NCC 2025 released – who is adopting it?

Australia has a history of the states and territories taking individual approaches to engineering challenges. For example, our different rail gauges and the inefficiencies they created are the stuff of legend. Our national construction code (NCC), sadly, is on track to become a modern example of the same phenomenon.

NCC 2025 is scheduled for release on Friday, May 1, 2026, and will be available on the NCC website.

Adrian Piani, CEO of the Australian Building Codes Board, said in his recent update the release of NCC 2025 is an important moment for industry, regulators and practitioners across Australia.

“It continues to provide nationally consistent minimum standards for safety, health, accessibility, amenity and sustainability, and reflects both Building Ministers’ decisions and the feedback received through earlier consultation.”

But although states and territories can begin considering adoption of the new edition from May 1, they are setting very different timelines for adoption. This calls into question the claim of “nationally consistent” outcomes.

Around the grounds

New South Wales and Queensland have confirmed that they will adopt NCC 2025 on May 1, 2027, with local variations. South Australia has also now confirmed that it will adopt the Building Code within NCC 2025 on May 1, 2027.

Victoria and the ACT have been more proactive. In Victoria, NCC 2025 will come into effect as of its release date, on May 1, 2026. The ACT government has committed to the adoption and implementation of NCC 2025 with a 12-month transition period. NCC 2025 will commence on May 1, 2026 in the Territory but will not be mandatory until May 1, 2027.

Tasmania looks set to adopt NCC 2025 by default, despite the government’s announcement in October last year that it would freeze proposed changes to the code. The bill that was to enable the freeze – the Building Amendment Bill 2026 – has passed the House of Assembly but not Legislative Council. As there is no sitting until May 19, the state’s building industry now faces a period of uncertainty about which version of the code new projects should follow.

Western Australia and the Northern Territory, meanwhile, are yet to announce adoption dates for NCC 2025.

A missed opportunity

AIRAH Advocacy and Policy Manager Mark Vender says the fragmented approach to adopting the new code is frustrating for AIRAH members.

“Mechanical engineers and contractors working on new projects have been positive about the opportunities NCC 2025 provides for improving productivity, reducing costs, and getting better building outcomes. We have been corresponding with building ministers around the country to highlight these advantages, for example, the adoption of the updated AS 1668.2 standard.”

Vender notes that AIRAH has long advocated for greater harmonisation of the code, and highlighted the issue in the recent consultation on modernising and streamlining the NCC. He says that the different adoption dates of NCC 2025 reinforces the need for improvement.

“It’s a shame that some states and territories will not enjoy the benefits that NCC 2025 offers. Moreover, businesses that work across jurisdictions, in all parts of the supply chain, will carry the cost of having to work to different codes, with different standards and products. Quite often, these costs will get passed on to the consumer. In a moment when housing affordability is such an issue, this is a missed opportunity.”

AIRAH’s submission on modernising and streamlining the NCC is available on the AIRAH website.

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