CoreSkills+ shares practical knowledge based on real project experience. This is not professional advice and does not replace the advice of a qualified fire engineer or building certifier. Always verify FRL requirements against the current NCC, relevant Australian Standards, and the project's fire engineering report.
Fire-Resistance Level (FRL) Plans
What every coloured wall, door and floor zone is actually telling the builder
An FRL plan shows every fire-rated wall, floor, column, door and penetration on a level, and the fire-resistance level each must achieve. It is not a decorative colour-coded plan, since every colour, hatch and tag is a load-bearing piece of information that traces back to a clause in the NCC or to the project's fire engineering report. This topic explains what belongs on the drawing, how to read and build the legend, and what goes wrong when the legend, the report and the Passive Fire Schedule fall out of step.
The mental model — what this drawing is actually for
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Who reads it?
The builder's fire-stopping subcontractor, the building certifier, and the fire engineer, each checking a different thing against the same drawing.
Primary audience
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What does it do?
It tells the builder which walls, floors, doors and penetrations must achieve a fire-resistance level, and exactly what that level is.
Single purpose
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How is it different from a wall setout plan?
The wall setout plan tells the builder where a wall goes. The FRL plan tells the builder, the certifier and the fire engineer what that wall, and every door and penetration in it, must achieve under fire.
Location vs performance
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Where does the rating come from?
Every FRL on the drawing must trace back to a clause in the NCC, usually Specification 5 for the relevant Type of construction, or to a fire engineer's report for a performance solution.
Core rule
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What is the minimum?
Every fire-rated wall, floor, door and penetration tagged with its FRL, a legend that defines what each colour or hatch means, and a compartment diagram showing where ratings change.
Non-negotiable
Reading the notation
90/90/90
Structural adequacy
Minutes the element can carry its load before structural failure
Integrity
Minutes before flame or hot gases pass through the element
Insulation
Minutes before the unexposed face exceeds a safe temperature rise
A dash means there is no requirement for that criterion. –/60/30 means no structural adequacy requirement, 60 minutes integrity, 30 minutes insulation, typical of a non-loadbearing wall or fire door. Defined in the NCC under Definitions and determined in accordance with Specifications 1 and 2, tested to AS 1530.4.
What each element is for — and why it matters
Everything on an FRL plan either tells the builder, the certifier or the fire engineer what rating an element must achieve, or it does not belong on the drawing. Open each item below to understand the role it plays.
Check the building classification first
Every table in NCC 2022 Volume One, Specification 5 (S5C11a to S5C11g) is split into four columns: Class 2, 3 or 4 part, Class 5, 7a or 9, Class 6, and Class 7b or 8, and the required FRL duration is different in every column, for every single row. Before any value from these tables goes onto a drawing, confirm the building's classification under the NCC. The same wall, in the same location, can require a completely different FRL depending on what class of building it sits in.
Fire-resisting lift and stair shafts (loadbearing)
Class 2, 3 or 4
Class 5, 7a or 9
Class 6
Class 7b or 8
Table S5C11e
90/90/90
120/120/120
180/120/120
240/120/120
Same wall type, same location in the building, four entirely different FRL values depending on classification alone. This is why the legend below, and every FRL plan in practice, must state which class it is drawn for.
One legend — element and FRL together
There is no single national standard for FRL plan colour coding, and there is no need to run two separate legends. One legend, naming the element and its FRL together, is enough. Every colour on the sheet should appear once, against the element it represents and the rating it must achieve, never left to be assumed from colour alone. The legend below sets out every row from NCC 2022 Volume One, Specification 5, Tables S5C11a through S5C11g, for a Class 2, 3 or 4 building of Type A construction, so confirm the actual classification of the project before reusing any of these values.
External wall — load bearing (<1.5 m to fire source) — FRL 90/90/90
External wall — load bearing (1.5–3 m to fire source) — FRL 90/60/60
External wall — load bearing (3 m or more) — FRL 90/60/30
External wall — non-load bearing (<1.5 m to fire source) — FRL –/90/90
External wall — non-load bearing (1.5–3 m to fire source) — FRL –/60/60
External column — load bearing, not in a wall — FRL 90/–/–
Common wall or fire wall — load bearing or non-load bearing — FRL 90/90/90
Other loadbearing internal wall, beam, truss or column — FRL 90/–/–
Floor — FRL 90/90/90
Roof — FRL 90/60/30
Slab — internal wet areas & balcony (office practice, confirm with engineer) — FRL 60/60/60
Fire door — FRL –/60/30
Fire door with smoke seal — FRL –/120/30
Values shown are for Class 2, 3 or 4 buildings of Type A construction, at the distance from a fire-source feature noted against each external element. Class 5/7a/9, Class 6, and Class 7b/8 buildings carry higher FRL values for the same rows; see the classification comparison above. Type B and Type C construction carry different values again. Always confirm against the current NCC and the project's classification before transferring a value onto a drawing, rather than reusing a legend from a previous project.
The minimum required on every FRL plan
Non-negotiable, regardless of office colour convention
Colour convention aside, there is a floor below which the drawing cannot do its job. These five items are the minimum.
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Every fire-rated element tagged with its FRL
Walls, floors, columns and doors all need their FRL shown directly on the plan, either by tag, by colour with a legend, or both. An untagged wall is read by the builder as not fire-rated.
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One legend that names both the element and the FRL
A single legend, naming the element and its FRL together for every colour used. Colour coding communicates nothing without a key on the same sheet, and a second, separate legend just creates two systems to keep in sync.
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Every penetration tagged with its Detail Type from the Passive Fire Schedule
Every pipe, duct, cable or service penetrating a rated wall or floor must carry the matching code from the project's Passive Fire Schedule. An untagged penetration is read as not fire-stopped, regardless of how the wall itself is rated.
