Noticeboard
Building Code of Australia 2010 - Key Changes
The Building Code of Australia (BCA) sets national standards to ensure building works maintain safety, amenity and sustainability for urrent and future communities. It contains technical requirements for the design and construction of buildings and other structures and covers matters such as structural soundness, fire resistance, access, services, energy efficiency and provisions for health and safety.
The BCA is produced and maintained by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) with
each state or territory referencing it in their respective legislation. It is given legal effect in
NSW through the Environmental Planning and Assessment (EP&A) Act 1979 and EP&A Regulation 2000.
The BCA is amended annually with the new edition for each year commencing on 1 May. The
commencement of BCA 2010 was advised to practitioners by the issue of Planning Circular BS
10 004.
This Circular provides information on some of the key changes made in BCA 2010 and relies on the reader having a working knowledge of the BCA.
Click Here to Download the Circular.
Premises Standards Awareness Seminars 2010
IMPORTANT for those with an interest in the AS 1428 Standard - Premises Standards Awareness Seminars 2010 The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the ABCB will collaborate to deliver half-day seminars throughout August and September 2010, on the Disability (Access to Premises - Buildings) Standards (Premises Standards).
The Premises Standards will take effect on 1 May 2011 and will lead to significant improvements in the level of access required in new buildings and existing buildings undergoing renovation. It is anticipated that corresponding changes will be made to the Building Code of Australia at the same time.
Don't miss out on these essential seminars on access changes in public buildings.
To find out more about the Premises Standards Awareness Seminars and to register visit - www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/buildings/ps_registration.htm
AWA Response to NBESS Framework Public
Late in March this year a Public Discussion Paper was released by the Senior Officials Group on Energy Efficiency for public consultation. The Framework will be used to drive significant improvement in the energy efficiency of Australia's new buildings by delivering national consistency in the way minimum standards for building energy efficiency are set into the future and how the environmental performance of buildings is assessed and rated.
Tracey Gramlick has prepared a response on behalf of the window industry. If you have any comments or concerns please feel free to contact AWA so that we can incorporate everyone's views as these ongoing group discussions progress.
Click Here to download the response
New standards for temporary accommodation buildings, buildings in bushfire-prone areas and private bushfire shelters
The Building Act 1975 (BA) establishes the standards to which temporary buildings and structures must be constructed. On 23 April 2008 amendments to section 67 of the BA commenced through the Building and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008 to allow for the introduction of specific standards for temporary accommodation buildings.
The proposed code does not apply to existing lawful temporary accommodation buildings that have been approved for use on a site. The ongoing lawful use of these buildings under an existing approval will not be affected.
The Government has released a Newflash regarding these changes. Click Here to download .
Changes to building energy efficiency requirements from 1 May 2010
On 2 March 2009, the Queensland Government announced as part of its Cleaner, Greener
Buildings election commitment to require new houses and major renovations to meet a 6 star
energy efficiency standard by the end of 2010.
On 30 April 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) announced to increase the
energy efficiency requirements for new residential buildings to six stars nationally in the 2010
update of the Building Code of Australia (BCA), and to increase the stringency of energy efficiency
requirements for all classes of commercial buildings.
On 25 March 2010, the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, The Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe,
announced Queensland will be adopting the 6-star energy equivalent housing standard from
1 May 2010.
The Government has released a Newflash regarding these changes. Click Here to download.
New approval processes for houses and duplexes
The Sustainable Planning Regulation 2009 (SPR) introduced a new approval process for houses and duplexes in residential zones on 18 December 2009 so that only a building application is required in certain circumstances.
The Sustainable Planning Regulation 2009 has been amended to allow local governments to opt in to the new approval process for duplexes. The Building Regulation 2006 has also been amended to adopt a new mandatory part of the Queensland Development Code (QDC) for duplexes.
The Government has released a Newflash regarding these admendments. Click Here to download.
IMPORTANT NOTICE - AWA has relocated
AWA would like to inform that from midday Friday 18th December 2009 the AWA Office has relocated premises.
AWA office is now located at: 71 Ridge Street Gordon 2072 NSW Australia
Please change your address books and databases as soon as possible.
Building Code of Australia 2009 - The Key Changes
This circular briefly explains to councils, industry practitioners and other stakeholders the changes made to the Building Code of Australia in 2009 as they apply to NSW.The attached circular from Planning NSW is a concise overview of the major changes relevant to NSW in BCA 2009 that was adopted on 1 May 2009.
