 Welcome to Understanding the NCC. The focus of this presentation is the purpose, structure and contents of the NCC. This is what you'll learn about in this presentation. What the NCC is and what it contains. How the NCC is organised. Important terms used in the NCC. Contents of common sections of the NCC's three volumes. How the NCC is maintained and the role of the ABCB and other useful resources. What is the National Construction Code, NCC? The development of a National Regulatory Code for Building and Construction was an initiative of the Council of Australian Governments, COAG, the Group of State, Territory Leaders and the Prime Minister, working in cooperation with the construction industry. Specifically, the first nationally consistent Building Code of Australia, BCA, was published in 1992. The performance-based BCA, i.e. the introduction of the overarching performance requirements, was released in October 1996. The Plumbing Code of Australia, PCA, was introduced in 2011. So, the full three-volume NCC has been in existence since 2011, but parts of it were established in 1992, and it took on a performance-based nature from 1996. Aim is to make compliant building and construction simpler by gathering most of the minimum on-site requirements into one place and increasing consistency across the country. It covers not just structural and other safety issues, but also health and amenity, accessibility, e.g. disabled access and sustainability, e.g. energy and water efficiency. Why do we regulate building and plumbing work in Australia? The primary purpose is to protect people. Regulating building and plumbing work helps protect the occupants inside a building, as well as people outside a building, during its construction. Its operational life and even its demolition. Regulating building and plumbing work can help mitigate risks too. Life safety. For example, when regulation of building work prevents the structural collapse of a building or the risk of fire in a building. Health, amenity and accessibility. For example, managing issues such as dampness, lighting, ventilation and sound transmission through to sanitation and appropriate access to and within a building. Energy and water security through minimum sustainability requirements through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and through the conservation of water in buildings. Regulation can also increase the resilience of buildings to extreme weather events. Regulation also aids governments in facilitating acceptable levels of risk. Societal cost versus benefit analysis can be used to determine whether regulation is necessary to address risks or issues. Where appropriate, regulation can also be used to establish minimum necessary standards, the way building regulation works in Australia. The Australian Constitution gives the states and territories general responsibility for regulating building and plumbing activities within each jurisdiction. Each state and territory enacts legislation and regulations to regulate building and construction in that state or territory. The result is eight separate systems throughout the country, although it's worth noting that all eight are quite similar in many ways. Typically, each state or territory has at least one act relating to building construction. These acts also have related regulations that contain the arrangements for different matters. A key difference between an act and a regulation is that an act can only be changed with a vote of the relevant parliament legislative body, while generally the appropriate minister has the authority to change the arrangements in the regulations. So the distinction between the act and the regulations is a legal one that makes it easier and quicker to change elements of the administration of the law when necessary. Different aspects of regulation. Regulatory systems are generally made up of two types of regulation, administrative and technical. Administrative regulations are essential for the running of any efficient regulatory system. They might include considerations such as the powers and responsibilities of the parties involved, assessment procedures, referrals, objections and appeals, the inspection and certification process, offences and penalties, registration and licensing of certain categories of practitioners, the formal adoption of the NCC as the source of technical regulation. Technical regulations cover two areas. Building site requirements include issues such as the protection of an adjoining property, hoardings to protect the public, signage for hazardous materials, building site health and safety, waste management and environmental controls on building sites. Design and construction requirements apply directly to buildings and structures themselves. These requirements are brought into legal force by the relevant state and territory legislation, but each state and territory has adopted the NCC as the primary reference document for design and construction requirements. So this means that rather than legislating all the individual requirements for design and buildings in separate legislation, each state or territory has an act that adopts the NCC as the regulatory document for building and construction in that jurisdiction. There are other regulations that can also apply to building projects, including those relating to planning processes, including heritage concerns, environmental controls, workplace health and safety, noise management and hazardous materials storage