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Compartment boundaries and floor FRL zones identified
Where the FRL changes across the floor plate, over a lobby, over a car park, or between fire compartments, the boundary must be shown, not implied.
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Reference to the passive fire report and the Passive Fire Schedule
The drawing should direct the reader to the report and schedule for the technical justification and fire-stopping detail behind each rating, not attempt to reproduce that justification on the plan itself.
What goes wrong — and the pain it causes
Error 01Colour without a legend
A beautifully colour-coded plan means nothing if the legend is missing, incomplete, or left off the issued set. The certifier and the builder are both left guessing.
Error 02Door FRL not matching the door schedule
The FRL plan and the door schedule are produced by different people at different times. If they are not checked against each other before issue, mismatches are common, and they are exactly what a certifier checks first.
Error 03Reusing a generic legend convention across projects without checking the FRL values
Office templates are convenient, but the FRL values attached to each colour must be re-verified for every project against the current Type of construction and classification. Copying last project's legend onto a different building is a common and costly error.
Error 04FRL plan not coordinated with the passive fire report
The plan and the report are written by different consultants on different timelines. If the report changes after the FRL plan is issued, which is a common occurrence, the plan must be reissued. Builders should never be working from an FRL plan that has fallen out of step with the current report.
Error 05Treating colour as the rating
Colour is a visual aid. The number is the rating. New staff should always read the tagged FRL value, never assume a colour means the same thing it meant on the last project.
Error 06A penetration shown but not tagged to the Passive Fire Schedule
A pipe or duct drawn crossing a rated wall with no Detail Type tag next to it has not been fire-stopped on paper, whatever the builder might assume on site. Every penetration needs a code that exists as a row in the current schedule.
Penetrations — the Passive Fire Schedule
Every pipe, duct, cable and service that passes through a fire-rated wall or floor breaks that element's rating unless it is properly fire-stopped. A passive fire consultant assesses every penetration on the project and issues a Passive Fire Schedule, a table listing every penetration type, the construction it passes through, and the exact fire-stopping system and product required to restore the rating. Our job is to tag every penetration shown on the FRL plan with the matching code from that schedule. This is not optional detail. An untagged penetration is read by the builder as not fire-stopped.
How the tag and the schedule connect
H5
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The boxed code tagged next to a penetration on the FRL plan is the Detail Type from the Passive Fire Schedule, never an arbitrary label. Every instance of "H5" on every level must match the same row in the schedule.
Detail Type
Service Type
Penetration Size
Construction
Fire Stopping Method
FRL Required
Test Report Ref.
H5
Hydraulic — wall fire collar
20 to 225mm PVC pipe
Block / Hebel wall (88–220mm)
Promat Promaseal wall collar
–/120/120
H6
Hydraulic — cast-in collar
40mm PVC pipe
Cast in concrete slab (200mm)
Promat Promaseal CIL cast-in collar
–/120/120
M1
Mechanical duct
As shown on mechanical drawings
Block / Hebel wall
Intumescent firestop sealant or equivalent
–/120/120
FDV
Mechanical duct — fire damper
As shown on mechanical drawings
Block / Hebel wall, vertical
Fire damper, installed to AS 1668 & AS 1682
–/120/120
E1
Electrical cables
TBC
Cast in concrete slab
Intumescent board & mastic
–/120/120
E3
Electrical services above unit entry door
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Hebel — stud wall (120mm)
Fire-rated transit box with fire mastic
–/120/120
Representative example only, condensed from a real Passive Fire Schedule's column structure. Every project's schedule is issued by the passive fire consultant for that specific building and must be used as-is, never assumed from a previous project.
The schedule comes from a specialist
A passive fire consultant prepares the schedule based on the specific products, manufacturers and test reports approved for the project. It is not something the architectural team writes or assumes.
The schedule has an expiry date
Fire-stopping test reports and product approvals expire and get superseded. Always check the expiry date column before relying on a schedule for construction issue.
Every tagged penetration needs a matching row
If a penetration is shown on the FRL plan with no equivalent Detail Type in the schedule, it has not actually been assessed. Flag it to the fire consultant before issue, do not guess.
Reissue triggers a recheck
If the passive fire consultant reissues the schedule, every tag on every plan needs to be checked against the new version before the drawings go out again.
Consultant coordination and submissions
FRL plans are submitted to the following consultants for review before construction issue. Each is checking something specific that only they can confirm.
Fire Engineer
Confirms every FRL shown matches the passive fire / fire engineering report, and that compartment boundaries are correctly represented
Building Certifier
Confirms each FRL traces back to an NCC clause or an approved performance solution before issuing the Construction Certificate
Structural Engineer
Confirms structural adequacy components of the FRL are achievable with the proposed structural elements and materials
Acoustic Consultant
Confirms walls between sole-occupancy units carry both the required Rw and the required FRL, since the two ratings are independent and both must be met
Door & Hardware Supplier
Confirms door FRL tags on the plan match the door schedule and that compliant door and hardware sets are specified for each rating
Standards & source references
FRL definition, grading periods and notation: NCC 2022 Volume One, Definitions. FRL values for Type A, B and C construction: NCC 2022 Volume One, Specification 5. Full-scale fire-resistance testing methodology: AS 1530.4. Fire door and smoke door installation: AS 1905.1. Always work from the current NCC edition and amendment in force for the project, and the project's specific fire engineering report.
Free Checklist
FRL Plan — Pre-Issue Checklist
Legend and notation guide, plus a pre-issue coordination checklist against the door schedule and the passive fire report, for Australian projects.