To download, click here .
URGENT - Understanding BER
Last week, over 80 people attended a Builder Workshop where Angus Dawson (Program Director) provided an overview of the BER and explained the various opportunities to become involved.
The BER is a $14.7 billion national investment from the Commonwealth to improve the quality of facilities in Australian schools. Nine managing contractor firms have been appointed to manage the majority of the projects in NSW. Mr Dawson suggested that interested builders and contractors should contact the managing contractor firms in their region.
Click here for more information.
21.09.09 - Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and Energy Labelling from the GEMS
Attached for your information only at this stage is a discussion paper on proposed national legislation for Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and Energy Labelling from the GEMS Legislation Taskforce (DEWHA). This discussion paper seeks to stimulate discussion around a number of questions concerning the proposed new national minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and energy labelling legislation and encourages stakeholders to provide feedback to the questions enclosed
For more infomation, click here .
Attention Queensland members - Building Newsflash
Adoption of Australian Standard 3959-2009 Construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas
Queensland is proposing to adopt Australian Standard 3959-2009 before the next version of the BCA commences on 1 May 2010. A new Queensland Development Code, (QDC) Part MP 2.4-Buildings in bushfire-prone areas, will be published on the department's website, with a proposed commencement date of 1 October 2009.
For more information, Click Here .
BCA Update 2009
The Australian Building Codes Board has released the BCA 2009, effective from May 1st. Like previouse BCA amendments this is the results of an extensive development process through research and consultation with stakeholders.
Click Here to download more information on the BCA Update.
Notice to Victorian Window Companies
For general information regarding building in Victoria after the bushfires, download the Building and Plumbing Commission brochues What you need to know about temporary homes and buildings in bushfire affected areas at www.buildingcommission.com.au
Revised Bushfire Standard reaches final stage
Standards Australia's revised Standard for the construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas (AS 3959) has now reached the final approval stage.
The Standard specifies measures to improve construction and better equip buildings to withstand the effects of bushfires, providing occupants with an improved level of protection.
Click Here to read more of this Media Statement.
Construction of Buildings in Bushfire-prone Areas
The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) have advised that the RIS doe the AS 3959 revision is now on the ABCB website together with 'Study into the cost of building houses in bushfire areas' and the Pre-Ballot Draft of AS V05
Log into th ABCB website and the first item under "What's New?" Covers the documentation following the prompts
Please provide any feedback directly to the AWA at: info@awa.org.au
Important Notice to Queensland Members
The Queensland Government has advised that a review has taken place on forms required under The Building Act. This review has resulted in several commonly used forms being revised.The revised forms will take effect from Monday, 27 October 2008. To download the amended Forms 15 & 16 Click Here .
Queensland's Aim to Reduce its BCA Variations
The intergovernmental agreement between the States, Territories and the Commonwealth for building regulation reform was signed by Ministers in 2006. It places a strong emphasis on increasing national consistency in building codes across Australia and decreasing State and Territory variations. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has endorsed this initiative. In line with these objectives, the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is undertaking a project in conjunction with the States and Territories aimed at achieving zero State and Territory variations in the BCA by 2011.
As part of Queensland's aim to continue reducing its BCA variations where appropriate, they have recently advised that two variations have been identified as being supported for removal in BCA 2009, effective 1 May 2009:
- Sound transmission and insulation (BCA Volume 1 and 2)
- Windows in cyclonic areas (BCA Volume 2)
Proposals to remove Queensland's energy efficiency variation in BCA Volume 2 and to change Queensland's variation for swimming pool access to adopt the revised 2007 edition of the Australian Standard by modifying Queensland's variation in BCA Volumes 1 and 2 are also being considered.
Preliminary Bushfire Testing on Standard Glass & Window Types
A round of testing has been performed on the 2nd September at Waringtonfire in Melbourne to check the performance to 40KW of different glass types. The technical committee arranged these tests to give some guidance to the DTS provisions in bushfire areas and to also ensure compliance to energy regulations. Results coming soon.
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AS 504O - 2003 and AS 5041 - 2003
New amendments have been recently published for:
- AS 5040 - 2003 Installation of security screen doors and window grilles
- AS 5041 - 2003 Method of test - Security screen doors and window grilles
For members working with these standards, log onto www.saiglobal.com to download the updates for free.