The NCC 2019 - Vol 1 has legal effect through references in relevant State and Territory building legislation. Although a nationally consistent code, there are some situations where a State or Territory enforce a variation, addition or deletion to it.
This legislation consists of an Act of Parliament and subordinate legislation which empowers the regulation of certain aspects of a building and contains the administrative provisions necessary to give effect to the legislation.
In some instances, State or Territory may vary or apply additional requirements specific to their jurisdiction. These variations, additions or deletions are to be applied in conjunction with other NCC provisions but typically override the specific requirements only.
Reference Documents
The NCC calls upon or ‘references’ other documents with information. These are called NCC referenced documents. Examples of these are Australian Standards, ABCB protocols, ABCB standards and other publications.
There are multiple types of referenced documents. A primary referenced document is one referenced in Schedule 4 of the NCC. A secondary referenced document is one referenced in a primary referenced document. Other referenced documents are referenced by secondary and subsequently referenced documents.
Documentation
To show compliance with the NCC 2019 - Vol 1 requirements, documentation of evidence that design or construction is ‘fit for purpose’ is always required. These cover the use of materials, products, forms of construction and designs. Examples of evidence to be prepared and retained include certificates, reports, calculations and any other documents or information showing compliance with the NCC requirements.
Evidence to support that the use of a material, product, a form of construction or design meets a Performance Requirement or a Deemed-to-Satisfy Provision may be in the form of an anyone or any combination of the following:
- A current CodeMark Australia or CodeMark Certificate of Conformity.
- A current Certificate of Accreditation.
- A current certificate, other than a certificate described in (a) and (b), issued by a certification body stating that the properties and performance of a material, product, form of construction or design fulfil specific requirements of the BCA.
- A report issued by an Accredited Testing Laboratory that demonstrates that a material, product or form of construction fulfils specific requirements of the BCA.
- A certificate or report from a professional engineer or another appropriately qualified person that certifies that a material, product, form of construction or design fulfils specific requirements of the BCA.
- Another form of documentary evidence, such as but not limited to a Product Technical Statement, that demonstrates that a material, product, form of construction or design fulfils specific requirements of the BCA.
- Evidence to support that a calculation method complies with an ABCB protocol may be in the form of a certificate from a professional engineer or other appropriately qualified person or another form of documentary evidence that correctly describes how the calculation method complies with a relevant ABCB protocol.