INSIGHT · MATERIALS & COMPLIANCE

NCC 2025 was released on one day.
Each state set its own start, and SA split the volumes.

19 October 2026

NCC 2025 was published on 1 May 2026, but each state and territory sets its own start date. As listed by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) and read on 19 October 2026: Victoria, Western Australia and the ACT adopted it on 1 May 2026, WA and the ACT with a 12 month transition period; NSW, Queensland and Tasmania list 1 May 2027; South Australia lists its Plumbing Code from 1 May 2026 and its Building Code from 1 May 2027; the Northern Territory has not adopted it.

Architectural floor plans with a folding ruler and a pot of pencils

Analysed 19 October 2026 · ABCB NCC 2025 state and territory adoption page (no page date shown) · SA Ministerial Building Standard MBS 007, Version 8 (Amendment 6), published 23 April 2026 · Queensland Building and Plumbing Newsflashes 637 (19 March 2026) and 638 (1 May 2026) · WA Industry Bulletins 173 (April 2026) and 176 (May 2026) · Tasmanian page last updated 5 June 2026 · NSW page last updated 13 May 2026 · Victorian Building Act 1993, Authorised Version 152, and Building and Plumbing Commission pages · all read 19 October 2026, several through a rendering proxy because the sites block automated access.

Key takeaways

One release date, several adoption dates: The ABCB states NCC 2025 was published on 1 May 2026 and that its page shows "the transition and adoption dates by states and territories". On that page, as read on 19 October 2026, three jurisdictions list 1 May 2026, three list 1 May 2027, South Australia lists two dates and the Northern Territory is "Not adopted".
South Australia separates building from plumbing: Clause 1.5 of MBS 007 Version 8 states that NCC 2025 will be adopted in South Australia on 1 May 2027, with NCC 2022 (and NCC 2019 Amendment 1 in some cases) remaining in force until 30 April 2027. MBS 007 modifies the Building Code. The ABCB lists South Australia's Plumbing Code of Australia (PCA) separately, from 1 May 2026.
Adopted is not the same as mandatory: WA states BCA 2025 can be applied from 1 May 2026 but only becomes mandatory for most building permit applications from 1 May 2027. The ACT states NCC 2025 commenced on 1 May 2026 but will not be mandatory until 1 May 2027, with a further exception for development applications lodged before 1 November 2026.
Queensland delayed, Tasmania reverted, and the NT did not adopt: Tasmania's page states NCC 2025 commenced on 1 May 2026, and that from 5 June 2026 NCC 2022 again applies until 1 May 2027. The Northern Territory states NCC 2025 will not apply in the Territory from 1 May 2026. Queensland states its delay is implemented through Schedule 7 Queensland variations, one for each of the three volumes.
We would store the edition per volume, with the date that fixed it: A system-design recommendation: each project carries, separately for building and for plumbing, the edition and amendment relied on, the state document that set it, and the event date the state's rule keys on.

The adoption table, state by volume

The National Construction Code (NCC) has three volumes. The ABCB defines the Building Code of Australia (BCA) as Volumes One and Two, and the Plumbing Code of Australia (PCA) as Volume Three. The ABCB table gives one row per jurisdiction.

Where a cell says unconfirmed, the state page we read gave one date for the NCC without naming the volume, and the ABCB row for that jurisdiction does not split the volumes either. We have not assumed that the PCA follows the BCA in those jurisdictions. Positions as read on 19 October 2026.

Jurisdiction	BCA (Volumes One and Two)	PCA (Volume Three)	State source read
Victoria	Adopted 1 May 2026 (BPC)	Takes effect from 1 May 2026 (BPC plumbing page)	Building and Plumbing Commission pages
Western Australia	BCA 2025 adopted 1 May 2026; mandatory for most building permit applications from 1 May 2027	Regulations adopt PCA 2025 from 1 May 2026, replacing the 2022 edition	WA e-alert; Industry Bulletins 173 and 176
ACT	Commenced 1 May 2026; generally mandatory for Building Approvals after 1 May 2027, subject to the stated pre-1 November 2026 application exception	Not stated separately on the page read; unconfirmed as at 19 October 2026	ACT Government Planning page
New South Wales	"NSW will adopt NCC 2025 on 1 May 2027"	Not stated separately; the NSW plumbing page lists PCA 2019 and PCA 2022 only; unconfirmed as at 19 October 2026	NSW Government pages, last updated 13 May and 29 September 2026
Queensland	Volumes One and Two: adopt NCC 2025 on 1 May 2027	Volume Three: adopt NCC 2025 on 1 May 2027	Newsflash 638, 1 May 2026
South Australia	1 May 2027; NCC 2022 remains in force until 30 April 2027	1 May 2026 (ABCB listing)	MBS 007 Version 8, clause 1.5; ABCB table
Tasmania	NCC 2022 again applies from 5 June 2026 until 1 May 2027	Not stated separately on the page read; unconfirmed as at 19 October 2026	Building Standards Tasmania page, last updated 5 June 2026
Northern Territory	NCC 2025 will not apply from 1 May 2026; the Territory keeps NCC 2022	Not stated separately; the page speaks of the NCC as a whole; unconfirmed as at 19 October 2026	NT.GOV.AU page

South Australia: two codes,
two dates, two instruments.

