Building industry lobby groups have slammed a Victorian Government decision to adopt changes to the National Construction Code with little more than a month’s notice.

As the state’s building industry struggles with the fallout from the Iran War, the Victorian Government has announced that changes arising out of the 2025 update of the National Construction Code (NCC2025) will come into force on May 1 this year.

All building approvals will need to comply with the new version of the Code from that date.

This stands in contrast with Queensland and New South Wales – both of which have announced a delay in NCC 2025 adoption until May next year to give the industry time to prepare for the changes.

The Victorian Government has also announced that several Victoria-specific variations to the Code will be removed.

However, no detail about these variations has been given.

Building industry lobby groups have slammed the decision to adopt NCC 2025 with such little time to prepare for the changes.

In as statement provided to Sourceable, the Master Builders Association of Victoria (MBV) said that the move is extremely disappointing.

Pushing ahead in Victoria under the current economic conditions whilst Queensland and New South Wales are giving builders more time to prepare for the changes shows a disconnect from the realities facing building businesses and risks further straining an industry that is already under pressure, MBV said.

It says that NCC 2025 is likely to drive up construction costs and slow housing delivery. This is particularly the case for small and medium‑sized builders who have limited capacity to absorb additional compliance burdens at a time when they are already under pressure from cost increases and material shortages.

“MBV is extremely disappointed that the National Construction Code (NCC 2025) will still be implemented in May, despite other states delaying it,” the Association said in its statement.

“The adoption of NCC 2025 brings further operational and compliance demands that, in the current environment, risk placing unsustainable pressure on construction businesses already doing it tough.

“The industry has less than a month to adjust to rapid regulatory change, and state and territory-based variations of the NCC are yet to be disclosed. MBV is concerned that the variations may disproportionately impact smaller builders, many of whom lack the resources to update systems swiftly, retrain staff and realign supply chains. The implementation of NCC 2025 risks unintended disruption to housing delivery across the sector, amidst spiraling fuel and material costs and industry uncertainty.

“A delayed commencement would have enabled a more realistic and orderly transition, giving builders, designers, and certifiers time to properly prepare for the new requirements.

This approach would have reduced compliance risks, prevented avoidable cost escalations, and supported continued housing delivery during a prolonged supply shortage. MBV warns that a growing avalanche of red tape and regulations is pushing the Australian dream of home ownership further out of reach and impeding the target of 80,000 new homes a year.”

Keith Ryan, Executive Director – Victoria of the Housing Industry Association, agrees.

“It is very poor form by any government to barely a month before the commencement of new laws to confirm the date,” Ryan said.

“The Allen Government has allowed for uncertainty about the commencement date despite her government being regularly told by HIA that uncertainty causes much stress and cost for businesses. Her government has also allowed for hope to build up that it may delay the commencement due to the current fuel cost challenges and because NSW and Qld sensibly chose to delay NCC 2025 until 1 May 2027.

“The decision to go ahead and impose NCC 2025 and the suggests that the Allan government is totally indifferent to the impact of law changes on industry or on consumers who have to pay higher prices as a result.”

 

More time to prepare in other states

The latest announcement comes as both Queensland and New South Wales have announced in recent weeks that they will delay implementation of NCC 2025 until May 2027.

Officially, the final version of the new Code is set to be published by the Australian Building Codes Board on May 1 this year.  States and territories may adopt the new version of the Code at any stage on or after this date.

The National Construction Code (NCC) is Australia’s primary set of technical documents which governs the design and construction of building and plumbing work across the country.

It sets out the minimum required level of performance which new buildings are expected to meet in terms of safety, health, amenity, accessibility and sustainability.

As things stand, the Code is updated every three years. However, the frequency of future updates is currently the subject of a review of the Code and its governance arrangements.

Changes within the 2025 update of the Code are modest in nature. They include amendments to commercial energy efficiency, water management, car park fire safety, condensation management and provision of all-gender sanitary facilities.

This follows more extensive changes which occurred in the 2022 update as well as a decision by the nation’s building ministers to defer all non-essential residential amendments until at least the end of the Housing Accord period in 2029.

Upon announcing their respective decisions to delay the Code’s adoption in their states, both the Queensland and New South Wales Governments said their respective decisions recognised current industry pressures.

The extended adoption dates would provide adequate time to prepare for the changes, both governments said.

 

Victoria highlights plumbing and waterproofing changes

In its announcement, the Victorian Government highlighted the benefits of plumbing and waterproofing changes which are set to take effect from May as part of the announcement.

In terms of plumbing, the government said that a new lead free mandate on plumbing products which are used to convey drinking water would have significant benefits for the health of building occupants.

The ban was actually part of the 2022 update of the Code, but is set to take effect on May 1 this year following a transition period.

In terms of water management, the new requirements aim to prevent water ingress from horizontal surfaces such as flat roofs, balconies and podiums into apartment buildings by requiring a fall in substrate for surfaces consisting of concrete or cement sheeting to ensure that water drains away from inside areas.

The state’s Building and Plumbing Commission will work with the building industry to help prepare for the changes, the Government said.

Following the announcement, Sourceable put several questions to the office of Harriett Shing, Minister for Housing and Building.

These sought to clarify why adoption of the new Code is being brought in so quickly as well as specific details of the state-based variations to the NCC which are to be removed.

However, the minister’s office had not responded as at the time of article publication.

 

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