and use. How is the NCC organised? The NCC volumes. The NCC comprises three volumes. Volume one covers primarily class two to nine buildings. These are mostly used by the commercial building sector. Note, some of the provisions of volume one are also applicable to certain class one buildings. Volume two covers primarily class one and class ten buildings and includes the ABCB housing provisions standard, which represent the DTS provisions for volume two. This volume is mostly used by the domestic building sector or housing sector. Volumes one and two together are also referred to as the Building Code of Australia or BCA. Volume three covers plumbing and drainage requirements for all classes of buildings. It is also referred to as the Plumbing Code of Australia or PCA. The requirements of the NCC typically apply to exact application depends on the legislation in the particular state or territory. Constructions of new buildings. New building work within existing buildings. Change of use of a building, e.g. office block converted to apartments, old fire station converted to a B&B or residence converted to a restaurant. Plumbing and draining work in new and existing buildings. Reference documents. The NCC references other documents such as various Australian standards. When a document is referenced in the NCC it has the same legal force as the NCC. So these reference documents become regulatory documents themselves. So, for example, not all Australian standards are mandatory standards that must always be complied with. But if an Australian standard is referenced in the NCC then compliance with it becomes mandatory as required under the NCC. Key terms used in the NCC. Performance requirements. Specify a level to which some aspects of the design, construction or installation of the building, its plumbing or drainage must perform in order to be compliant. For example, the building structure must be able to resist winds up to a certain force. A cold water service must avoid failure or uncontrolled discharge. The building envelope must minimise energy use to retain a comfortable temperature for the climate in which it is built. Performance must resist the passage of smoke, heat and gases for a minimum period of time so that people can evacuate in a fire. Assessment methods are methods that can be used for determining that a performance solution or DTS solution complies with performance requirements. Acceptable assessment methods are Evidence of suitability Verification methods including methods described in the NCC volumes and other acceptable methods. So there are some verification methods included after the performance requirements in the different volumes and sections of the NCC. Expert judgement Comparison with DTS provisions A performance solution means a method of complying with the performance requirements other than by a DTS solution. A builder can use a solution other than a DTS solution but then must demonstrate how the performance solution complies with relevant performance requirements. Deem to satisfy DTS solutions Specify acceptable ways of meeting the performance requirements. In the law, to deem means to consider something as having certain characteristics. So the DTS solution is considered to meet the performance requirements. However, it must be assessed using an assessment method. The DTS solutions given in the NCC often reference Australian standards or other standards and make use of common and well-accepted building practices. Explanatory information is non-mandatory information provided for guidance purposes only. It should be read in conjunction with the technical provisions of the NCC. It is not called up in state and territory legislation and never overrides the NCC provisions. It appears in shaded boxes in the NCC with a heading that says explanatory information so that it is clear that these explanations are not part of the mandatory provisions. How are the volumes of the NCC organised? The first section in all volumes of the NCC is the governing requirements that are the same across all volumes. This includes information on building classifications and the status of reference documents. The government requirements are mandatory. This means that to design and build in compliance with the NCC's requirements, you must apply and comply with the governing requirements as well as the relevant requirements in other sections of the relevant volumes. Most of the text in the schedules is identical across all volumes but there are some differences relating to state and territory specific requirements. The rest of this module looks at the contents of the governing requirements and the schedules in more detail because these are both more or less the same across the three volumes. The other sections of the NCC beside the governing requirements contain the various provisions that must be met when building in Australia. These provisions cover many different aspects of building from the structure to design of spaces to the materials used to the fittings and services installed in buildings. The three volumes of the NCC have different numbers of sections. The information in the sections is also organised differently across the different volumes. The structure of volume one is similar to the structure of volume three with the performance requirements, verification methods and the DTS provisions grouped across different sections. Volume two has a slightly different structure. Again, the performance requirements, verification