 Hello, my name is Tom Roberts and I'd like to welcome you to the presentation for the Plumbing Code of Australia in 2019. This presentation will provide an overview of the changes to volume 3 of the NCC in 2019. A recording of the seminar will be available on the ABCB website. Likewise, there will also be a copy of the Building Code of Australia and Standards Australia's presentation as well. In fact, all our seminars are available on the ABCB website since 2016. So if you or colleagues have missed a presentation, feel free to review it there. This seminar will probably cover changes to the Plumbing Code of Australia or PCA, which I'll run through first. There's an overview for the changes to reference documents applicable to plumbing. I'll provide you a bit of information on the Watermark Certification Scheme and I'll let you know about some areas that the ABCB will be working on for the next three years in anticipation for NCC 2022. So firstly, most importantly, you need to know is the adoption date for 2019, the transition and the transition period applicable to the PCA. 2019 NCC becomes the current code on the 1st of May this year, so 2019. Every State of Territory has different legislation covering the PCA. So if you're not sure which addition applies for a specific project, make sure you contact your relevant State of Territory Plumbing Authority. So the adoption of the 2018 edition of Australian New Zealand Standard 40-20 for the testing of products in contact of drinking water has been provided for 20 transition period for 2019. So this transition period allows for the test test reports to be based on the 2005 edition of 40-20 to continue to be accepted until the 1st of May 2024. However, test reports prepared after the reference date of NCC 2019, so the 1st of May. 2019 must be based on the 2018 edition of Australian Standard. So the Watermark Administration will also be releasing a notice of direction to provide additional information on this transition. One of the major projects that ABCB is working on is readability. The NCCE is a complex document full of long sentences that can be hard to understand. So we've rewritten it, made against simpler language as possible. Volume 3, the Plumbing Code of Australia, has been the first to be written under this project and we're also adjusting the structure to make it easier to understand. As part of making the PCA more readable, we've used exemption and limitation boxes. These are used to separate the content out of smaller parts and make it easier to understand. You'll also notice a new numbering system for the first sub-clause. There is a number rather than a letter. Volume 3 has been rewritten using this numbering system and we're also working on having volumes 1 and 2 also replicate this numbering system. This will produce a consistent structure across all volumes of the NCCE. So in summary, all the technical content will stay the same, but the structures and the content will be more readable and easy to use. So moving on to the changes to the Plumbing Code, we'll start with Section A, the governing requirements. So I found that in fact there was three different volumes of the code and three different structures, which was making it very difficult for practitioners to use different volumes of the code. So here's the first step towards a common structure, which is found in 2019. On the left, you'll see Section A of the PCA for 2016 and for NCC 2019 and that all three volumes will now share a common Section A. Section A contains information about how to use the NCC, what a performance solution is, what building classifications are and all the governing requirements as we could now call them. So the governing requirements of the NCCE provide the rules and instructions for using and complying with the NCCE. And as I said, all three volumes now contain a consistent structure and also consistent schedules. So the first schedule contains the appendices of each state and territory for that volume. Abbreviations and symbols are already appendices at the back of each volume and has been combined to create a common schedule. There's also definitions and a list of reference documents contained for all three volumes of the NCCE. Schedule 5, 6 and 7 have also been included to be consistent across all three volumes, however primarily relate to building. Here's an example of a new schedule 3 which contains NCC defined terms. It's now at the back of each volume and you can see all definitions from all volumes. As you can see on the slide, some definitions may be familiar with and relate to plumbing terms and others you might not be as familiar with because they relate to the defined terms of the BCA. So in the following section we'll cover the main changes to Section B, water services. Firstly, we'll start on Part B2, heated water services. Firstly, performance requirement BP 2.5, Legionella control. This performance requirement states that heated water must be stored and delivered under conditions which avoid the likelihood of bacterial growth. One of the ways compliance can be verified is through the use of verification method BV 2.2, heated water storage temperature. This method verifies the growth of Legionella is avoided in a heated water system when the water heater is designed as such that the water will be subject to temperature dependent minimum extent. For example, BV 2.2 shows that a temperature of 70 degrees or greater is a minimum exposure period for one second and at 66 degrees, two minutes and at 60 degrees, 32 minutes. So they're the time frames required to avoid the likelihood of Legionella bacterial growth. It's important to remember that this verification method is used only when undertaking a performance solution. It is only one of the methods to actually verify compliance with this performance requirement. So there's also a new deem to satisfy provisions, so BP 2.5, maximum delivery temperature. So this deem to satisfy requirement may look familiar to some. So this provision applies to only new heated water installations for the purpose of personal hygiene and states that the delivery temperature of a heated water at the outlet of each Sanctuary fixture must not be more than 45 degrees Celsius in any aged care building, health care