Mark Vender
Queensland has confirmed that it will maintain the original timetable for adopting improved energy efficiency, condensation management and livable housing provisions in NCC 2022. Although industry stakeholders have applauded the decision, they have also raised concerns about delays in other jurisdictions, and the inconsistent implementation of what is intended to be a national code to strengthen the building and construction industry and support Australia’s net zero goals.
Under the National Construction Code 2022, provisions lifting the minimum energy-efficiency requirements for new homes from 6 to 7 NatHERS stars, as well requirements around condensation management and livable housing, are due to be adopted on October 1, 2023.
A number of jurisdictions have confirmed delays. Victoria and South Australia recently announced that the requirements would come into effect in 2024. Western Australia is considering pushing provisions back until 2025.
Some organisations in Queensland were lobbying for similar postponements.
Master Builders Queensland and HIA Queensland were particularly outspoken in their calls for a delay. Queensland Master Builders CEO Paul Bidwell claimed that the changes could add up to $20,000 to the cost of a new home.
Queensland Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni noted that the standards would add just one to two per cent to the total cost of a new home, while saving homeowners up to $185 a year on energy bills. Australian Building Codes Board CEO Gary Rake also questioned the estimates put forward by the builder-focused industry bodies.
Yet, despite Queensland holding firm on the timetable, there is now more general concern about the inconsistent adoption of NCC 2022 across Australia.
Stakeholders have noted that it will cause a range of issues.
“The lack of consistency inhibits opportunities for the transfer of knowledge, skills and resources from within the industry to support each other and reduce costs,” says Brett Fairweather, M.AIRAH, from It’s Engineered. “A national solution would improve all those things.”
For practitioners working across state and territory boundaries, complying with different rules in each jurisdiction adds complexity and risk. And for manufacturers, whose products must comply with different versions of the code, the situation can be fraught.
There are also broader questions about how the ongoing NCC timetable will be impacted by the delays. The next iteration is due to be released in 2025 – when some states may still be adopting parts of the 2022 code.
Since the three-year revision cycle for the NCC was adopted in 2016, there is yet to have been a period without an amendment or a disagreement in the need to adopt the changes by some states.
“It’s becoming clearer that the three-year cycle isn’t working,” says AIRAH CEO Trish Hyde.
“More importantly, it’s putting at risk our efforts to achieve net zero in the built environment. The Trajectory For Low Energy Buildings – agreed to in 2019 by Australia’s energy ministers – was supposed to be our roadmap to zero energy and carbon ready buildings, underpinned by gradual improvements to the energy-efficiency provisions in the NCC. Unfortunately, we seem to be losing our way.
“We need to get back on track. Consistency is the right approach for our industry, and it’s the right approach for our planet.”
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