INSIGHT · LICENSING & COMPLIANCE

Residential NCC changes are paused to mid-2029.
The exception is safety and quality.

On 22 October 2025, Commonwealth, state and territory Building Ministers agreed to pause further residential changes to the National Construction Code (NCC) until mid-2029, following the finalisation of NCC 2025. Their communiqué states the exemption "would only apply to serious issues and changes that could not be deferred until the next edition of the code", and that other changes would be held over. NCC 2025, released by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) on 1 May 2026, left out the proposed residential energy efficiency and EV charging changes. The ABCB states the NCC is typically updated on a 3-year cycle.

Aerial view of a two-storey house framed in blue steel among finished homes on a new estate

Analysed 10 November 2026 · Joint media release of the Minister for Housing and the Minister for the Environment and Water, 24 August 2025 · Building Ministers' Meeting communiqué, 22 October 2025 · Joint Ministerial Meeting communiqués, 29 May 2026 and 16 October 2026 · Treasury, Modernising the NCC project scope and NCC Modernisation Project interim report (30 April 2026) · ABCB news items of 4 June 2025, 26 August 2025, 27 October 2025, 5 January 2026, 2 February 2026, 1 May 2026, 27 October 2026 and 29 October 2026 · ABCB Proposal for Change, NCC lifecycle, editions and NCC 2025 adoption pages · all read 10 November 2026.

Key takeaways

  • Announced in August 2025, agreed in October 2025: A joint ministerial media release of 24 August 2025 said the Commonwealth would work with the states and territories to pause further residential changes to the NCC until the end of the National Housing Accord period (mid-2029), following finalisation of NCC 2025. Building Ministers agreed the pause at their meeting on 22 October 2025.
  • The exemption is narrow: The October 2025 communiqué states the exemption applies only to serious issues and changes that could not be deferred until the next edition of the code, and that other changes would be held over. The August 2025 release described the exclusion as essential safety and quality changes.
  • NCC 2025 still changed some residential provisions: The pause runs from the finalisation of NCC 2025. NCC 2025 includes water management and carpark fire safety changes for apartment buildings, and refined condensation provisions in the Housing Provisions Part 10.8, as the ABCB lists them.
  • Normally every 3 years: The ABCB states the NCC is updated every 3 years. Its editions page lists NCC editions adopted each year from 2011 to 2016, then NCC 2019, NCC 2022 (with Amendments 1 and 2 in 2025) and NCC 2025.
  • We would record the edition, the amendment and the corrigendum: A system-design recommendation: each project record names the NCC edition and amendment that applies, the date and rule that fixed it in that state, and the corrigenda read. The ABCB issued corrigenda to NCC 2025 and NCC 2022 Amendment 2 in October 2026, during the pause.

01

From announcement to agreement:
the dated record.

The pause was announced by Commonwealth ministers, agreed by Building Ministers, and restated by Treasury and the ABCB.

The October 2025 communiqué set publication "by 1 February 2026". The ABCB's preview news item is dated 2 February 2026, and the ABCB states NCC 2025 was released on 1 May 2026. The 29 May 2026 joint meeting of housing, planning and building ministers spoke of "supporting a simpler, genuinely national construction code" and did not mention the pause.