building, early childhood centre, primary or secondary school or a designated accessible facility. And of course, not more than 50 degrees Celsius in any older cases. The next addition to part B2 is but B26, temperature control devices. So also for a new heated water installations only, these provisions outline acceptable temperature control devices for each outlet temperature limitation. So this is linked to the previous clause which outlined delivery temperatures, which was previously discussed and requires the delivery of not more than 45 degrees Celsius at the outlet. So the provision states that water temperature at the outlet in these situations must be controlled by either a thermostatic mixing valve or a thermostatically controlled tap. The next addition to part B2 is B2.6, temperature control devices. Also for new heated water installations only, these provisions outline acceptable temperature control devices for each temperature limitation. Link to the previous clause which outlines the delivery temperatures, these provisions describe the temperature control devices which are acceptable means to deliver those temperatures. These provisions state that the water temperature at the outlet in these situations must be controlled by a thermostatic mixing valve or a thermostatically controlled tap for those temperatures limited to 45 degrees Celsius. Similarly B2.6, 2 applies to B2.51B, which requires the delivery of not more than 50 degrees Celsius at the outlet. This provision states that the water temperature at the outlet must be controlled by either a thermostatic mixing valve, a thermostatically controlled tap, a tempering valve or a temperature limited water heater. As new technologies are introduced to the marketplace, there may be additional means for delivering water temperatures that meet the performance requirements in B2.2. These performance requirements relate to the delivery of temp water from fixtures and appliances at a temperature which is unlikely to scold. Although new product types are not listed in this clause, a performance solution may be utilised to allow them to be installed. So for more information on how to develop a performance solution, visit the ABCB website. General Deem to Satisfy requirement B2.9 references ASNZS 3500 Part 4 for the installation of heated water services. In association with this provision, a new note has been included. This note states there is no Deem to Satisfy provisions for warm water systems. This is being included in PCA 2019 to ensure that practitioners are aware that a performance solution must always be undertaken when installing or designing a warm water system. And that there is no Deem to Satisfy solution available. The next part of B is Part B4, firefighting water services. So it changes this part primarily a result of a proposal for change submitted to the ABCB. The amendments apply to Part B4.2, which provides general Deem to Satisfy provisions for firefighting water services. The main amendment to this part is the reference to two new FPAA technical specifications for firefighting sprinkler systems, which can be used instead of a system that is fully complied with AS218. A new technical specifications are FPAA101H and FPAA101D. For those who may not be familiar with FPAA, FPAA stands for Fire Protection Association of Australia. They are the national peak body for fire safety and provide information services education to the fire protection industry and the community. It is also important to remember that the firefighting water services for class 2 to 9 buildings must comply with Part E1 of the NSSE in Volume 1. So these new technical specifications, technical specification FPAA101H is for automatic fire sprinkler design and installation for hydrogen water supply. This technical specification specifies the minimum requirements for the components, design, installation, commissioning of a combined fire hydrant and fire sprinkler system for buildings which have a rise in stories of 4 or more and are less than 25 metres in effective height and contain class 2 and class 3 parts. This system is referred to commonly as the FPAA101H system. Technical specification 101D, automatic fire sprinkler system design and installation for drinking water supply. This technical specification specifies the minimum requirements of components, design, installation, commissioning of a fire sprinkler system for a building which has a rise in stories of 4 or more and is less than 25 metres in effective height contains class 2 and 3 parts. This system is supplied from the building's drinking water supply system and is commonly referred to the FPAA101D sprinkler system. So FPAA undertaking a national awareness seminar series which will be providing information to practitioners looking to use these systems and will also be providing ongoing training to designers and scholars wishing to use them. So keep an eye out for any related information on this. So one of the major amendments to water services section is the inclusion of new part 5 B5 cross connection control. This part sets out cross connection hazards and the corresponding hazard ratings and has been included as one of the recommendations of the Backflow Prevention Research Report. The report was an outcome of one of the ABCB's plumbing code development research projects. And like many other parts of the PCA, it starts with a performance requirement. So BP 5.1 contamination control states that a water service must be designed, constructed and installed to avoid contamination to the water service type it applies to. So the performance requirements is used where a performance solution has been undertaken. However, where a deemed to satisfy solution has been used, this performance requirement is complied with by using the deemed to satisfy solution. So B5.2 is for cross connection control. So sub clause 1 states that a hazard exists wherever it is possible for contaminants to enter the drinking water service or supply by a potential cross connection. Sub clause 2 states that each hazard must be assigned to an individual hazard rating or zone hazard rating and be isolated from the drinking water service by an appropriate Backflow Prevention Device. Sub clause 3 states that where a site is serviced by a