understanding the ncc ncc tutor series this course is best viewed by having a copy of the ncc on hand to access the ncc visit abcb.gov.iu and register or log in to access it freely in this module you'll learn what the ncc is and what it contains how the ncc is organized 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 or ncc the development of a national regulatory code for building and construction was an initiative of the council of australian governments or coag koag is comprised of all state and territory governments and the australian government all working in cooperation with the construction industry specifically the first nationally consistent building code of australia or bca was published in 1992 the performance-based pca was released in 1996. the plumbing code of australia or pca was introduced in 2011. so the full three volume national construction code has been in existence since 2011 but part of it was established in 1992 and it took on a performance-based nature from 1996. the aim of the ncc 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 the ncc covers not just structural but any other safety issues as well as health and safety amenity accessibility and sustainability such as energy and water efficiency why do we regulate building and plumbing work in australia the primary purpose of this is to protect people regulating building and plumbing work helps to 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 to life safety for example when regulation of a building work present prevents the structural collapse of a building or the risk of fire in the building it can be used to protect health immunity 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 improvements and through the conservation of water in buildings regulation can also be used to 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 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 of territory the result is eight separate systems through the country although it's worth noting that all eight are quite similar in many ways typically each state and territory has at least one act relating to building a construction these acts have also have regulations that contain the arrangements for different matters a key difference for example between regulation and act is that an act may only be changed through a vote of parliament or a legislative body while generally the appropriate minister can make changes to 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 it's necessary now there are a number of different aspects in relation to regulation regulatory systems are generally made up of two types of regulation both administrative and technical administrative regulations are essential for the running of an 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 and the formal adoption of the ncc as a source of technical regulation technical regulations generally cover two areas firstly building site requirements which include assets issues such as the protection of an adjoining property hoardings to protect the public signage for hazardous materials buildings health and safety waste management and environmental controls on building sites the second is design and construction requirements these 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 construction in separate legislation each state of territory has an act that adopts the ncc as the regulatory document for building a construction in that jurisdiction there are other regulations that can also apply to building projects including those regulating relating to planning processes heritage concerns environmental controls workplace health and safety noise management and hazardous materials storage in use 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 in some of the provisions of value one are also applicable to certain class one buildings volume 2 covers primarily class 1 and class 10 buildings these are known as the housing provisions and are mostly used by the domestic building or housing sector volumes 1 and 2 together are also referred to as the building code of australia or bca volume 3 covers plumbing and drainage requirements for all classes of buildings it is also referred to as a plumbing code of australia or pca the requirements of the ncc typically typically apply to each of the state and territories and it specifically applies to construction of new buildings new building work within existing buildings change of use of a building for example from an office block is converted to apartments or perhaps an old fire station is converted to a bnb or residence perhaps is converted to a restaurant lastly plumbing and draining work in new and existing buildings is also covered there's also a number of reference documents within the ncc the ncc references other documents such as various australian standards when a document is referred in referred to in the ntc it has the same legal force as the nchc itself 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 that standard becomes mandatory because it's required under the ncc let's look at the ncc compliance option graphic shown here and discuss the terms used here the top two levels of this graphic are found in part a2 of the governing requirements there are a number of key terms used within the ncc the first is performance requirements performance requirements specify a level to which some aspect 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 minimize energy use to retain a comfortable temperature for the climate in which it is built the building elements must resist the passage of smoke heat and gases for a minimum period of time so that people can evacuate in a fire the next term is a performance solution a performance solution means a method of complying with the performance requirements other than by a deemed to satisfy solution a builder can use a solution other than a dts solution but then must demonstrate how the performance solution complies with the relevant performance requirements the next is deemed to satisfy or dts solutions deemed to satisfy 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 the next is assessment methods assessment methods are methods that can be used for determining that a performance solution or deemed to satisfy out or dts solution complies with the performance requirements acceptable assessment methods are evidence of suitability verification methods including methods described in the ncc volumes and other accepted acceptable methods so there are some verification methods included after the performance requirements in each of the different volumes and sections of the ncc the next is expert judgment and finally comparisons with dts provisions next is explanatory information 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 or 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 organized the first section in all three volumes of the ncc contain the governing requirements which are the same in all three volumes in volume 1 and volume 3 the governing requirements are section a while in volume 2 this section is section 1 but the information contained within the government governing requirements is exactly the same across all three volumes this includes information on building classifications and the status of reference documents the governing 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 the three 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 all three volumes the other sections of the ncc besides the governing's 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 varying numbers of other sections volume one has eight other sections volume two has two other sections and volume three has four other sections the information in the sections is organized differently across each of these volumes the structure of volume one is similar to structure the structure of volume three with performance requirements verification methods and dts prison provisions grouped across different sections volume 2 is a different structure with performance requirements and verification methods compiled together in one section and the dts provisions in a separate section what do the governing requirements contain the governing requirements provide the rules and instructions for using and complying with the ncc his content is considered mandatory 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 they are applying the requirements of the ncc correctly part a1 interpreting the ncc part a1 explains important concepts for interpreting and applying the ncc including distinguishing between mandatory and non-mandatory or reformative content interpreting defined terms understanding application limitation and exemption statements in the ncc understanding references to buildings generally and to buildings of a particular classification part a2 compliance with the ncc there are multiple ways of complying with the requirements of the ncc which are using a performance solution using a deemed to satisfy or dts solution using a combination of performance solution and a dts solution part a2 explains these different