DateBodyDecision or statementSource read
4 June 2025ABCB"We will not be following that pattern in 2025": no February preview and May commencement; no decision yet on the content, publication or commencement of the next editionABCB news, UPDATE: Progress on the next edition of the NCC
24 August 2025Minister for Housing and Minister for the Environment and WaterWork with states and territories to pause further residential changes until the end of the National Housing Accord period (mid-2029), following finalisation of NCC 2025; excludes essential safety and quality changes; "The next round of NCC changes will come at the end of the National Housing Accord period (mid-2029)"Joint media release, Action on red tape and approvals to build more homes, more quickly
22 October 2025Building Ministers' MeetingAgreed the pause; exemption only for serious issues and changes that could not be deferred; other changes held over; NCC 2025 content agreed; publish by 1 February 2026; states can consider adoption from 1 May 2026Meeting communiqué, October 2025
5 January 2026ABCB (Treasury consultation)Discussion paper on streamlining and modernising the NCC open for comment until 27 February 2026ABCB news, Modernising the National Construction Code
2 February 2026ABCBNCC 2025 preview released, with a list of proposed changes not includedABCB news, NCC 2025 preview now available
30 April 2026TreasuryInterim report restates the pause "until the end of the National Housing Accord period in mid-2029"NCC Modernisation Project, Interim report
1 May 2026ABCBNCC 2025 released; states and territories can adopt it from 1 May 2026, subject to their own arrangementsABCB news, NCC 2025 released
16 October 2026Joint Ministerial Meeting on Housing Supply and AffordabilityShared statement of reform commitment to modernising the NCC: five reform directions and preliminary work for the ABCB. The communiqué does not mention the pauseMeeting communiqué, October 2026
October 2026ABCBCorrigenda published for NCC 2025 and NCC 2022 Amendment 2, addressing editorial matters (reported in the CEO update of 29 October 2026)ABCB news, October 2026 CEO update

02

What is paused,
and what is not.

The pause applies to residential changes after NCC 2025. The October 2025 communiqué and the ABCB's NCC 2025 pages set out what went into NCC 2025, what was left out and what continues.

  • Paused: further residential changes after NCC 2025: The communiqué records agreement "to pause further residential changes to the NCC". The ABCB's Proposal for Change page states that, as agreed by Building Ministers in October 2025, no further residential changes will be made until mid-2029, following the finalisation of NCC 2025, except changes needed for essential quality and safety purposes.
  • Left out of NCC 2025: residential energy efficiency and EV charging: The ABCB's preview notice states proposed changes to Volume Two Part H6 and Housing Provisions Part 13 will not go ahead, with NCC 2022 Amendment 2 requirements carried into NCC 2025, and that proposed Section J amendments for Class 2 buildings will not proceed. Proposed EV charging readiness provisions and changes to Housing Provisions Part 9.6 (fire separation of roofed outdoor areas) are not included.
  • Kept: 7-star energy efficiency from NCC 2022: The communiqué states the approach maintains the energy efficiency standards adopted in NCC 2022, including 7-star energy efficiency. Voluntary embodied carbon provisions were to be published as an ABCB guidance document instead.
  • In NCC 2025: apartment, commercial and condensation changes: Building Ministers agreed water management and carpark fire safety provisions for commercial and apartment buildings, commercial energy efficiency reforms including mandatory on-site solar photovoltaic systems, and condensation mitigation. The ABCB lists condensation changes in Volume One Part F8 and Housing Provisions Part 10.8.
  • Continuing: corrections and simplification: The ABCB published corrigenda for NCC 2025 and NCC 2022 Amendment 2 in October 2026, and opened a call on 27 October 2026 for examples of provisions that are hard to apply and Performance Solutions that are repeated across similar projects.

03

Agreed by ministers,
given force by each state.

The pause is recorded in a ministers' communiqué and a ministerial media release. In the documents read, no Act or regulation states it, and no day in 2029 is named: the sources say "mid-2029" and "the end of the National Housing Accord period". Treasury's interim report records the decision as reflecting "a shared concern that frequent and cumulative regulatory change has contributed to complexity, uncertainty and rising compliance costs".

An NCC edition applies to building work through each state or territory's building law and its adoption date. The October 2025 communiqué states that adoption of NCC 2025 is a matter for each jurisdiction. On the ABCB's adoption table, read 10 November 2026, Victoria, Western Australia and the ACT list 1 May 2026 (WA and the ACT with 12 month transitions), New South Wales and Queensland list 1 May 2027, Tasmania lists 1 May 2027 after a temporary adoption from 1 May to 4 June 2026 (the October 2025 communiqué notes Tasmania had paused implementation of NCC 2025 measures), South Australia lists its Building Code from 1 May 2027 and its Plumbing Code from 1 May 2026, and the Northern Territory is "Not adopted".