methods and the DTS provisions are grouped across different sections. However, there are additional DTS provisions which can be found in the A, B, C, B housing provisions standard. The details of the contents of the other sections of each volume are discussed in other training modules specifically using NCC volume one, using NCC volume two and using NCC volume three. So this module focuses on understanding the structure and purposes of the NCC and on using and interpreting the content that is common across the three volumes of the NCC. What do the governing requirements contain? The governing requirements are mandatory and provide the rules and instructions for using and complying with the NCC. Compliance with the NCC includes compliance with the governing requirements. These represent overarching requirements that apply to all buildings and all types of construction. It is therefore important to understand the content of the governing requirements and to refer to it when necessary to check that they are applying the requirements of the NCC correctly. The contents of the governing requirements are the same across all volumes of the NCC. If they are familiar with the content of this section from volume one, then they are familiar with the content in the other volumes. The details of defined terms, state and territory variations and reference documents are in the schedules, which are discussed later in this module. A state and territory may vary requirements to take account of differences in geography, climate or policy, or for other technical reasons. For example, Victoria requires compliance with special provisions for safety barriers at motor vehicle racetracks. State and territory variations and additions are identified in each volume of the NCC. They are always highlighted in some way. All the state and territory variations and additions are contained in schedules four to eleven. Match each term from part A1 to its meaning. Specifies a restricted set of circumstances in which a requirement or provision applies. Equals limitation. Provides additional instructions for a requirement or provision. Equals note. Specifies when and where a requirement or provision applies. Equals application. Specifies circumstances in which a requirement or provision does not apply. Equals exemption. True or false. According to the governing requirements, the NCC is the paramount building and plumbing legislation in all Australian states and territories and cannot be overridden by any other legislation. If you chose false, yes, that's right. The NCC provides nationally consistent building and plumbing codes which have effect through legislation in each of the states and territories. But it can be overridden by other state or territory legislation. Which takes precedence? The NCC or a reference document if there is a difference. The NCC always takes precedence over a reference document. The NCC sometimes takes precedence depending on the circumstances. The reference document always takes precedence over the NCC. You need to get an expert opinion to work out which one takes precedence. If you chose option one, yes, that's right. The NCC always overrules any reference document if there is a difference between them. True or false. According to the governing requirements, the allowable evidence of the suitability for volumes one and two is different. If you chose false, yes, that's correct. The same kind of documentation can be used to provide evidence of suitability for NCC volume one and NCC volume two, the BCA. However, evidence of suitability for NCC volume three, the PCA, requires different documentation. What do the schedules contain? Schedule one contains the definitions of defined terms and contains a list of abbreviations and symbols used in the NCC with their meanings. A defined term has a precise meaning in the NCC, which may not be exactly the same as what it means when used for other purposes. Defined terms are italicised in the text of the NCC, includes maps and tables of alpine area, climate zones and wind classes and some illustrative diagrams. The list of defined terms and definitions is exactly the same in all volumes. Schedule two contains a list of reference documents. Schedule two contains a table that lists all the Australian standards, the ABCB protocols, ABCB standards and other documents referenced in the NCC. Documents are listed in the following order. Australian, New Zealand, ISO standards in number order. Other reference documents in alphabetical order. The list of reference documents is exactly the same in all volumes. Schedule three contains Commonwealth of Australia advice. This schedule outlines a number of Commonwealth legislative instruments that practitioners may need to be aware of. These instruments include acts, regulations, codes and standards that may affect the design, construction and or performance of buildings. The content of this schedule is the same in all volumes. Schedule four to eleven contains state and territory variations. These schedules contain the details of additions and variations to the provisions within the NCC. There is a schedule for each state or territory. Details of changes are given including additions, deletions and changes to the wording. In all volumes the body of the document provides a reference to the variations or additions but does not contain the actual text of the variation or addition. In the ABC housing provision standard the above also applies. Interpreting the NCC