National Construction Code certainty

The South Australian Government has provided greater certainty to the building and construction industry by ensuring there won’t be any further changes to the National Construction Code (NCC) for the next decade following the implementation of the new standards.

From 1 October 2024, newly constructed homes in South Australia will be required to be seven-star energy efficient, up from six-star. While greater consideration will need to be given to accessible design allowing for South Australians with mobility limitations to transition through life stages in their own homes.

As part of the Housing Roadmap, the state government has committed to maintaining these standards for the next ten years.

This decade long guarantee will ensure there’s stable building conditions in South Australia and provide long term certainty to the industry.

The state government has also worked with housing and construction industry associations to formulate a pathway to ease the transition to the new NCC liveability and accessibility standards.

The new NCC standards were agreed nationally at the Building Ministers’ Meeting on 26 August 2022 and were due to commence nationwide in May 2023.

In recognition of the current pressures on the construction and building sectors, including market capacity, supply chain disruption and workforce uncertainty, the South Australian Government provided a further transitional period until 1 October 2024.

Additional efforts have also been undertaken by a working group established to address state specific issues such as small, narrow and irregular blocks, accommodation used by workers or tourists, and areas where geographic conditions are considered to pose challenges.

A range of housing affordability provisions have been made including:

• any development application for a house or apartment that has been lodged prior to 1 October 2024 will be considered under NCC 2019
• allotments having a frontage of less than or equal to 10 metres, or irregular allotments with an area of less than 300 square metres will not be required to comply with Livable Housing Design provisions
• an exemption from the Livable Housing Designs provisions for small buildings less than or equal to 60 square metres that are built offsite, and workers and tourist accommodation
• workers and tourist accommodation will continue to operate under the energy efficiency provisions of NCC 2019
• an exemption from installing a toilet on the entry level where there are no habitable rooms located on that level
• applications for building rules consent submitted prior to 1 January 2027, on allotments for which a development application for land division had been lodged prior to 1 January 2024 can be considered under NCC 2019
• a three-year exemption to the building fabric provisions within the Master Planned Neighbourhood Zone in the Mount Barker District Council
• a concession on the energy efficiency requirements for lightweight and transportable homes.

There will be a review of these South Australian specific provisions after 18 months to ensure that they are allowing for a proper transition from NCC 2019 to NCC 2022.

The decision to implement the NCC’s new provisions has been formed in conjunction with housing industry, climate, disability and ageing sector stakeholders and follows a period of considerable consultation.

The state government’s housing agencies – Renewal SA and the South Australian Housing Authority – are already meeting the NCC requirements in their new builds.

Visit the PlanSA website for further information about the National Construction Code 2022 updates.