  • Announced is not in force: A pause on future changes does not change the edition that applies to a project today. That is set by the state's adoption of NCC 2022 or NCC 2025 and its transition rule. Our page on NCC 2025 adoption dates by state covers each trigger.
  • Why the NCC binds at all: Our page on whether the NCC is mandatory covers how each state's legislation gives the code legal effect, and the status of the standards it references.

04

How often the NCC is updated,
and what is under review.

The ABCB's lifecycle page states the NCC "is updated every 3 years", and that once a new NCC is adopted the 3-year cycle recommences. Its Proposal for Change page states the NCC "is typically updated on a 3-year cycle" and that anyone can submit a suggested change at any time.

Under review, not decided: Treasury's interim report of 30 April 2026 lists, among immediate actions to consider, that policy reforms happen at ministerial level "typically every five years, with a 12-month implementation period", with technical changes made as needed. The October 2025 communiqué includes considering "the appropriate cadence of future NCC updates" in the agreed scope. Treasury's interim report page, read on 10 November 2026, states the final report will be released later this year.

EditionAdoption as listed by the ABCB
NCC 2011 to NCC 2016One edition a year, each adopted from 1 May (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
NCC 2016 Amendment 1From 12 March 2018
NCC 2019From 1 May 2019 (states and the NT); ACT from 1 June 2019
NCC 2019 Amendment 1From 1 July 2020
NCC 2022From 1 May 2023
NCC 2022 Amendments 1 and 2From 1 May 2025 and from 29 July 2025
NCC 2025Released 1 May 2026; adoption dates set by each state and territory

What we would put in a system

Where agents help is narrow. A compliance agent can watch ABCB notices and ministers' communiqués, flag a new amendment, corrigendum or exception, and draft the change to a project's code record; a person confirms it. No agent decides which edition applies to a project or whether a change falls inside the safety and quality exception.

FieldWhy it is load-bearing
NCC edition and amendment"NCC 2022" can mean the original edition, Amendment 1 (from 1 May 2025) or Amendment 2 (from 29 July 2025). The pause makes the current edition last longer, so the amendment matters for longer.
Date and rule that fixed the editionThe applicable edition depends on the state's adoption date and transition rule, applied to a lodgement or approval date.
Corrigenda readThe ABCB issued corrigenda for NCC 2025 and NCC 2022 Amendment 2 in October 2026. A checklist built before then was built from an uncorrected text.
Guidance relied on, marked as guidanceEmbodied carbon was to be published as ABCB guidance, not code. A specification that cites it records it as voluntary.
Source of any 'paused' or 'excluded' claimIf a client or certifier treats a change as an essential safety or quality exception, the record holds the ministers' or ABCB document that says so, and its date.

Questions worth asking
of your own code records

For a builder: does each job record say which NCC 2022 amendment it was designed to?

NCC 2022 Amendment 1 applied from 1 May 2025 and Amendment 2 from 29 July 2025, on the ABCB's editions page. A job record that says only "NCC 2022" does not show which of the three texts it was designed to, and ministers have paused further residential changes until mid-2029.

For a developer with apartments in the pipeline: which projects fall under NCC 2025's water management and carpark fire safety changes?

Those changes apply to apartment and commercial buildings, and the pause does not remove them. Which projects they reach depends on each state's NCC 2025 adoption date and transition rule.

For a building-product manufacturer: is a product claim tied to a provision that NCC 2025 did not change?

The ABCB states proposed residential energy efficiency changes did not go ahead and NCC 2022 Amendment 2 requirements carry into NCC 2025. A claim written against a proposed provision that was left out has no code clause behind it.

