NCC 2025: What's Changing and Why It Matters
Photo by Shivendu Shukla on Unsplash
Key Takeaways
The final version of the NCC 2025 publishes on 1 May 2026, but legal adoption depends on each state and territory, not the publication date.
NSW and QLD have deferred adoption to 1 May 2027; ACT mandates it from 1 November 2026; Tasmania intends to freeze changes entirely.
Key updates cover commercial energy efficiency, water management, carpark fire safety, and condensation management, plus tightened rules around structural and fire compliance assessments.
A pause on new residential NCC changes is in effect until at least mid-2029, aligned with the National Housing Accord.
For MMC and offsite manufacturers, fragmented adoption timelines create real product design and certification risk, where components engineered to one code version may need re-assessment under another.
The shift away from Expert Judgement toward reliability-based Performance Solutions directly raises the stakes for documented, traceable MMC compliance.
Why NCC 2025 Matters for MMC
Australia's National Construction Code (NCC) is about to be updated. The final version of NCC 2025 is scheduled for publication on 1 May 2026 [1], and for those utilising Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), with long product development and certification lead times, the window to prepare is already narrowing.
The implications of a code change vary significantly across delivery methods. In site-built construction, teams can absorb updates progressively through design and documentation stages. For MMC manufacturers, it can mean re-engineering certified products, revisiting factory processes, and resubmitting for third-party certification, all before a single project can proceed to site. With prefabricated systems typically engineered well ahead of site installation, the compliance clock starts much earlier than most project timelines suggest.
NCC 2025 is deliberately modest in scope, a conscious contrast to NCC 2022's sweeping reforms. But modest doesn't mean inconsequential, and for MMC practitioners, the detail is in the compliance methodology as much as the technical requirements themselves.
What Changed, and What Didn't
NCC 2025 builds on NCC 2022's foundation with targeted improvements rather than wholesale reform [1]. Some key updates include:
Tightened rules around how structural and fire compliance is assessed when using a Performance Solution pathway.
Combined sprinkler and hydrant system amendments.
Stronger building fabric and services requirements, improved lighting controls, and mandatory on-site solar photovoltaic systems for certain building classes.
New fall-in-substrate requirements for concrete and cement sheeting surfaces on balconies, podiums, and flat roofs to prevent water ingress into occupied areas.
New sprinkler protection requirements for open-deck carparks, with previous exemptions and concessions removed.
Updated provisions across both Volume One and the Housing Provisions to improve building durability and occupant health outcomes.
Equally important is what didn't make the final cut, as was proposed in the public comment draft. Proposed residential energy efficiency upgrades, electric vehicle charging infrastructure requirements, and fire separation changes for roofed outdoor areas were all removed from the final code until at least 2029.
The Residential Pause and the MMC Opportunity
At the Building Ministers' Meeting in October 2025, Commonwealth, state, and territory ministers agreed to pause non-essential residential changes to the NCC following the finalisation of NCC 2025, and to hold that pause until at least mid-2029, aligned with the National Housing Accord's target of 1.2 million new home completions in five years [2].
For the MMC sector, this is genuinely significant. Australia's housing crisis is, in part, an MMC opportunity. Offsite manufacturing is widely cited as one of the few credible pathways to delivering homes at the scale and speed the Accord demands. But regulatory uncertainty has been a persistent barrier to investment in MMC manufacturing capacity. Factories cost money. Certifications take time. Investors need a stable regulatory environment to commit.
The residential pause provides exactly that: a multi-year window of regulatory stability during which MMC manufacturers can invest in product development, refine their certification pathways under the new National MMC Certification Scheme, and build the delivery pipelines that the housing task demands.
The Adoption Map: A Cross-Border Problem for MMC
For firms building and delivering MMC components nationally, the fragmented adoption landscape is, at best, an inconvenience and, at worst, an operational risk.
Whilst NCC 2025 is available for adoption nationally from 1 May 2026, states and territories are moving at very different speeds. The ACT has confirmed optional adoption from 1 May 2026, becoming mandatory from 1 May 2027 [3]. Queensland and NSW have both deferred adoption to 1 May 2027 [4,5], while Tasmania has signalled its intention to freeze NCC changes altogether [6]. Most other states have yet to make any announcement.
For MMC manufacturers, fragmented adoption timelines aren't just a compliance nuance: they're an operational risk. With products designed and certified well ahead of site delivery, knowing which code version applies in which jurisdiction, and when, needs to be a live project management consideration, and not just an afterthought.
What MMC Firms Should Be Doing Now
This is what you can do to prepare for the new changes:
Review the NCC 2025 preview volumes relevant to your product classes — don't wait for final publication on 1 May.
Map your current product certifications against the NCC 2025 changes to identify re-assessment requirements before they become programme-critical.
Engage your certifiers and consultants now; in MMC, compliance conversations need to happen at the product design stage, not the project approval stage.
