Australia’s Compliance Standards Hierarchy for Building Products
Australia’s compliance Standards for building products begins with Legislation (Top Level State & Territory Based). The planning and building regulation laws in each Australian jurisdiction give legal effect to the NCC and generally require compliance and conformance with the Code as a condition of planning and building approvals. It is the planning and/or building regulator in each jurisdiction that has responsibility for regulation of compliance and conformance of building products and materials.
The National Construction Code (NCC)
Australia’s Model Code
The NCC is a performance-based code containing all Performance Requirements for the construction of buildings. It is built around a hierarchy of guidance and code compliance levels, with the Performance Requirements being the minimum level that buildings, building elements, and plumbing and drainage systems must meet.
The NCC has three volumes:
Volume One covers primarily Class 2–9 buildings (the commercial building sector).
Volume Two covers primarily Class 1 and Class 10 buildings (houses, sheds and carports). Volumes One and Two together are also referred to as the Building Code of Australia (BCA).
Volume Three covers plumbing and drainage requirements for all classes of buildings, also referred to as the Plumbing Code of Australia (PCA).
A key distinction compared with other countries, Australia, the eight local jurisdictions have entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement to adopt the NCC, which creates more national uniformity.
The NCC Compliance
The NCC provides two distinct compliance routes:
Compliance with the NCC is achieved by either a Performance Solution, a Deemed-to-Satisfy (DTS) Solution, or a combination of both. A Deemed-to-Satisfy Solution is achieved by following all appropriate DTS Provisions in the NCC they are prescriptive (like a recipe book, telling you how, what and where things must be done). They include materials, components, design factors, and construction methods that, if used, are deemed to meet the Performance Requirements.
A Performance Solution must comply with all relevant Performance Requirements and must be verified using one or a combination of: Evidence of suitability, Verification Method, Expert Judgement, or Comparison with the DTS Provisions.
A product either follows the prescriptive or it proves it achieves the same outcome through testing, expert judgement, or other evidence (Performance Solution).
Testing & Conformity Assessment
NATA (National Association of Testing Authorities) accreditation is the Australian equivalent of laboratory accreditation, with products typically tested by a NATA-accredited or equivalent laboratory.
Australian Standards
The Technical Specification Layer
The BCA specifies “what” is required and Australian Standards specify “how” something is to be done. Australian Standards are developed by industry bodies, technical experts and government agencies. They cover materials, products, systems and design methodologies. Australian Standards have legal status only when they are referenced in legislation, mandatory codes of practice, or contract documents.
Not all Australian Standards are mandatory, but if an Australian Standard is referenced in the NCC, then compliance with it becomes mandatory as required under the NCC.
Common building-specific Australian Standards include AS 1684 (Residential Timber-framed Construction), AS 2870 (Residential Slabs and Footings), AS 3959 (Construction of Buildings in Bushfire-prone Areas) and AS 4654 (Waterproofing Membranes).
Product Certification Schemes
StandardsMark: the ‘Five Ticks’ StandardsMark™ on a product is independent assurance that the product has undergone a rigorous audit and testing program.
CodeMark: a voluntary building product certification scheme. CodeMark certifies that when a building product is used in a stated way, that use complies with one or more requirements of the NCC. A CodeMark Certificate of Conformity is one form of evidence that can be used to demonstrate that a building product complies with the NCC.
WaterMark: a mandatory certification scheme for specified plumbing and drainage materials and products.
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