Questions people ask
about the NCC pause

Are NCC changes paused?

Residential changes are. On 22 October 2025 Commonwealth, state and territory Building Ministers agreed to pause further residential changes to the National Construction Code until mid-2029, following the finalisation of NCC 2025. Their communiqué states the exemption applies only to serious issues and changes that could not be deferred until the next edition.

How often is the NCC updated?

The ABCB states the NCC is updated every 3 years. Its editions page lists annual editions from 2011 to 2016, then NCC 2019, NCC 2022 and NCC 2025, with amendments between editions. Treasury's interim report of 30 April 2026 raises a five-year cycle for policy reforms as an action to consider; it is not decided.

What are the NCC changes in 2026?

NCC 2025 was released on 1 May 2026. The ABCB lists water management, carpark fire safety, commercial energy efficiency with mandatory on-site solar photovoltaic systems for Class 3 and Class 5 to 9 buildings, condensation mitigation, optional all-gender facilities and Performance Solution assessment changes. Each state sets its own adoption date.

Is there a new national building code in 2026?

NCC 2025 is the current edition published by the ABCB, released on 1 May 2026. As listed by the ABCB on 10 November 2026, it applies from 1 May 2026 in Victoria, Western Australia and the ACT, from 1 May 2027 in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania (Tasmania after a temporary adoption from 1 May to 4 June 2026), from 1 May 2026 for South Australia's Plumbing Code and 1 May 2027 for its Building Code, and is not adopted in the Northern Territory.

When is the next NCC due?

The 24 August 2025 ministerial release states the next round of NCC changes will come at the end of the National Housing Accord period (mid-2029). No date or edition name for it was found in the ABCB or Treasury documents read on 10 November 2026.

What this analysis
does and does not show.

Evidence note

What it shows
The dated sequence of Commonwealth, Building Ministers', Treasury and ABCB statements on the pause on residential NCC changes, what NCC 2025 included and left out, and the NCC update cycle as the ABCB states it. Read 10 November 2026.
Key facts quoted
Announced 24 August 2025; agreed 22 October 2025; pause until mid-2029 following finalisation of NCC 2025; exemption only for serious issues and changes that could not be deferred; NCC 2025 preview 2 February 2026, released 1 May 2026; NCC updated every 3 years (ABCB).
  • The pause is described from communiqués, a media release and ABCB and Treasury pages. No Act or regulation stating it was found; state legislation was not searched for one.
  • The ABCB adoption table is quoted as listed on 10 November 2026; state transition rules are covered on our NCC 2025 adoption page, not re-read here.
  • Whether a given change counts as an essential safety or quality exception is for Building Ministers and the ABCB; no view is offered.
  • Treasury's five-year cadence is an action to consider in an interim report, not a decision.
  • No forecast of the next edition's date or content.
  • General information about published government statements. Not legal or building certification advice.

What to watch next

Dates published by the ABCB, Treasury and ministers, as read on 10 November 2026.

  • Later in 2026: Treasury's interim report page states the final report of the NCC Modernisation Project will be released later this year.
  • 1 May 2027: NCC 2025 adoption date listed by the ABCB for New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia (Building Code), and the end of the 12 month transitions listed for Western Australia and the ACT.
  • Mid-2029: End of the pause on residential changes, as stated by ministers in August and October 2025.

Bring us one project
and the code edition it was built to.

Send us a project record, a specification or a compliance checklist. We will show you which NCC edition, amendment and corrigendum it should name, and which fields would let you prove that later.

General information about published Commonwealth, Building Ministers' and ABCB statements, as read on 10 November 2026. It is not legal or building certification advice and makes no forecast.

Send us the project record · Compliance

Sources

Suggested citation: Building Ministers' Meeting communiqué, 22 October 2025, and ABCB, NCC 2025 preview now available, 2 February 2026, as read 10 November 2026. No figures on this page are derived.

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