South Australia gives building and plumbing different start dates and states them in different places.

For building, Ministerial Building Standard MBS 007 forms part of the Building Rules under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016. Version 8 (Amendment 6), published 23 April 2026, added clause 1.5: "NCC 2025 will be adopted in South Australia on 1 May 2027, with NCC 2022 (and NCC 2019 - Amendment 1 in some cases) remaining in force until 30 April 2027." Version 7, published 18 December 2025, had no clause about NCC 2025; its clause 1.5 dealt with when the Standard's modifications apply.

For plumbing, the ABCB lists South Australia's PCA from 1 May 2026. The Office of the Technical Regulator's advisory note issued August 2026 states that the Plumbing Standard, published under section 66 of the Water Industry Act 2012, requires installations to comply with the PCA "as amended from time to time", and summarises the changes "from the PCA 2022 to the revised PCA 2025".

MBS 007 Version 8 was read from a browser download of the PDF on plan.sa.gov.au, which blocks scripted access; the PlanSA versions listing was read the same way. We could not read PlanSA's Building Code pages, so no South Australian transition rule for NCC 2025 is stated here.

The date that fixes a project's edition differs too

An adoption date says when a code starts. A separate rule says which projects it reaches.

The ACT page adds that "the version of the NCC that the project is complying with must be clearly nominated" and that a project "cannot comply with a mix of regulations from each version". The ACT and WA rules therefore turn on a nominated edition as well as a date.

Jurisdiction	The event the published rule keys on	As stated by
Victoria (building)	Design start: the updates "only apply to projects that have not commenced design work until after 1 May 2026". Building Act 1993 s 10: a new building regulation or amendment does not apply to work under a building permit existing immediately before it commences, or where the relevant building surveyor certifies substantial progress on the design	BPC page; Building Act 1993 s 10(1), (2), Version 152
Victoria (plumbing, lead free)	Plumbing work commencing on or after 1 May 2026, "regardless of when a building permit was issued, or a contract was signed"	BPC page
Western Australia (building)	The building permit application: the Building Code in effect, or the one in effect 12 months before the application is made	WA e-alert
ACT	Building Approval date; and a Development Application or Works Approval Application formally lodged before 1 November 2026 may continue under either edition until it expires	ACT Government Planning page
New South Wales	Lodgement date for Complying Development Certificate applications and most Construction Certificate applications, under the stated NCC 2022 Amendment 2 rule from 29 July 2025; NSW identifies a separate rule for multi-storey buildings with multiple construction certificate applications. No NCC 2025 rule is stated yet	NSW Government page
Tasmania	Exemptions under s 11(5) of the Building Act 2016, including a certificate of likely compliance issued before adoption, or certified substantial progress on design	Building Standards Tasmania page
Queensland, South Australia	No transition rule for NCC 2025 in the documents read; each states commencement dates only	Newsflashes 637 and 638; MBS 007 clause 1.5

Queensland delayed, Tasmania reverted,
and the NT did not adopt.

The Tasmanian page points to the s 11(5) exemptions for transitional cases; we did not read the Building Amendment Act 2026 itself.

Queensland: delayed through the code itself: Newsflash 637 of 19 March 2026 states the Queensland Government "will delay the commencement of the NCC 2025 in Queensland until 1 May 2027, with NCC 2022 remaining in force until then". Newsflash 638 of 1 May 2026 states that NCC 2022, including Amendments 1 and 2, "will remain in effect for building and plumbing work", and that the delay is implemented through Schedule 7 Queensland variations: one each to Volumes One, Two and Three to adopt NCC 2025 on 1 May 2027.
Tasmania: adopted from 1 May to 4 June 2026, then reverted: Tasmania's page states NCC 2025 commenced on 1 May 2026, that the Building Amendment Act 2026 took effect on 5 June 2026, and that NCC 2022 is reinstated until 1 May 2027, "after which time NCC 2025 will be adopted". The ABCB lists the temporary adoption as 1 May to 4 June 2026.
Northern Territory: not adopted: The NT page states the Minister declared under the Building Act 1993 (NT), through Government Gazette S31 on 29 April 2026, that NCC 2025 will not apply in the Territory from 1 May 2026, and that "the Territory keeps NCC 2022 and existing variations". It gives no later adoption date.

