Construction Code Revamp Rolls Out in Vic, Qld

Changes to the National Construction Code are now in force in Queensland and Victoria.

Building practitioners in both states must comply with the new requirements, which focus heavily on sustainability and liveability, and became law on  May 1.

This staged introduction of the new code has been under way since this time last year.

New South Wales, the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania have already implemented most of the amendments. 

Queensland and Victoria implemented the bulk of the changes this week, covering housing and apartment energy efficiency, condensation management and the Liveable Housing Design standards.

South Australia will follow suit in October, with Western Australia implementing the amendments next year.

The latest tranche of changes adopted in Queensland and Victoria strengthens minimum requirements for the energy efficiency of new homes, with a particular focus on Class 2 (apartments). 

▲ Metricon is reworking 400 of its designs to comply with the new standards.

According to Queensland Master Builders, there will be “significant costs and technical challenges” to achieve the new requirements. 

The organisation said that now, before agreeing to a fixed price, a National Construction Code 2022 compliant energy assessment must be undertaken.

Class 2 buildings will require the thermal performance to meet an average of 7 stars under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS), with no sole occupancy unit being less than 6 stars.

As well, Class 1 (detached homes) building’s thermal performance has increasing to 7 stars, as was suggested during the initial revamp of the code in 2022. 

▲ The code changes also encourage the use of new materials that reduce building carbon footprints. 

As well as the sustainability elements, the National Construction Code (NCC) has introduced a new Livable Housing Design Standard, intended to better meet the needs of older people and people with mobility limitations. 

These amends cover step-free access externally and internally, as well as entry widths.

Builders had already begun changing designs based on the new sustainability requirements, bringing in step-free access and showers, wider internal doors and hallways, and lower internal humidity levels, reducing risk of mould. 

In Queensland, Metricon has displays open at Skyridge at Worongary that meet the new 7-Star standards.

In the first tranche of changes introduced in May, 2023, the code was amended to cover bushfire protection, rules around early childhood centres—particularly those in mixed-use, high rise developments, wind loads for housing and waterproofing. 

Subsequently added to this were changes to rules around condensation, liveable housing and electric vehicle charging. 

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) that oversees the code  has developed resources and a Housing Energy Efficiency Calculator to help, while a schedule of the rollout can be found on the NCC website.