On 1 July 2020, NCC 2019 Amendment 1 was adopted.

Note (as below): Western Australia has transitional provisions in place for the adoption of the Building Code of Australia (BCA) which is Volumes One and Two of the National Construction Code (NCC).

Key changes

• A new provision, A2.2(4), in the Governing Requirements to require (from 1 July 2021) that a process be followed when creating and documenting Performance Solutions.
• A new provision, A5.7, in the Governing Requirements to require labelling of Aluminium Composite Panels.
• A new provision in Volume One, D1.18, regarding egress from early childhood centres.
• Clarification amendments in Specification C1.1 of Volume One regarding concessions that permit the use of timber framing for low-rise Class 2 and 3 buildings.
• Amendment to 3.5.2.5 in Volume Two to clarify that anti-ponding boards are not required in roofs where sarking is not installed.
• Correction of minor errors.

You can ‘view’ or ‘download’ NCC 2019 Amendment 1 from the NCC Suite on the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) website.

Please note: the adopted version of NCC 2019 Amendment 1 differs from and replaces the preview made available on the ABCB website earlier this year. Therefore, the preview should no longer be used.

For more information on NCC 2019 Amendment 1 and supporting material please visit the ABCB website.

Transitional provisions in Western Australia

While NCC 2019 Amendment 1 is now in effect, the Building Regulations 2012 (the Regulations) were amended to allow the option for an applicant of a building permit to comply with either NCC 2019 Amendment 1, NCC 2019 or NCC 2016 (Volume One Amendment 1 and Volume Two) until 30 April 2021. 

It is important to note that the edition of the Building Code specified in the certificate of design compliance for the building permit must be used in its entirety. This includes all relevant provisions and specific versions of referenced standards. ‘Cherry picking’ provisions between different editions of the BCA or versions of referenced standards is not permitted.

For more information on the Regulation changes for these transitional provisions please refer Industry Bulletin 129.