The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is requesting feedback from industry professionals about the possibility of reducing the level of regulation in the National Construction Code (NCC).

The ABCB has released a survey which asks stakeholders to suggest parts of the NCC that they feel may be potentially redundant, unnecessary or overly stringent.

The purpose of the project is to identify potential opportunities to reduce regulatory content and the ABCB says that the results will not affect the NCC objectives in general (i.e. acceptable levels of health, safety, amenity or sustainability).

The ABCB admits that over time, with changing technology, construction/plumbing techniques and community expectations, some of the NCC provisions may have become redundant or unnecessary.

The scope of the review includes both the Performance Requirements and the Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions within the NCC although the Performance Requirements will remain the only legal requirements.

The ABCB says this is because a large number of practitioners still use the Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions so a reduction in these provisions will also contribute to regulation reduction overall.

Once compiled, the results of the survey and other forms of consultation will be met with a cost/benefit analysis of any subject matter as required by the Australian Government Office of Best Practice Regulation.

The news also comes amid recent revelations from the ABCB who announced that from 2015 the NCC will be made available online for free.

Comment below: What part of the NCC (any Volume) do you wish to see reduced, removed or changed?

The survey asks building designers to review the NCC series they most commonly use, e.g. Volume One for commercial building or Volume Two for those who predominantly design residential buildings.

It addresses Sections from each Volume, asking in a yes/no format whether there is “redundant or unnecessary provisions” in that section. There is room for comments under most answers.

It can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RegReductionReview