Master Builders Association of Victoria

Building Codes and Standards

National Construction Code (NCC) 2013

• Requirements for the construction of residential buildings in flood hazard areas, including the adoption of the ABCB Standard for Construction of Buildings in Flood Hazard Areas, have been inserted.
• Waterproofing of external decks & balconies has been detailed in a new Standard.
• Requirements for garage doors and other large access doors have been inserted.
• New requirements for openable windows in BCA D2.24 & 3.9.2.5 stipulate:


• Protection (child-proof screens) to habitable room windows where the sill is less than 1.7m above floor level and the floor below the window is more than 2m above the surface beneath; and
• A barrier at least 865mm high above the floor where either:
• the protection above has a child-resistant release mechanism, or
• if not protected, where openable windows are more than 4m above the surface beneath.


• Referenced Standards updated as follows:


• AS 1668.2 The use of ventilation and air conditioning in building, Mechanical ventilation in buildings – 2012 edition referenced
• AS 1926.1 Swimming pool safety, safety barriers for swimming pools – 2012 edition referenced.
• AS/NZS 4505 Garage doors and other large access doors – 2012 edition referenced.
• AS/NZS 4654.1 Waterproofing membranes for external above-ground use, Materials – 2012 edition referenced.
• AS/NZS 4654.2 Waterproofing membranes for external above-ground use, Design and installation – 2012 edition referenced.
• ABCB Standard for Construction of Buildings in Flood Hazard Areas has been referenced.

Volume One (BCA)

• Performance Requirement DP7 has been added, along with changes to EF3.3 and EP3.3 in order to provide Performance Requirements for an Alternative Solution if the designer chooses to use lifts to assist egress. The current Performance Requirements do not allow for, and the current lift requirements do not permit, a lift to be used for emergency egress. The use of lifts for egress would be optional and the proposed Information Handbook is intended to provide guidance in developing the Alternative Solution.
• Provisions at D2.15, D2.17, D2.21 and D3.6 have been amended to facilitate egress for people with a disability, as part of the Emergency Egress for All Occupants project.
• Building-related lift requirements have been relocated from the AS 1735 suite of standards into the BCA.
• Referenced standards updated as follows:


• AS 1562.1 Design and installation of sheet roof and wall cladding –Amendment 3 referenced.
• AS 1735 Lifts, escalators and moving walks, Parts 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 14, 15 and 16 – removed as a consequence of the relocation of building related requirements for lifts from the AS 1735 suite of standards into Part E3 of the BCA.
• AS 2118.4 Automatic fire sprinkler systems, Sprinkler protection for accommodation buildings not exceeding four storeys in height – 2012 edition referenced, with the 1995 edition to be retained for a 12 month transition period.
• AS 2118.6 Automatic fire sprinkler systems, Combined sprinkler and hydrant systems in multistorey buildings – 2012 edition referenced, with the 1995 edition to be retained for a 12 month transition period.

Volume Two (BCA)

• Referenced standards updated as follows:


• AS/NZS 3500.5 Plumbing and drainage, Housing installations – 2012 edition referenced.
• AS 4055 Wind loads for housing – 2012 edition referenced, with the 2006 edition to be retained for a 12 month transition period.
• AS 4234 Heated water systems, Calculation of energy consumption –Amendment 1 and 2 referenced.