"NCC 2022" is not one document either.

A record that stores "NCC 2022" against a project leaves open which amendment it means, and the jurisdictions word it differently.

NSW states the current edition is NCC 2022 Amendment 2, which came into effect on 29 July 2025. Queensland's newsflash defines NCC 2022 as including Amendment 1 and Amendment 2. WA names "BCA 2022 with Amendments 1 and 2". South Australia's MBS 007 states that references to NCC 2022 mean NCC 2022 as amended, records Amendment 1 from 1 May 2025 and Amendment 2 from 29 July 2025, and keeps NCC 2019 Amendment 1 in some cases until 30 April 2027.

Variations sit in a further document. Victoria's appendix was amended to cut its variations and additional clauses "from 115 to 60 across the three volumes". WA moved its plumbing variations into PCA 2025 Schedule 11 and deleted regulation 49. Queensland keeps all its NCC 2022 Schedule 7 variations for NCC 2025, and its Development Code and Plumbing and Wastewater Code continue to vary whichever edition is in effect.

What we would put in a system

Where agents help here is narrow. A compliance agent can read a permit, an approval or a plumbing compliance certificate, extract the dates and the edition named, and draft the project's code record against the state's published rule, and a person confirms it. No agent decides which edition applies to a project or whether a design complies. Those are determinations for the building surveyor or certifier, the plumbing regulator and your advisers.

Field	Why it is load-bearing
Jurisdiction and volume	South Australia lists different dates for the BCA and the PCA, and several state pages give one date without naming the volume.
Edition and amendment relied on	"NCC 2022" means NCC 2022 as amended in South Australia, includes Amendments 1 and 2 in Queensland, and is NCC 2022 Amendment 2 in NSW.
The event date the state's rule keys on, with the rule's source	Victoria uses design start for building and plumbing commencement for lead-free products; WA the permit application; the ACT the Building Approval and the development application lodgement.
Nominated edition, where a choice exists	The ACT requires the version to be clearly nominated and bars a mix; WA allows the code in effect or the one 12 months earlier.
State variation document and its version	MBS 007 is on Version 8; Victoria's appendix and Queensland's Schedule 7 changed for NCC 2025; WA's PCA variations moved into Schedule 11.

Questions worth asking
of your own project records

For a builder working in South Australia: does each job record the building code edition and the plumbing code edition as separate fields?

The ABCB lists South Australia's PCA from 1 May 2026 and MBS 007 clause 1.5 lists NCC 2025 for building from 1 May 2027, so between those dates the two codes carry different editions. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not legal advice.

For a plumbing or hydraulic subcontractor in Victoria: does the job file show the date plumbing work commenced, not only the permit date?

The BPC states the lead-free requirement applies to plumbing work commencing on or after 1 May 2026, regardless of when a building permit was issued or a contract was signed. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not legal advice.

For a developer in the ACT: which projects had a Development Application or Works Approval Application formally lodged before 1 November 2026?

The ACT page states those projects may continue to seek Building Approval under either NCC 2022 or NCC 2025 until the application expires. The lodgement date is the field that answers it. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not legal advice.

For a building-product manufacturer supplying WA and the ACT: does an order record which edition the customer's project nominated?

Both allow a choice of edition until 1 May 2027 for most applications, and in the ACT a Development Application or Works Approval Application formally lodged before 1 November 2026 may continue under either edition until it expires, so two projects in the same month can rely on different editions. General information as read on 19 October 2026, not legal advice.

Questions people ask
about NCC 2025 adoption

When does NCC 2025 start in each state?

The ABCB states NCC 2025 was published on 1 May 2026. Its adoption table, as read on 19 October 2026, lists 1 May 2026 for Victoria, WA and the ACT (WA and the ACT with a 12 month transition period), 1 May 2027 for NSW, Queensland and Tasmania, BCA 1 May 2027 and PCA 1 May 2026 for South Australia, and "Not adopted" for the Northern Territory. General information, not legal advice.

Is NCC 2025 in force in South Australia?

For building work, Ministerial Building Standard MBS 007 Version 8, published 23 April 2026, states NCC 2025 will be adopted in South Australia on 1 May 2027, with NCC 2022 (and NCC 2019 Amendment 1 in some cases) remaining in force until 30 April 2027. For plumbing, the ABCB lists the PCA from 1 May 2026. As read on 19 October 2026; general information, not legal advice.