network utility operator's drinking water supply, an appropriate containment protection must be selected and installed. So a network utility operator is defined by the NCC. So for this application, it means a person who undertakes the pipe distribution of drinking water or a non-drinking water supply. The network utility operator is a water authority which is licensed to supply water and may be a licensed utility, local government or a council. But B5.3, the cross connection control of non-drinking water services. This provision states that a hazard exists wherever it is possible for water or contaminants to enter the non-drinking water supply or service via any potential cross connection between itself and other separate non-drinking water service on the same site. A separate non-drinking water service means one that draws water from a different source. For example, a site connected to both recycled water and rain water. Both are non-drinking water services but are drawn from separate sources. Therefore each would require a separate non-drinking water service. Each hazard must be assigned a contaminant hazard rating in accordance with specification B5.1 and be isolated from the non-drinking water service by appropriate means of protection, which is selected and installed in accordance with S&ZS 4500 Part 1. B5.4 is for cross connection control for firefighting water services. It states that each firefighting water service must be assigned a hazard rating and be isolated from the drinking water service by an appropriate backflow prevention device. A number of new deemed to satisfy provisions reference specification B5.1 cross connection hazards. This specification outlines the protection types and hazard ratings used for individual protection at the point of each individual hazard, zone protection at the point where a group of hazards can be isolated, hazards posed by the site to the network utility operator's drinking water supply and for firefighting water services. The hazard ratings prescribed in this specification must be used for selecting the required backflow prevention device for the purposes of compliance with the deemed to satisfy provisions. So this specification only prescribes hazard ratings for a limited list of known hazards. It does not cover every potential cross connection that may arise from time to time. Where a situation arises that is not listed in this specification an appropriate hazard rating may be determined for a performance solution. In some jurisdictions, regulations under water supply legislation and all the rules set out by the network utility operator may prescribe containment protection which may differ from this specification. So if this occurs, then those regulations and all rules should then be followed in place of this specification. The specification only applies to the purposes of compliance of NCC volume 3 and is not intended to limit or extend the application of any other regulations. And the last part of section B is part B6 for rainwater harvesting and use. The rainwater harvesting system is defined within the NCC as a plumbing installation that comprises of any plumbing that connects to a rainwater tank and to any drinking water or non-drinking water outlets and any top-up line that conveys drinking water from the network utility operator's water supply to a rainwater tank. So this part has been included as an outcome of the rainwater harvesting and use research report which provided recommendations on a national approach for rainwater harvesting. The report is an outcome of the ABCB's Plumbing Code Development Research Project. In this part, there are four performance requirements which cover stored rainwater, rainwater harvesting system installations, rainwater services and identification. So performance requirements BP 6.1 to BP 6.4 are satisfied by complying with DTS provisions from B6.2 to B6.5. While B6.1 outlines the application of the DTS provisions, 6.2 covers the collection of rainwater, 6.3 primarily references B1 for cold water services for the installation of the top-up lines, B6.4 outlines the requirements for buried and partially buried rainwater tanks and B6.5 is for rainwater pipework and outlets and covers the installation and identification of rainwater pipework and outlets. Section D is for excessive noise. This is a new section within the Plumbing Code of Australia and however the provisions may look familiar to some users of the PCA. This section has been created as a result of harmonisation work between both the building code of Australia and the plumbing code of Australia and has also consolidated a number of requirements which were often repeated throughout numerous sections of the Plumbing Code. Section D sets out the requirements to prevent excessive noise being generated from a plumbing or drainage system that could cause illness, loss of amenity to documents in the building. So in this part there are two performance requirements which cover undue and excessive noise. So these performance requirements state that a plumbing or drainage system must be designed, constructed and installed in a manner that does not create undue noise. They also state that a plumbing or drainage system must be designed to reduce the transmission of airborne or impact generated sound which may cause illness or loss of amenity to the occupants. So the performance requirement only applies to a plumbing or drainage system that is located in a separating wall for a class 1 building or a class 2 free or 9C building that is required to be sound rated. Remember that the building classifications are outlined in the NCC. Performance requirement BP 1.2 sub clause 2 states that the required sound insulation of a floor or wall must not be compromised by the incorporation or penetration of a plumbing or drainage system. It is also important to note that part F5 in volume 1 of the NCC contains performance requirements which cover sound transmission and insulation in walls and floors of class 2 free and 9C buildings. Similarly, volume 2 of the NCC contains performance requirements which cover the sound insulation of walls in class 1 buildings. So the deemed or satisfied provisions for this section are quite simple. In order to prevent undue noise, D1.2 provides