Factor adoption timelines into your project pipeline by jurisdiction; a national MMC programme needs jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction compliance tracking.
Performance Solutions and the End of Expert Judgement
For MMC, this is arguably the most consequential long-term signal in NCC 2025. Expert Judgement (the practice of relying on a recognised expert's professional opinion to demonstrate compliance) is being phased out as a valid assessment method for structural and fire Performance Solutions, as established in the ABCB's own Policy and Consultation Documents for both structural and fire safety [7,8].
This matters for MMC because offsite construction has historically leaned on Performance Solutions and Expert Judgement to navigate compliance for novel systems and materials that don't fit neatly into Deemed-to-Satisfy pathways. As that route closes, the alternative is clear: robust, data-driven, reproducible compliance evidence.
For manufacturers, this means investing in testing, modelling, and documentation infrastructure; not just for individual projects, but as a permanent part of product development. For MMC platforms and component manufacturers, compliance traceability is no longer a project-by-project exercise; it becomes a core product asset.
Exelsiv Insight
For MMC, NCC 2025 signals a clear direction of travel: toward traceable, data-driven compliance and away from flexible interpretation. The firms that invest in that capability now will be better placed for every code cycle that follows.
At Exelsiv, we work with MMC manufacturers and AEC firms to build exactly this kind of capability. If you're thinking through what NCC 2025 means for your MMC pipeline, get in touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
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NCC 2025 is the 2025 edition of Australia's National Construction Code, the national framework governing how buildings are designed, approved, and constructed. It is published by the ABCB and updated periodically.
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The final version publishes on 1 May 2026, but it only becomes legally enforceable in a jurisdiction when that state or territory formally adopts it. NSW, QLD and the ACT have deferred adoption to 1 May 2027, and Tasmania intends to freeze NCC changes altogether.
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Key changes include:
Tightened rules for structural and fire Performance Solutions
Updated combined sprinkler and hydrant system requirements
Mandatory on-site solar PV and improved lighting controls for certain commercial building classes
A new fall-in-substrate requirement for balconies, podiums, and flat roofs
Sprinkler requirements for open-deck carparks
Updated condensation management provisions
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At the Building Ministers' Meeting in October 2025, ministers agreed to pause non-essential residential NCC changes following the finalisation of NCC 2025 until at least mid-2029, aligned with the National Housing Accord's target of 1.2 million new home completions in five years.
The intent is to provide regulatory stability while the housing industry scales delivery.
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MMC manufacturers face a specific timing risk: products are engineered and certified well ahead of site installation, meaning a code change can reach back into product development, factory processes, and third-party certifications simultaneously.
The fragmented state adoption timeline adds further complexity for manufacturers supplying projects nationally.
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Expert Judgement (the use of a recognised expert's professional opinion to demonstrate compliance) is being phased out as a valid assessment method for structural and fire Performance Solutions.
Manufacturers will need to invest in testing, modelling, and documentation infrastructure as a permanent part of product development rather than relying on case-by-case expert opinion.
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Review the NCC 2025 preview volumes relevant to your product classes, map existing certifications against the changes to identify re-assessment needs, engage certifiers at the product design stage, and build jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction adoption tracking into your project pipeline.
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The NCC 2025 preview is available as a free download at ncc.abcb.gov.au. The final version publishes on 1 May 2026.
References
Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB). NCC 2025 Preview Now Available. 1 February 2026. https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/news/2026/ncc-2025-preview-now-available
Commonwealth Treasury. Meeting Communiqué: Building Ministers' Meeting. October 2025. https://treasury.gov.au/media-release/meeting-communique-building-ministers-meeting-october-2025
ACT Government. National Construction Code Adoption to Support Homeowners and Builders. 2 April 2026. https://www.planning.act.gov.au/planning-projects/building-regulatory-system/national-construction-code-ncc
NSW Government. NSW to Adopt New National Construction Code in May 2027. 24 March 2026. https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/nsw-to-adopt-new-national-construction-code-may-2027
Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC). Navigating the NCC — NCC 2025 Adoption in Queensland. Updated March 2026. https://www.qbcc.qld.gov.au/news/navigating-ncc
Premier of Tasmania. Freezing Changes to the Construction Code. 22 October 2025. https://www.premier.tas.gov.au/latest-news/2025/october/freezing-changes-to-the-construction-code
Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB). Policy and Consultation Document: Improving Structural Performance Solutions (PCD 2025). April 2024. https://www.abcb.gov.au/pcd/pcd-2025-improving-structural-performance-solutions
Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB). Policy and Consultation Document: Improving Fire Safety Performance Solutions (PCD 2025). April 2024. https://www.abcb.gov.au/sites/default/files/resources/2024/PCD-2025-Improved-robustness-of-performance-solutions-fire-safety.pdf