When will NSW adopt NCC 2025?

The NSW Government page, last updated 13 May 2026, states "NSW will adopt NCC 2025 on 1 May 2027" and that the current edition is NCC 2022 Amendment 2, in effect from 29 July 2025. The page does not give a separate date for the Plumbing Code. As read on 19 October 2026; general information, not legal advice.

Did Victoria adopt NCC 2025 on 1 May 2026?

Yes, as the Building and Plumbing Commission states it: Victoria adopted NCC 2025 on 1 May 2026, including PCA 2025. The BPC describes design-start arrangements for building projects separately. For lead-free plumbing products, it states that relevant plumbing work commencing on or after 1 May 2026 is subject to the new requirement. As read on 19 October 2026; general information, not legal advice.

Is there a transition period for NCC 2025 in Western Australia?

For building, WA states most building permit applications can apply BCA 2025 or the Building Code in effect 12 months before the application, so BCA 2022 with Amendments 1 and 2 can be applied until 30 April 2027. Industry Bulletin 173 states the plumbing regulations adopt PCA 2025 from 1 May 2026 and does not describe a transition period. As read on 19 October 2026; general information, not legal advice.

What this analysis
does and does not show.

Evidence note

What it shows: The NCC 2025 adoption date for each Australian state and territory as the ABCB lists it, and, where the state document read states it, the date separately for the Building Code and the Plumbing Code, the date a choice period ends, and the event the state's transition rule keys on. As read on 19 October 2026.
Key facts quoted: ABCB adoption table, verbatim; MBS 007 Version 8 clause 1.5; Queensland Newsflashes 637 and 638; WA e-alert and Industry Bulletins 173 and 176; the ACT transition arrangements; Tasmania's 5 June 2026 reversion; the NT's declaration of 29 April 2026 as the NT page reports it; NSW's 1 May 2027 statement; BPC statements on design start and lead-free plumbing; Building Act 1993 (Vic) s 10.

The ABCB adoption page shows no page date. The NSW, ACT, NT, Tasmanian, Queensland and Building and Plumbing Commission pages were read through a rendering proxy on 19 October 2026 because the sites block automated access; texts are saved with the article.
MBS 007 Version 8 and the PlanSA versions listing were read from a browser download because plan.sa.gov.au blocks scripted access. PlanSA's Building Code pages could not be read, so no South Australian NCC 2025 transition rule is stated.
The Plumbing Code position for NSW, the ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory is not stated separately on the state pages read and is shown as unconfirmed as at 19 October 2026. We did not read NT Gazette S31 itself (blocked), Tasmania's Building Amendment Act 2026, or the adopting legislation in each state, other than Victoria's s 10.
Victoria's building transition is stated as the BPC describes it and as s 10 words the general rule for new building regulations; we do not state how s 10 applies to a particular project.
Nothing here is legal advice, and it does not determine which code edition applies to any project or whether any design complies.

What to watch next

1 November 2026: ACT lodgement date: The ACT page states a Development Application or Works Approval Application formally lodged before 1 November 2026 may continue under either NCC 2022 or NCC 2025 until it expires.
30 April 2027: last day of NCC 2022 in South Australia and of BCA 2022 in WA: MBS 007 clause 1.5 states NCC 2022 remains in force in South Australia until 30 April 2027; WA states BCA 2022 with Amendments 1 and 2 can be applied until that date.
1 May 2027: the second group of adoption dates: The ABCB lists NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia's BCA from 1 May 2027; the ACT and WA state NCC 2025 becomes mandatory for most approvals or permit applications from the same day.
Victoria's one year note: Victoria's amended variations table carries a limitation on Performance Solutions for B1P1(2) and H1P1(2), with the note that it "does not take effect until 1 year after adoption of NCC 2025".

Bring us one project's approval and plumbing certificate.

Send us a building permit or approval and a plumbing compliance certificate from one project. We will show you which edition each document names, which state document lists the date for that volume, and whether your records hold the event date the state's rule keys on.

This article is general information about published National Construction Code adoption arrangements. It is not legal advice and it does not determine which code edition applies to any project or whether any design or installation complies.

Send us the documents · Compliance

Sources

Suggested citation: ABCB NCC 2025 state and territory adoption information, with MBS 007 Version 8 (SA), Queensland Newsflashes 637 and 638, WA Industry Bulletins 173 and 176, and the NSW, Victorian, ACT, Tasmanian and NT pages listed, as read 19 October 2026. Derived figures: none.

NCC 2025 was released on one day. Each state set its own start, and SA split the volumes.