provisions requiring plumbing or drainage systems to comply with the relevant part of the PCA. For example, B1.4 for cold water systems and C2.4 for sandwiched drainage systems. It also is required to insulate occupants from sound created from plumbing and drainage systems in certain classes of buildings. B1.3 requires appropriate sound insulation between sole occupancy units, flexible couplings for connections to pumps and requirements around systems which pass through or is located in separating walls. So this slide shows a number of these provisions as examples from extracts from the code. Next, we'll move on to new section E for facilities. Again, first we'll look at the performance requirements of section E. And for this one, there's only one performance requirement. This performance requirement states that while plumbing and drainage system is provided, supply taps or other operational controls must be accessible and suitable for use. The performance requirements may look familiar to some users of the PCA and that is because it is simply being relocated into one stand-alone section of the code and reduces the duplication throughout numerous sections of the PCA. So the deemed or satisfied provisions which can be used to satisfy performance requirements, EP1.1 outlined in E1.2. E1.2 states that whereas supply tap or other operational controls are provided in sanitary facilities for people with a disability, they must be in accordance with AS 1428 Parts 1 and 2. As you can see on the slide, there are two different editions of 1428 Part 1. The 2001 edition must be used for passenger use areas of Class 9B and Class 10 public transport buildings. And the 2009 edition can be used for all other buildings. It is important to note that Volume 1 of the NCC sets out the requirements for the design and construction of sanitary facilities in Class 1B, 1A, 2 and 9 buildings. A number of sections have been removed from the PCA in 2019. These include stormwater drainage systems, heating ventilation and air conditioning and on-site wastewater systems. They have been removed because the majority of the states and territories around Australia did not adopt these sections. And for the jurisdictions that did, they have simply been relocated to the state and territory appendix which is now contained in Schedule 1, the state and territory variations and additions. There has also been a substantial amount of change to the documents referenced in the PCA including the 2018 editions of the ASNZS 3500 series. So this table provides an overview of the amount of change to reference documents in 2019. There are two new reference documents which are the FPAA technical specifications which I mentioned before. There have been four documents which have been modified. These include the ASNZS 4020, testing of products in contact with drinking water and ASNZS 3500 parts 1, 2 and 4. There have been 31 deleted references from the NCC, volume 3. So this has probably been the result of those removed sections from the PCA and includes documents such as ASNZS 1546 on-site wastewater treatment units and AS1668, the use of mechanical ventilation and air conditioning in buildings. So the reference to ASNZS 3500 part 5 has also been removed. This means that the standard can no longer be used and that ASNZS 3500 parts 1, 2 and 4 must now be used for all classes of buildings. So it's important to note that this list does not include documents referenced within the NCC's schedules such as schedule fee defined terms and extensive list of NCC reference documents and their additions can be found in schedule 4 of the NCC. So as mentioned, there's been a number of modified reference documents and one of those major revisions was to 3500 part 1, 2018. So 3500 part 1 covers water services and the changes to this standard cover backflow prevention and fire services, requirements for the protection of plastic pipes and fittings in contact with direct installed in direct sunlight, changes to non-drinking water services section of the standard and some minor changes as a result of the inclusion of circuitry heated water systems. Which has been made to 3500 part 4. There's also been a clarification on jointing methods and some minor technical changes to adjust some previous concerns relating to other projects. For ASNZS 3500 part 2, sanitary plumbing and drainage, the revision covered a range of sanitary drainage topics but the major projects related to the inclusion of structural plastic relining of drains and the protection of plastic pipes and fittings installed in direct sunlight. The revision of 3500 part 3, 2018, stormwater drainage was undertaken to respond to changes in practice and technology. So some of those changes include the inclusion of siphonic drainage, rainwater tanks, biofiltration, updates to formulas and rainfall maps and addresses new stormwater drainage technology. It should be noted that ASNZS 3500 part 3 is now only referenced by volume 1 and 2 of the NCC and not by the plumbing code of Australia. The revision to ASNZS 3500 part 4 heated water incorporates changes to the provisions for heated water circuitry systems, protection of plastic pipes and fittings installed in direct sunlight again, a clarification on jointing methods and the inclusion to the reference to firm statically controlled taps allowing their use as a temperature controlled device. So there's also an amendment made to this standard with changes to clause 6521 to provide additional option for the orientation of solar water heaters. So that concludes the changes to the PCA in 2019 but I'd also like to highlight a few key points regarding the watermark certification scheme which are important to users of the PCA. So firstly, it's important to note that not all products require watermark certification. However, all plumbing products and materials used in a plumbing and drainage installation require a risk assessment. So this risk assessment will determine whether or not watermark certification is necessary. So this document, the watermark schedule of products, lists products which have been predetermined to require watermark certification. This document, the watermark schedule of excluded products, lists products that have been predetermined to be excluded from the