Across every service · NCC editions and transition
Which NCC edition applies to my project?
In Western Australia, that depends on when the building permit application was made. NCC 2025 took effect in WA on 1 May 2026, and during the transition most permit applications may be assessed against either NCC 2025 or NCC 2022 Amendment 2. Amendment 2 is the operative form of the 2022 edition — it commenced 29 July 2025 and superseded the earlier 2022 versions, so "NCC 2022" on its own is no longer precise enough to write on a permit. NCC 2025 becomes mandatory for applications from 1 May 2027.
This is why we ask what your project documents require rather than assuming an edition. On a building currently under construction, the edition that applies is the one the permit was assessed against — not the newest one published.
How the NCC actually applies in Western Australia
The NCC is not law by itself. It becomes law in each state through that state's own legislation, and in Western Australia the chain is short:
The Building Act 2011 is the Act. Under it sit the Building Regulations 2012, and regulation 3A of those regulations defines the "Building Code" as the Building Code of Australia, being Volumes One and Two of the National Construction Code. Part 4, Division 1 of the same regulations is what sets out which edition applies as the applicable building standards for a given building or application.
So when somebody on a WA project says "the NCC requires it", the thing actually requiring it is the Building Regulations 2012 calling up a particular edition of the Code. That matters, because the regulations are also where the answer sits for a building that is already standing.
The part people miss: an existing building has its own edition
For a building already in use, the question is not which edition is current. It is which edition that building was approved against.
Regulation 48A of the Building Regulations 2012 places a standing duty on the owner of an existing Class 2 to Class 9 building. It requires the owner to ensure that the "safety measures" in each part of the building remain capable of performing to the standard set out in the relevant building standards for that part. Two things in that sentence do a lot of work:
"Safety measures" includes building fire integrity. That is the term the regulation uses, and it is passive fire protection named in Western Australian law — compartmentation, fire-resisting construction, protection of openings. It sits in the same defined list as means of egress, fire fighting services and automatic fire detection. Failing to meet the duty carries a penalty of a fine of $5,000.
"Relevant building standards" is not the current edition. The regulation defines it as the edition of the Building Code identified in the certificate of design compliance for the most recent building permit for that part of the building. Where there is no permit history, it is the edition that applied when the most recent building licence was issued under the older legislation, or failing that the requirements that applied at the time the part was built.
The practical effect is counter-intuitive and worth saying plainly: a 1998 building is measured against what applied in 1998, not against NCC 2025. "It does not comply with the current NCC" is usually the wrong finding about an existing building. The right question is whether the fire-resisting construction still performs to the standard the building was approved against — and answering that starts with the building's own approval history, not with the newest code on the shelf.
It also cuts the other way. Where a part of a building has been altered under a later permit, that part carries the later edition. A building can legitimately hold several editions across its parts, and a defect register that assumes one edition across the whole asset will be wrong somewhere.
What this means for an inspection
It is why the first thing we ask for on an existing building is not access — it is the building's approval history. Without knowing which edition a part was approved against, an inspection can record what is there and what condition it is in, but it cannot reach a compliance conclusion, because the standard to compare it against has not been established.
Where that history does not exist or cannot be found, that is a finding in itself and we report it as one, rather than quietly substituting the current edition and producing a defect list against a standard the building was never required to meet.
What changes the answer
- when the permit application was made
- which edition the application was assessed against
- whether the work is new construction, an alteration or rectification of existing work
- state or territory, because adoption dates differ
- any project-specific requirement in the contract or fire engineering report that sets a higher standard.
What to check on site
- the building permit and its date
- the fire engineering report or performance solution
- the project specification
- what the certifier has confirmed the project is being assessed against.
What to do next
Send us the project documents. We will work to what they require. If the documents are silent or contradictory, that is worth resolving before the work is installed rather than at handover.
General information only. A conclusion about a specific condition requires the actual construction, the evidence behind it and the site condition to be reviewed.