibilities document. These are captured in the table below with how the Artifactory complies.
| Requirement | Compliance |
|---|---|
| The Certificate of Approval for “Maximum Accommodation” must be kept on display where it is visible to the public, and the specified number of persons not exceeded. | |
| Any proposed change in use or structural alteration must be notified to the City’s Health & Compliance Services prior to implementation, to ensure compliance will be achieved. | |
| Emergency exits (doors/gates with an “EXIT” sign) must be kept free of any obstruction at all times. | |
| Locks and Latches fitted to emergency exit doors/gates must be of an approved design, and must not be added or changed without prior consultation with the City’s Health & Compliance Services. | |
| All “EXIT” signs must be illuminated whenever the building is open to the public. | |
| Emergency light fittings (where applicable) and “EXIT” signs and must be tested EVERY SIX (6) MONTHS to verify correct operation in accordance with Australian Standard AS2293, and a logbook kept recording these tests and any related repairs. | |
| Evaporative Air Conditioning Systems and Cooling Towers (where applicable) must be maintained in accordance with Australian Standard AS3666, and a record (eg invoice) kept for confirmation. | |
| Fire fighting appliances must be checked EVERY SIX (6) MONTHS in accordance with Australian Standard AS1851 to ensure serviceability, and display a service history tag. | |
| No combustible products are to be stored in the building, and any decorative materials such as curtains must be made from flame retardant material or undergo specialised treatment. |