watermark certification scheme. To ensure the materials and products are still fit for purpose, those listed on the watermark schedule of excluded products must be supported by evidence of suitability. This is in accordance with A2.2 of the plumbing code of Australia whereas it's being used in a plumbing or drainage installation. So one option to demonstrate that the product is suitable is compliance with one of the specifications listed. Where the product is excluded from requiring certification and includes integral components that are listed on the watermark schedule of products. Each of those components must be individually certified. And lastly, the watermark database. So the watermark product database lists products that have been certified and marked in accordance with the requirements of the watermark certification scheme. These products are recognised by plumbing regulators as being authorised for use in a plumbing or drainage installation. And you can search by either watermark license number, licensee names, product specifications, the product type, the brand name, the model name or even the model identification. So filters enable refined searches for the product and from the search results you can select a specific category, certificate, product and view the detailed information. To support the use of the database a YouTube clip using the product database has been developed. The clip provides an overview of how to search if you get some products, download key information and what you do if you can't find a plumbing material or product on the database. And lastly, in this section of the presentation I'd like to give an overview of what the ABCB will be working towards in 2022. So some of the major projects the ABCB will be working over the next few years in preparation for NCC 2022 include digitisation, education materials primary code development research and quantification the potential for a gas fitting code of Australia and an analysis on the costs and benefits of moving to reduce or eliminate lead in plumbing products. So first of all we're going to digitisation. So digitisation improvements are being made to enhance access and understanding of the NCC for a range of new technologies. The initiative will focus on improvements to the NCC online but work has been undertaken to ensure that the digital NCC is able to be integrated with other systems. But what does that all mean? So what if NCC could integrate with other online systems? So the ABCB is involved with a number of projects with Sten's Australia incubator program and that is to explore other areas where innovation is possible. So one example of this investigation is a digital glossary of construction terms which combines all the definitions from the NCC reference to Australian standards and handbooks. So what if similar to the NCC you could stream an Australian standard directly onto your phone? So again Sten's Australia has been working towards exploring this question and how are piloting and are now piloting a digital version of ASNZS FETI 500 Part 2 2018. Now what if all these documents could interact with each other? For example NCC reference documents such as Australian standards and the reference to that document is a link which takes you directly to the section of the standard that it's being referenced. Additional benefits over the traditional PDF versions include enhanced searches, hyperlink starved documents, dynamic table of contents, responsive tables and figures and link starved resources which is an important part of providing additional guidance on the requirements of the code. So all this work is in its very early stages and a number of the standards Australia projects are only proofs of concept at this time. But as you can see on the slides this investigation into what is possible in a digital world is going to be of great benefit to the users of the PCA. The resource library on the ABCB website contains all ABCB resources including consultation documents, non-mandatory handbooks, ABCB standards, materials, calculators, videos, awareness resource kits and other publications. So keep an eye out for free new handbooks which are in development. These handbooks will cover topics such as cross-connection control, warm water systems and rainwater harvesting and use. So the ABCB is always upgrading existing materials to ensure that they are up to date as well as developing new and other types of education material. You may also see ABCB staff supporting a number of plumbing events in the future. So the ABCB has an ongoing project to conduct research contribute to the future development of the Plumbing Code of Australia. So this includes continuing investigations into you and innovative methods of sanitary plumbing and drainage pipe sizing as well as the development of a verification method and calculators for areas such as water service pipe sizes. So to address the COAG or Council of Australian Governments decision to establish an NCC dealing with all on-site construction the ABCB will be working on the feasibility of the development of a gas-fitting component of the NCC which can be considered for NCC in 2022. So this work is obviously subject to the ABCB Board approvals and the Building Minister's Forum Agreement but it's something that would be of interest to plumbers who undertake gas-fitting work. Also in 2018 the ABCB commissioned the Macquaraty University conduct a literature review to determine what to what extent plumbing products and materials may contribute to lead levels in excess of those permitted by the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. So this report is currently available on the ABCB website and the ABCB will be continuing to look into this area. So we'll be undertaking a regulatory impact statement on moving to a low-lead or lead-free plumbing products and this will include investigation of the appropriate mechanisms options for stringency and the need for transitional revisions to enable industry adjustment in consultation with the key stakeholders. This could be such as a standards Australia and health and industry. And that's a snapshot of the work being conducted by the ABCB in 2020 in preparation for NCC 2022 and that concludes our presentation. Thank you for watching.