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National Construction Code 2025

NCC 2025 - Major changes

National Construction Code 2025

NCC 2025 - Major changes

What NCC 2025 means for your residential building business

The National Construction Code (NCC) 2025 will introduce changes which are primarily focused on energy efficiency and watershedding for commercial buildings (Class 3, 5 to 9). They will also affect the construction of Class 2 apartments including balconies and common areas.

NCC 2025 will have a primarily commercial impact, but the changes have implications for all buildings. These are subject to Assessment Methods using Performance Solutions and referenced documents. All three Volumes of the NCC contain changes. The condensation management changes affect Class 1 and Class 10 buildings as well as new and revised standards.

The NCC changes cover:

  • Class 2 apartment buildings
  • Sole occupancy units (SOUs)
  • Waterproofing of balconies
  • Energy efficiency in commercial buildings
  • Fire safety of carparks.

The final NCC will be published by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) on 1 February 2026.

Members will need to familiarise themselves with the changes so they can be incorporated into designs, documentation and construction requirements in line with states and territories adoption schedules. We will provide supporting material and further information once the final changes are confirmed.

How we got here: Key changes shaping the NCC 2025

Commonwealth, State and Territory Building Ministers met on 23 October to decide on the content and timing of the National Construction Code (NCC) 2025.

Ministers announced which changes will progress for NCC 2025. These include waterproofing for balconies of apartment buildings, commercial energy efficiency, carpark fire safety and condensation management.

Ministers also officially agreed to a pause on NCC residential changes excluding those with urgent safety implications until mid-2029. This will allow a focus on streamlining the NCC through:

  • AI and regulatory reduction
  • removing barriers to the use of prefabrication and modular methods
  • improvements to the way the code is developed
  • The NCC amendment cycle.

“Solving Australia’s housing supply crisis will not be done with a single policy change, it requires a broad suite of measures and actions,” HIA Managing Director Jocelyn Martin said.

“The Building Ministers' commitments provides one example of what can be achieved where Federal, State and Territory Governments can come together and provide leadership to deliver meaningful and practical changes that can make a real difference on the ground,” concluded Ms Martin.

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NCC 2022 changes

We worked hard for our members to minimise the impact of the NCC 2022 changes that affected the residential building industry. Explore the National Construction Code's 2022 updates.

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HIA’s advocacy on NCC 2025:

HIA were one of the only industry bodies to provide detailed submissions in response to all major proposals and their accompanying analysis.

NCC's 2025 proposed residential changes are more moderate when compared to the far-reaching impacts of NCC 2022. HIA had argued some reforms were underdeveloped, higher cost or too impractical to be applied by industry.

HIA's advocacy resulted in numerous improvements and concessions to proposals released to public comment for efficiency in commercial buildings, condensation management and waterproofing proposals that are progressing. Significantly, electric vehicle charging and embodied emissions proposals will not progress as part of the finalised NCC 2025 content.

HIA has called on states and the ABCB to better support implementation beyond the NCC publication. Enhancing its guidance offering, learning materials and addressing key points of contention and ambiguity are necessary next steps.

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