Building Code

The Building Ministers Meeting (BMM) oversee the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) who have the primary role of publishing the NCC.

BMM met in August 2022 and agreed that the new NCC 2022 edition will be published on 1 October 2022, and subject to transition arrangements the NCC will have a national adoption date of 1 May 2023.

ABCB have released a second stage preview containing the final provisions that were resolved for the increased stringency for residential energy efficiency and the additional condensation mitigation measures.

The energy efficiency and livable housing provisions are among the significant changes to the NCC that will have considerable impact on the construction industry. The Building Ministers considered transitional arrangements for these requirements and have agreed that they will commence nationally on 1 October 2023. This means that although the new NCC will be in effect nationally from 1 May 2023, the energy efficiency provisions from NCC 2019 Amendment 1 will be able to be used up until 30 September 2023.

Further information is available on the Building Ministers Meeting in the Communique and on the ABCB website in relation to the NCC.

In South Australia the Building Code is adopted as part of the Building Rules under the PDI Act and variations to the Code may be gazetted by the Minister.

Following the Ministerial Liaison Group meeting on 6 November 2023, the Minister for Planning confirmed agreed outcomes of the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 Implementation Working Group, which were the result of a significant amount of effort by all involved in the committee.

In accordance with the national decision, the main provisions were adopted on 1 May 2023 in South Australia. This includes all provisions except for the livable housing and energy efficiency, (including condensation mitigation) provisions.

The livable housing and energy efficiency provisions will commence in South Australia on 1 October 2024.

The transitional arrangements for South Australia acknowledge the current environment in which the building and construction industry finds itself, as it faces challenges of market capacity, supply chain disruption and workforce uncertainty, along with the additional pressures that the River Murray floods rebuilding effort have placed upon the sector.

The unique circumstances facing South Australia required the National Construction Code (NCC 2022) provisions to be tailored to our state by introducing a longer transitional period for some provisions.

You are invited to have your say on the draft Ministerial Building Standard outlining how the livable housing and energy efficiency provisions in the NCC 2022 would be delivered in South Australia between 24 April and 8 May.

The work considering how the modern homes provisions will be applied to alterations and additions is well advanced and is expected to be released for a 2-week consultation in May.

Training is planned to assist the building industry to transition to the implementation date of 1 October 2024 and is expected to take place in mid-2024.

During this transition period the NCC 2022 energy efficiency (7-star equivalent) and livable housing provisions may be used voluntarily in the state. NCC 2019 Amendment 1 energy efficiency (6-star equivalent) provisions will continue to apply as the minimum standard in South Australia until 30 September 2024.

The Minister for Planning also considered further state amendments to the ‘elevated building’ energy concession provided in NCC 2019, given the concession is unable to operate with the NCC 2022 provisions.

Advisory information will be prepared on the use of Nationwide House Energy Rating System (NatHERS) software during the transition period and how the whole-of-home energy budget will apply to alterations to existing buildings.