News

The Australian Building Codes Board and state governments recently ratified the 2022 National Construction Code 2022 - or NCC 2022 for short. The majority of the NCC 2022 will come into effect on 1 May 2023 across all states and territories. 

What is the NCC I hear you ask? Basically, it’s a framework which incorporates all on-site building requirements into a single code, setting out the minimum standards for the design, construction and performance of new buildings throughout Australia. It covers standards for things like waterproofing, plumbing, energy efficiency, accessibility and bushfire attack protection. 

Moving forward, all new homes and buildings in Australia must be built according to the standards set out in the NCC 2022. This includes modular homes too!

There have been significant updates to certain sections in the NCC 2022, specifically an increase to a 7-Star Energy Rating and the inclusion of Liveable Housing Provisions. This has meant that at Westbuilt Homes, we’ve had to modify the designs of our homes to ensure everything is NCC 2022 compliant.

Read on to learn more about these major changes, what they mean to you and how they impact on our Standard Inclusions for new home builds. 

7-Star Energy Rating for all Homes

This requirement is an increase from the previous 6-Star Energy Rating which was first introduced back in 2011. 

The new code calls for more significant insulation requirements in walls and ceilings and better thermal performance of windows to help improve energy efficiency. 

Secondly, the code now requires each home to be constructed with an ‘Energy Budget’ in mind. This is calculated by taking into account expected usage of appliances such as ovens, hot water systems, fridges and washing machines against the floor area of the house and its location. Click here to read more about the new energy budget concept. 

In order to comply with the new 7-Star Energy Rating, solar power systems can be installed to offset the energy usage of your major appliances and to remain within the energy budget of your home.  

Liveable Housing Provisions

Liveable housing design is all about changing the way we design homes to make them easier to use and more adaptable to the changing needs of occupants, especially as our population continues to age. 

Liveable Housing Provisions are a natural step forward in good home design and have been a major addition to standards updated in the NCC 2022.

The conditions specified in the NCC 2022 for Liveable Housing Provisions are based on the “Silver” level Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) design standards. SDA is a form of housing that is designed to enable eligible National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants to receive the support they need to live in the community. 

These changes include the provision of slightly wider hallways, wider doorways into your bedrooms, bathroom and laundry, step-free access into the home and wet areas, and the requirement for future grab rails. 

What do the NCC 2022 changes mean for me?

So, you are no doubt thinking, what do these changes mean? Well, there’s three main things.

• More Energy-Efficient Homes

The NCC 2022 energy efficiency changes will mean, across the industry, you can expect to see the inclusion of more insulation and better-performing windows in new homes as standard. New home buyers will experience a reduction in electricity bills and more climate comfortable homes all year-round. 

• Better Designed Homes

The new Liveable Housing Provisions constitute a significant step forward for good design and thinking ahead for an ageing population as well as for those with mobility difficulties. 

You can expect to see the end of the standard sized 90cm wide hallway and narrow doors that you can barely fit most furniture through. The minimum door width for your bedroom, bathroom and laundry will now be 5 cm wider than the previous 8.2cm. That’s a bonus for everyone. 

Also, you will see fewer steps around new homes between different floor types. For instance, the floor between the bathroom to the hallway to the shower should all be one smooth level to make it easier for people in wheelchairs or who use mobility devices to comfortably navigate around their home. 

• Price Increases

Obviously, as with any significant changes in building specifications, there will be corresponding price increases. We are expecting to see costs go up between $40,000 - $80,000 on homes in order to ensure every element of our home designs complies with NCC 2022. 

Yes, we recognise this is a big jump, but these costs can be weighed against a reduction in energy bills as well as improved house designs and increased resale value.

What changes is Westbuilt Homes making to our Standard Inclusions?

As we mentioned above, we’ve had to update our Standard Inclusions and modify our house designs to ensure our homes meet NCC 2022.

While our homes are now going to cost a bit more, here’s a rundown of what additions you can now expect from our new and improved designs. 

7- Star Energy Efficiency Improvements

• Double insulation in the walls and ceilings 
• R2.7 wall insulation with 90mm external walls.
• R3.0 Ceiling Insulation and R3.0 Roof insulation, giving a total R-value of nearly R6.0.
• R1.5 underfloor insulation

• Low-E performance glass
• This glass reduces the heat that passes through the window by a large margin. 

Livable Housing Provisions

We’ve completely overhauled our design range, ensuring our homes are better designed with wider hallways and doorways. Even if you are younger, you’ll definitely notice the difference - less grazed knuckles on the doorframe from squeezing that piece of furniture into the bedroom for one! Plus, if you would like to make your home SDA compliant for NDIS purposes in the future, you just have to make a few minor tweaks as most of the design requirements are already met. 

Significant design changes we’ve made to our Standard Inclusions are:

• Step-free access to external doors and one bathroom (max 5mm steps). Please note external ramps are excluded. 
• Wider hallways.
• Wider doorways to bedrooms, laundry and one bathroom.
• Provision for the installation of grab rails in one bathroom.

Extra updates to our Standard Inclusions 

To make your new home even more liveable, we’ve decided to sweeten the deal of adopting the NCC 2022 with a few additional Standard Inclusions such as: 

• 1 x 7.0kw Mitsubishi Electric inverter split system air conditioner
• 1 x 2.5kw Mitsubishi Electric inverter split system air conditioner 
• Euro Appliances 14 place dishwasher
• 2 x USB charging power points 

We understand that the NCC 2022 represents some significant changes to how we build our homes and how we price them. But we truly feel our updated designs make for better homes with better energy efficiency. So if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us on 1800 688 044 or click here to send us a message via our contact form. 

Learn More:

See our New Design Range Here

Download our Inclusions Guide Here

Download our Ballpark Price Guide Here