Fire Protection Association Australia's deputy chief executive Matthew Wright said increased checks of systems such as sprinklers and fire extinguishers across buildings in Canberra would boost safety, as well as help bring the ACT into line with fire inspection laws in other states.

"If routine services are not conducted, then there is the risk that protection expected by the fire safety system won't be delivered in the event of an emergency," he said.

"That could end in a lot of damage and the fire spreading, or worse, injuries and fatalities."

However the ACT Emergency Services Agency said the territory's buildings were some of the safest in the country.

Unlike states such as NSW and Victoria, which carries out fire-safety inspections of high-rise buildings every couple of years, buildings in the ACT are not regularly inspected beyond examinations of fire-safety systems after construction is completed.

In the ACT, new buildings are assessed if they have a floor space greater than 500 square metres.

Inspections of older buildings are only carried out by fire and rescue services if renovations involve more than 50 per cent of the floor space.

Under ACT legislation occupiers are required to maintain fire appliances to a "reasonable standard" but Mr Wright said clarity was needed as to what that constituted.

Laws on how fire-safety inspections are carried out differ from state to state, and Mr Wright said a more consistent approach was needed in order to improve safety standards in buildings in the event of a fire.

"Unfortunately, the Australian constitution doesn't discuss requirements in construction, and therefore as a result, it's left to each of the states and territories to have their own legislation," he said.

Mr Wright said he came across a case where fire-safety equipment in the ACT was maintained to standards under Victorian regulations.

While the inspection of the building under Victorian legislation took place after the fire-safety systems were approved under ACT law, a spokesman for the ACT Emergency Services Agency said it was not possible for buildings to be approved in the ACT under laws from other states.

A meeting was held last week between Mr Wright and members of the ACT Emergency Services Agency, which carries out inspections in the ACT.

While the FPA regularly conducts meetings with fire and rescue services in different states and territories, Mr Wright said ACT policies were being reviewed.

Last year, the ESA conducted inspections of 133 buildings, compared with 110 in 2015 and 83 in 2014.

The ESA spokesman said buildings in the ACT were among the safest in Australia and that ACT Fire and Rescue worked with many government departments to ensure safety standards were met.

"The frequency of post-occupancy inspections carried out following the completion of buildings varies across Australia," the spokesman said.

"The ACT has robust arrangements in place to ensure that new buildings fully comply with the relevant regulatory requirements before being occupied.

"The ongoing maintenance of a building's installed fire protection measures is also a key condition of Fire and Rescue's approval certificate."

In NSW, inspections completed by the state's fire and rescue service are carried out on both new buildings and pre-existing buildings.

"Inspections are conducted of existing occupied buildings in response to fire safety complaints received by Fire and Rescue NSW and at the request of local council to assist council in dealing with a fire safety matter," a FRNSW spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board in Victoria said inspections were undertaken both in buildings and temporary public entertainment venues.

"MFB currently inspects buildings ... as required through operations with other agencies," the spokeswoman said.

"These inspections are both proactive and reactive."