The National Construction Code (NCC) plays a critical role in ensuring homes are affordable to run, safe and healthy to live in and help contribute to an efficient, sustainable energy system. As housing construction accelerates, we need NCC standards which support emissions reduction, climate resilience, energy affordability and household health and wellbeing.
That’s what we highlighted in our joint response to the Australian Government Treasury’s Streamlining and Modernising the National Construction Code discussion paper, with recommendations including:
- Maintaining a regular three-year review schedule of the NCC to ensure it keeps up with technology;
- Making both energy efficiency and climate resilience core minimum standards within the Code, not a discretionary best practice consideration, and;
- Modernising the regulatory impact analysis to reflect whole-of-life affordability to strengthen policy decision-making and better account for long-term household, community and economic outcomes.
What’s next?
The Australian Government Treasury will deliver a final report with recommendations to building Ministers by mid-2026. We will continue to work with other community organisations at a Commonwealth and NSW level to advocate for building standards which support homes that support good outcomes for everyone in the community.
