As mentioned earlier in the year, Master Builders Victoria (MBV) alerted members that the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) have included new Livable Housing Design Standards into the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 (Draft).

Whilst we recognise the proposed changes offer further benefits to the occupants of the home, we also recognise the challenges that they present to the industry and the consumer.

We will continue to advocate on behalf of our members on how these new inclusions will be implemented into the 2022 version of the NCC.

The primary changes include:

  1. Step free access from the street or the driveway or the garage with compliant gradients
  2. A parking space incorporated into the step free access path
  3. Step free dwelling entrance to have a clear opening width of 820 when the door is in the open position that incorporates a door threshold that is level or have a lip less than 5 mm.
  4. This arrangement may incorporate a threshold ramp of no more than 56 mm
  5. The area at the entrance door may incorporate a Landing Area at the entrance door must have a clear unobstructed space 1200 x 1200 on the arrival side of the door that is level and does not exceed 1:40
  6. Internal doors on the entrance floor must have a clear opening width of 820 when the door is in the open position
  7. Thresholds of an internal door must be level or have a lip not exceeding 5 mm
  8. Corridor widths must have a clear width of 1000
  9. There must be a toilet on the entrance floor. The toilet must have a minimum width of 900 and must have a clear space of 1200 from the pan if the door opens outwards or 1200 clear from the door swing if the door opens inwards
  10. A shower must be located on the entrance floor, must be step free with a lip less than 5mm.
  11. The shower screen door must be capable of being removed without causing damage to adjoining parts of the shower enclosure
  12. Bathroom floor must be compliant with AS 3740 as if the shower was designed as an unenclosed shower
  13. Certain zones of the walls of both the shower and toilet must be reinforced by fitting noggins or ply so they can be readily fitted with handrails in the future (as needed by the occupants of the home)