Emergency and exit lights in Australian commercial buildings must be discharge tested at least every six months under AS/NZS 2293.2. Each fitting is switched to battery and has to stay lit for its full rated duration, usually 90 minutes, and the result for every fitting goes into a logbook kept on site. Pressing the test button does not count.
The rule is simple, and it still trips up building owners and strata committees at audit time. Below: which buildings it applies to, what a proper test looks like, why fittings fail, and how testing feeds into the annual fire safety statement in NSW.
Which buildings need emergency lighting?
Almost every building other than a standalone house. The National Construction Code calls for emergency lighting and illuminated exit signs in offices, shops, warehouses, factories, gyms, childcare centres, schools and the common areas of apartment buildings, wherever people would otherwise be left to find an exit in the dark. The exact layout depends on the building class, its size and the length of the paths out.
In an apartment block the fittings sit in stairwells, corridors, lobbies and car parks, and they belong to the owners corporation rather than to any one unit. That is why who pays for electrical repairs in a strata building is worth settling before a test turns up a stairwell of failures.
What happens during a six-monthly discharge test?
The normal supply to the emergency lighting is cut and every fitting is left running on its own battery for the full rated duration. For most fittings that is 90 minutes. At the end of the run the tester walks the building and checks each fitting. Any light that has gone out, dimmed noticeably or started to flicker has failed.
A proper test usually covers:
- Every fitting, one by one. Emergency downlights, twin spots, battens and every illuminated exit sign, each identified by number or location.
- The full duration. Batteries often look fine for the first ten or twenty minutes and fade later, so a short test hides exactly the faults it is meant to find.
- A recharge afterwards. A fully discharged battery needs many hours to recover, so tests are timed for when the building can spare a short window of reduced emergency cover, often outside trading hours.
- A record. Pass or fail for each fitting, the date and who did the test, written into the logbook on site.
Is pressing the test button the same as testing?
No. Mixing the two up is the most common mistake owners make with emergency lighting. The small button or key switch on a fitting cuts the mains for as long as you hold it. If the light comes on, all you have learned is that the changeover works and the lamp is not dead. You have learned nothing about the battery, which is the part that usually fails.
| Check | What it shows | Counts as the six-monthly test? |
|---|---|---|
| Pressing the test button | The fitting switches to battery and the lamp works | No |
| Full discharge test | The battery holds the light for its whole rated duration, usually 90 minutes | Yes, when every fitting is recorded |
| Self-test fitting | The fitting runs its own discharge test on a timer and flags a fault | Only if the results are checked and logged |
Self-testing and monitored systems are worth having in larger buildings, because they catch failures between visits. They do not remove the obligation. Someone still has to read the results, record them and fix what has failed.
Emergency lighting test due?
DM Electrical tests emergency and exit lighting, replaces failed batteries and fittings, and keeps the logbook up to date for offices, shops and strata buildings. Based in Brookvale, Level 1 and Level 2 ASP accredited, available 24/7 across the Northern Beaches and wider Sydney.
Why do emergency lights fail their test?
Worn-out batteries cause most failures. An emergency battery spends its life on constant charge, often in a hot ceiling space, and it loses capacity every year. Many reach the end of their useful life within about four years, sooner in hot spots. A few other causes come up again and again.
- Charger or driver faults. The battery is fine but the electronics no longer charge it, so it is flat when the test starts.
- Failed lamps or LED boards. Common in older fluorescent fittings and in exit signs that have been lit day and night for years.
- Wired to a switched circuit. An emergency fitting needs an unswitched supply so it charges around the clock. Connect it to an ordinary light switch and the battery drains every time the lights go off, then fails the next test.
- Layout changes. New partitions can block a fitting or leave a corridor with no cover, and an exit sign can end up pointing at a wall. Our guide to office fitout electrical requirements covers why a fitout means the lighting has to be reassessed.
Replacing a battery, a driver or a complete fitting is electrical work, so it has to be done by a licensed electrician, followed by a fresh test to confirm the repair.
How does testing fit into the annual fire safety statement?
In NSW, emergency lighting and exit signs are essential fire safety measures, so they sit on the building's fire safety schedule. Once a year the building owner must give an annual fire safety statement to the local council and Fire and Rescue NSW, and display a copy in the building. The statement confirms each listed measure has been assessed by a competent fire safety practitioner and is performing to its standard.
The six-monthly test records are the evidence behind that sign-off for the lighting. A logbook with gaps, or failures that were never fixed, is one of the quickest ways to hold up the statement. Keeping the testing on a fixed schedule, alongside test and tag for portable appliances and an annual switchboard thermal imaging scan, means the paperwork is ready when the assessor asks for it.
Who is responsible for emergency light testing?
The building owner is responsible, and in a strata scheme that means the owners corporation. Day to day, the job usually sits with the strata or building manager, who books the tests and keeps the logbook. In a leased commercial building the lease decides who pays for testing inside a tenancy, but the owner still carries the fire safety obligation for the building. If you are unsure how that splits in your lease, our guide to landlord and tenant electrical responsibilities explains the usual arrangement.
Testing can be booked as a one-off or as part of a regular maintenance visit. Our commercial electrician services include emergency and exit lighting testing, repairs and logbook updates for buildings across Sydney.
Frequently asked questions
Do houses need emergency lighting?
No. A standalone house does not need emergency lighting or exit signs under the building code. The requirement applies to most commercial buildings and to the common areas of apartment blocks, where people need a lit path out if the power fails.
How long should an emergency light stay on during a test?
For at least its rated duration on battery alone, which is 90 minutes for most fittings. A light that dims, flickers or goes out before the time is up has failed, even if it came on brightly at the start.
Is pressing the test button enough?
No. The button only shows that the fitting switches over to battery. It says nothing about whether the battery can hold the light for 90 minutes, and a quick press is not a recorded discharge test.
What happens if an emergency light fails its test?
The failure is recorded in the logbook, the battery, lamp or whole fitting is replaced, and the fitting is tested again to confirm it now passes. In NSW an unresolved failure can stop the fire safety practitioner from signing off that measure for the annual fire safety statement.
The bottom line
The test that counts is a full run on battery for every fitting, usually 90 minutes, every six months, with each result written down. If your logbook has gaps or your last test is overdue, get in touch and we will test the building and fix what fails.