methods for complying with the ncc part a3 application of the ncc in states and territories the ncc has legal force throughout australia and through references in relevant state and territory building and plumbing legislation in some situations a state or territory enforces a variation addition or deletion to the ncc part a3 explains the legal status of the ncc and the state and territory variations additions or deletions variations are flagged in the text and in schedule 1 of each volume part a 4 ncc reference the ncc references other technical documents extensively examples are australian standards abcb protocols abcb standards and other publications part a4 explains the status of these documents for example where to find edition information what to do when there are differences between reference documents and the ncc adoption and compliance with referenced documents part a5 documentation of design and construction it may be necessary to demonstrate that a particular material product form of construction or design meets the ncc requirements and is fit for purpose evidence can include certificates reports product technical statements a watermark license calculations and other documentation part a5 describes the particular forms that evidence of suitability can take for the different volumes of the ncc part a6 building classification building classification determines which requirements must be complied with and which volumes of the ncc must be referenced classification depends on the building's intended use and characteristics part a6 defines all the ncc building classifications and subclassifications includes explanatory information and helpful diagrams to illustrate the defining characteristics of different building classifications part a seven united buildings multiple buildings may be treated as united buildings if they are connected through openings in the walls dividing them and used as a single building together they must comply with all the requirements of the ncc as though they are a single building this has implications for a range of performance requirements in particular around fire safety access and egress and health and amenity part a7 provides discussion of united buildings and examples of different treatments this is not included in ncc volume 2. let's test our knowledge of some key terms in part 1 to their meanings four terms given here exemption limitation note and application which meaning on the left applies to each of these match each term from part a1 to its meaning 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 which takes precedence the ncc or a reference document if there is a difference true or false according to the governing requirements the allowable evidence of the suitability for volumes 1 and 2 is different what do the schedules contain schedule 1 state and territory additions and variations schedule 1 contains the details of additions and variations to the provisions within the ncc there is a section for each state and territory details of changes are given including additions deletions and changes to wording in volumes 1 and 3 the body of the document provides a reference to the variations in schedule 1 but does not contain the actual text of the variation in volume 2 the details of variations are given in the body of the document as well as in schedule 1. schedule 2 abbreviations and symbols schedule 2 contains a list of the abbreviations and symbols used in the ncc and their meanings the list is exactly the same in all three volumes schedule 3 definitions schedule 3 contains a list of defined terms and their definitions 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 italicized in the text of the ncc this includes maps and tables of alpine areas climate zones and wing classes and some illustrative diagrams the list of defined terms and definitions is exactly the same in all three volumes schedule 4 referenced documents schedule 4 contains a table that lists all australian standards abcb protocols abcb standards and other documents referenced in the ncc it also contains lists for where each document is referenced in the three volumes of the ncc the reference document schedule 4 also contains documents that are listed in the following order australian new zealand or iso standards in number order other reference documents are listed in alphabetical order the list of reference documents is exactly the same in all three volumes schedule 5 fire resistance of building elements schedule 5 contains procedures for calculating the fire resistance level or frl of building elements the contents of this schedule is exactly the same in all three volumes schedule 6 fire hazard properties schedule six sets out the procedures for determining the fire hazard properties of assemblies tested to is nzs 1530.3 and is 1530.4 the content of this schedule is exactly the same in all three volumes lastly schedule 7 fire safety verification method schedule 7 can be used to verify that a performance solution achieves the requirements of the relevant fire safety performance requirements for volume 1. he covers multiple performance requirements for fire safety its use is not mandatory and it may not be suitable in some situations the content of this schedule is exactly the same in all three volumes interpreting the ncc schedules let's have a go at using the ncc schedules by answering the following questions after reading the question pause this presentation and see if you can find the answer in the relevant ncc schedule write down the answers then resume the presentation to find out the answer question one in ncc volume 1 clause c 1.1 type of construction required describes the type of construction required in different types of buildings in which state or territory are there variations to this clause and where would you find the details of these variations question two what do the following abbreviations mean when they are used within the ncc is hs rset shgc question three in which states or territories can you find areas designated as alpine areas according to the ncc question four what is the difference between the terms waterproof and water resistant as they used within the ncc question five in which volumes of the ncc are the following australian standards referenced is nzs 4600 cold form steel structures as2049 roof tiles is nzs 3500 part 4 plumbing and drainage heated water services question 6 what can the fire safety verification method in schedule 7 be used for and who is qualified to use it match the part in the governing requirements to its contents true or false compliance with the provisions within the governing requirements is mandatory match the schedule to their contents how is the ncc maintained the ncc is amended and reissued on a regular schedule to provide certainty for users who rely upon it the regular schedule is three years but since starting the schedule minor amendments have been made within the schedule to respond to ministerial priorities in the past the ncc was amended every six months and then annually but industry considered this too frequent as it did not give them sufficient time to prepare for changes before they were introduced in 2015 the nine governments that being the state and territory governments and the australian or federal government agreed to extend the amendment cycle out to every three 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 this regular cycle to address urgent issues this only occurs in rare circumstances and only if the justification for the amendment meets strict criteria when this occurs it is known as now of cycle amendment the role of the abcb the abcb or australian building codes board like the ncc was formed under the initiative of the council of australian governments or coag its role is to maintain and issue the ncc and to support the states and territories and practitioners in 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 references 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 non-mandatory but may be useful let's summarise the key points covered in this module as a performance-based code the ncc sets the minimum required level for safety health amenity accessibility and sustainability of certain buildings in australia the governing requirements are mandatory part of the ncc and is consistent across all three volumes the schedules are also consistent across all three volumes of the ncc and contain important information including state and territory appendices definitions and reference documents the volumes contain various other sections that provide the ncc's technical requirements these sections include components such as performance requirements which are also mandatory verification methods and the deemed to satisfy provisions the ncc is maintained by the abcb and reissued regularly you can access or download the ncc from the abcb website this brings us to the end of this presentation thank you for viewing this ncc tutor module check out the other ncc tutor modules available to 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