schedules. Question one. In NCC volume one clause C2D2 type of construction required describes the type of construction required in different types of buildings. In which state or territory are their variations to this clause and where will you find the details of the variations. Schedule eight. South Australia. Section C. Fire resistance. Clause SA C2D21 three and four. Question two. What do the following abbreviations mean when they are used within the NCC? AS HS RSET SHGC Schedule one definitions AS equals Australian standard HS equals horizontal fire spread RSET required safe egress time SHGC solar heat gain coefficient. Question three. In which states or territories can you find areas designated as alpine areas according to the NCC? Schedule one definitions Alpine area. Figure one. Alpine areas. Table one. Alpine areas where snow loads are significant. New South Wales Victoria and Tasmania. Question four. What is the difference between the terms waterproof and water resistant? As they are used within the NCC. Schedule three definitions. Waterproof means the property of a material that does not allow water to penetrate through it. Water resistant means the property of a system or material that restricts water movement and will not degrade under conditions of water. Question five. In which volumes of the NCC are the following Australian standards referenced? ASNZS4600 cold form steel structures AS 2049 roof tiles ASNZS 3500 Part four. Plumbing and drainage heated water services. Schedule two. Reference documents ASNZS 4600 equals volume one B1D4 volume two H1D6 housing provisions 5.3.3 6.3.6 AS 2049 equals volume one F3D2 volume two H1D7 ASNZS 3500 Part four equals volume three B2D2 B2D6 B2D7 ASNZS 3500 What the acronym FRL means and how to work out the FRL of a building element. Schedule one definitions explains that the acronym FRL stands for fire resistance level and provides the definition of fire resistance level, FRL. Specification one. Fire resistance of building elements. Governing requirements explains the procedures for determining the FRL of building elements. Match the part in the governing requirements to its contents. Part A1 equals interpreting the NCC. Part A2 equals compliance with the NCC. Part A3 equals application of the NCC in state and territories. Part A4 equals reference documents. Part A5 equals documentation of design and construction. Part A6 equals building classification. True or false? Compliance with the provisions within the governing requirements is mandatory. If you chose true, yes, that's right. All buildings must comply with both the governing requirements and relevant performance requirements from other sections of the NCC. Match the schedules to their contents. Tasmania equals Schedule 9. Reference documents equals Schedule 2. Australian Capital Territory equals Schedule 4. Definitions equals Schedule 1. South Australia equals Schedule 8. How is the NCC maintained? Amendment of the NCC. The NCC is amended and reused on a regular schedule to provide certainty for users to comply on it. The regular schedule is 3 years but since starting this schedule minor amendments have been made within this schedule to respond to ministerial priorities. In the past the NCC was amended every 6 months and then annually. But industry considered this too frequent. It did not give them sufficient time to prepare for changes before they were introduced. In 2015 the 9 governments the State and Territory Governments and the Australian Federal Government agreed to extend the amendment cycle to every 3 years to give industry appropriate lead time to find out about and prepare for the new NCC before it was introduced. There is provision for the NCC to be amended outside of this regular cycle to address urgent issues. This only occurs in rare circumstances and only if the jurisdiction for the amendment meets strict criteria. When this occurs it is an out of cycle amendment. The role of the ABCB The ABCB like the NCC was formed under the initiative of the Council of Australian Governments COAG. Its role is to maintain and issue the NCC and to support the States and Territories and practitioners using the NCC. The ABCB website describes its aims and mission and provides access to all the materials it produces including the NCC itself. Other useful resources the ABCB standards are mandatory once they are referenced in the NCC. The handbooks are not mandatory. They provide guidance and examples and explanatory text but nothing in them needs to be complied with in order to comply with the NCC. The supporting materials are also not mandatory but may be useful. Summary NCC Volume 1 Section A Governing Requirements Other sections Provisions for Class 2 to 9 Buildings Schedules NCC Volume 2 Section A Governing Requirements Section H Class 1 and 10 Buildings ABCB Housing Provisions Standard Schedules NCC Volume 3 Section A Governing Requirements Other sections Plumbing and Drainage Provisions for All Building Classes Schedules Key Points Governing Requirements Mandatory Same content across all three volumes Schedules Same across all three volumes Statement Territory Appendices Definitions Reference Documents Other sections Mandatory Performance Requirements Verification Methods DTS Provisions Maintained by the ABCB Reissued Regularly Access or Download from the ABCB website Thank you for your time. This brings our presentation on understanding the NCC to a close. If you'd like more information please visit abcb.gov.au