Commonwealth, state and territory Building Ministers agreed at their meeting held on 26th August to endorse the latest National Construction Code (NCC). NCC 2022 has been developed over the last three years under the leadership of the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB). ASI member perspectives are represented via ASI nominees on many of the NCC working groups and committees of relevance to steel products used in building and construction.
The changes associated with NCC 2022 are significant and broad ranging, particularly with regard to management of condensation and energy efficiency requirements. Given this complexity, earlier this year ASI Chief Executive Mark Cain wrote to Building Ministers to recommend a 12 month implementation period prior to full implementation of these more complex elements. Pleasingly, this call has been heeded with the meeting communique stating:
The States and Territories will bring the majority of NCC 2022 into full effect from 1 May 2023, to allow industry time to learn and adapt to the new requirements.
There will also be transition periods for specific requirements. These include:
These provisions of NCC 2022 will be considered voluntary until then.
The full version of the communique is available at https://www.abcb.gov.au/news/2022/building-ministers-finalise-ncc-2022