Today’s correspondent writes:

I note that SA government announced ‘The South Australian Government is improving access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) across the state by making them mandatory in certain buildings, facilities and vehicles through the Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Act 2022 (the Act). ‘

I was wondering if this applies to buildings such as churches, clubhouses, community halls etc.

The Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Act 2022 (SA) s 7 says an AED must be installed in a designated building or facility (defined in s 4) or a prescribed building (defined in s 5).

A designated building or facility is (s 4):

(a) a public building or facility [which in turn, is defined in 3, quoted below];

(b) a prescribed sporting facility;

(c) a school, tertiary institution or education facility that provides skills training;

(e) a retirement village (within the meaning of the Retirement Villages Act 2016) where 1 or more amenities are shared by residents;

(f) a facility that provides residential care within the meaning of the Aged Care Act 1997 of the Commonwealth;

(g) a caravan park;

(h) a residential park (within the meaning of the Residential Parks Act 2007) occupied (or that allows for occupation) by more than 12 residents;

(i) a casino or other venue where gambling is authorised, other than a venue where the only gambling authorised is the selling and buying of lottery tickets;

(j) a theatre or other venue where artistic or cultural performances are provided;

(k) a building or facility, or class of building or facility, prescribed by the regulations,

but does not include a building or facility, or class of buildings or facilities, excluded from the ambit of this definition by the regulations.

A public building is (s 3):

 …a building or facility to which the public has access (whether or not admission is obtained by payment of money) and includes—

(a) a swimming pool; and

(b) a library; and

(c) a local government office; and

(d) a town hall; and

(e) a building or facility, or class of buildings or facilities, prescribed by the regulations,

but does not include—

(f) a building or facility (other than a building or facility referred to in a preceding paragraph) that is not a relevant building [which is also defined in s 3 and quoted below] or a relevant facility; and

(g) a building or facility, or class of buildings or facilities, excluded from the ambit of this definition by the regulations;

A relevant building is a building that

(a) … has a floor area of 600 m² or more; or

(b) a building, or class of buildings, prescribed by the regulations;

A prescribed building is (s 5):

(a) a building on land used for commercial purposes if—

(i) construction of the building commences after the relevant day; or

(ii) major works to the building commence after the relevant day,

and if, after completion of the construction or major works, the floor area of the building will be more than 600 m 2;

(b) a relevant building (whether constructed before or after the relevant day) on land in respect of which there is, after the relevant day, a change in the use of the land to use for commercial purposes;

(c) a building, or class of buildings, prescribed by the regulations,

but does not include a building, or class of buildings, excluded from the ambit of this definition by the regulations.

For the purpose of this discussion, we do not need to consider a ‘prescribed building’ any further.

Discussion

To answer the question: does the Act apply ‘to buildings such as churches, clubhouses, community halls etc?’ one needs to work through the complex definitions above.

First is the building listed in paragraphs (b) to (k) of the definition of a ‘designated building’?  A community hall may fall within (j) that is ‘a theatre or other venue where artistic or cultural performances are provided’; that would depend on the use of any particular community hall (or club house, depending on the nature of the club). For the sake of the argument, let us assume that the church, clubhouse or community hall that we have to consider, to decide whether an AED is required, does not fall within any of those definitions. In that case move onto the second consideration.

Second is the building a building ‘to which the public has access (whether or not admission is obtained by payment of money)’.  If the answer is no, then the building does not require an AED.

A clubhouse may not be open to the public (although the term ‘public’ is not defined).  A club house may well be limited so that only members of the club can come in. Whether a clubhouse is a building to which the public has access is a question to be answered in each case.

A community hall, by definition, sounds like it is open to the public and may be used for exhibitions, public lectures. meetings of different groups etc. (And noting again, if it’s used for ‘artistic or cultural performances’ then an AED is required, see the ‘first’ step, above). In any event I suggest that by definition a community hall, being a hall available for use by the community, regardless of the particular use, would be a public building. 

Equally churches are open to the public, but we shall return to churches, below.

Third, if it is a building ‘to which the public has access (whether or not admission is obtained by payment of money)’ is it the type of building listed in paragraphs (a) to (e) of the definition of a public building?

Neither a club house nor a community hall is listed in (a) to (e) but, by virtue of the Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Regulations 2024 (SA) a church is. That regulation specifically says that a church is included in the definition of a public building under paragraph (e) (see South Australia’s Public AEDs laws commenced on 1 January 2025 (January 2, 2025)).  A church is therefore a public building and must have an AED.

Fourth, given that neither a clubhouse nor community hall is ‘referred to in a preceding paragraph’ then the exception in paragraph (f) may apply, that is they are not a public building if they are ‘not a relevant building’.  A relevant building ‘has a floor area of 600m² or more’. 

A clubhouse or a community hall is a therefore public building if ‘the public has access (whether or not admission is obtained by payment of money)’ and they have a floor area of 600m² or more

Conclusion

A clubhouse or community hall must have an AED if they are buildings ‘where artistic or cultural performances are provided’ or if the ‘public has access (whether or not admission is obtained by payment of money)’ and they have a floor area of 600m² or more.

A church or other place of worship is a public building by virtue of the Regulations and so must have an AED, regardless of the floor area.

This blog is made possible with generous financial support from (in alphabetical order) the Australasian College of Paramedicine, the Australian Paramedics Association (NSW), the Australian Paramedics Association (Qld), Natural Hazards Research Australia, NSW Rural Fire Service Association and the NSW SES Volunteers Association. I am responsible for the content in this post including any errors or omissions. Any opinions expressed are mine, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or understanding of the donors.

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