New South Wales’ adoption of the National Construction Code 2025 (NCC 2025) will introduce new building requirements from 1 May 2027, when it replaces the National Construction Code 2022 (NCC 2022). With the voluntary 12 month transition period already underway, residential builders can now familiarise themselves with the changes and prepare for future compliance obligations.
The NCC is Australia’s primary set of technical standards regulating health, safety, amenity and sustainability across the built environment. It is developed by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) in partnership with State and Federal Governments to ensure nationally consistent requirements and to avoid conflicts with related frameworks such as plumbing and drainage regulations.
A voluntary 12 month transition period is currently in effect ahead of the commencement of NCC 2025. The ABCB made the new Code available for adoption by jurisdictions from 1 May 2026, and NSW has deferred commencement until 1 May 2027 to give industry practitioners additional time to adjust, minimise future compliance risks and reduce potential disruption to projects.
The new edition introduces significant updates affecting both the commercial and residential sectors. Key changes include:
- Australian Standards: Updated references to a range of Australian Standards, including standards relating to plumbing and drainage, ventilation and insulation.
- Commercial Energy Efficiency: Enhanced performance requirements for air-conditioning systems, lighting controls, building sealing and glazing to improve energy performance.
- Mandatory on-site solar photovoltaic systems for certain commercial building classes.
- Plumbing and Drainage: Clarified performance requirements and updates to water services and sanitary drainage provisions aimed at supporting more consistent compliance outcomes.
- Condensation Management: Changes to ventilation and external wall construction requirements intended to better manage moisture and condensation risks.
- Fire Safety: Enhanced design and testing requirements to mitigate fire risks associated with commercial car parks.
Prior to commencement, the NCC 2022 remains in force.
The NSW Government also intends to introduce a number of variations to NCC 2025 to minimise impacts on the residential construction sector. This includes allowing apartment building owners undertaking remedial building works to choose between the waterproofing requirements in NCC 2022 or NCC 2025, providing flexibility and helping keep costs down for homeowners.
Next steps for residential builders
It is recommended for residential builders to:
- Review the NCC 2025 provisions relevant to their projects.
- Identify how the changes will affect design, construction and compliance obligations.
- Update internal processes and train staff ahead of the 1 May 2027 commencement date.
- Monitor the publication of NSW-specific variations to understand any requirements that differ from the national provisions.
The ABCB strongly recommends that industry participants review the full NCC 2025 volumes here.
For more information on the National Construction Code please contact a member of Addisons’ Construction & Infrastructure team.
| Heading | Heading | Heading | Heading | Heading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content | Content | Content | Content | Content |
| Content | Content | Content | Content | Content |
| Content | Content | Content | Content | Content |
| Content | Content | Content | Content | Content |
1 Reference
2 Reference
3 Reference
4 Reference
5 Reference
6 Reference
7 Reference
8 Reference
9 Reference
10 Reference
11 Reference
12 Reference
13 Reference
14 Reference
15 Reference
16 Reference
17 Reference
18 Reference
19 Reference
20 Reference