NCC 2022 vs NCC 2025: what changes and when (Australian state-by-state guide)

NCC 2025 was published by the Australian Building Codes Board on 1 May 2026, replacing NCC 2022 as the current edition of the National Construction Code. However, adoption is decided by each state and territory under its own building legislation, and adoption has fragmented across Australia. Victoria, the ACT, and Western Australia adopted NCC 2025 from 1 May 2026 with various transition arrangements. New South Wales and Queensland deferred adoption to 1 May 2027. South Australia adopted only the Plumbing Code (Volume Three) from 1 May 2026, with the Building Code deferred to 1 May 2027. Tasmania paused NCC 2025 adoption through proposed state legislation. The Northern Territory initially confirmed adoption then reversed the decision NCC 2022 continues to apply there.

What changed: NCC 2025 in summary

NCC 2025 introduced changes in five priority areas agreed by Building Ministers: water management for commercial and apartment buildings, carpark fire safety for commercial and apartment buildings, commercial energy efficiency including mandatory on-site solar photovoltaic systems, condensation mitigation, and an optional pathway for all-gender sanitary facilities in commercial buildings.

NCC 2025 also strengthened the requirements for Performance Solutions addressing structural reliability and combustibility, through amendments to A2G2, B1P1 and H1P1.

Significantly, NCC 2025 did not introduce further residential energy efficiency changes. Building Ministers agreed to maintain the 7-star residential energy efficiency standard introduced in NCC 2022, and to pause further residential changes (other than essential safety and quality fixes) until around 2029. Proposed EV charging readiness provisions in Volume Two and the Housing Provisions, and proposed amendments to fire separation of roofed outdoor areas, did not proceed.

Voluntary embodied carbon provisions, which had been proposed for NCC 2025, are being published as a separate ABCB guidance document rather than incorporated into the Code.

How adoption actually works in Australia

The ABCB publishes the NCC. Each state and territory adopts it through its own building act and regulations. The Building Ministers’ Meeting sets a national adoption date, but jurisdictions then issue their own commencement orders, which can vary in timing and may apply state-specific variations.

This is why a project being designed for delivery in two states can sit under different editions of the Code at the same time during the transition window. Practitioners working across multiple states need to confirm the operative edition in each jurisdiction at the point of certification.

State and territory adoption status

The following summary reflects publicly announced positions at the time of writing. Adoption arrangements are evolving, and practitioners should verify current status with the relevant state or territory authority and with the ABCB before relying on these dates.

Victoria

Victoria adopted NCC 2025 from 1 May 2026, aligned with the national release date. Under the Victorian Building Act and Regulations, transition arrangements allow applicants to continue using the previous edition where they can show their building certifier that design work was substantially commenced before the changeover.

Victoria has also mandated lead-free plumbing products from 1 May 2026, with no extension to the national transition period. Plumbing installations commencing on or after 1 May 2026 must use lead-free products regardless of when the permit was issued.

New South Wales

New South Wales deferred adoption of NCC 2025 to 1 May 2027, providing the industry with a 12-month transition period. NCC 2022 continues to apply to all building work in NSW until 30 April 2027.

NSW has indicated it will apply state-specific variations to NCC 2025 including a flexibility provision that allows apartment building owners undertaking remedial works to use the waterproofing requirements from either the current edition of the NCC or NCC 2025, and an exemption that excludes the new commercial energy efficiency standards from the common areas of apartment buildings.

Queensland

Queensland deferred adoption of NCC 2025 to 1 May 2027. NCC 2022 continues to apply until then. Voluntary early adoption is available from 1 May 2026.

Queensland has indicated it will retain a substantial set of state-based variations in Schedule 7 of the adopted Code, including provisions for the continued use of gas in new commercial buildings.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT adopted NCC 2025 from 1 May 2026 with a six-month transition period to 1 November 2026. During the transition, building approvals can be issued under either NCC 2022 or NCC 2025. From 1 November 2026, NCC 2025 applies.

South Australia

South Australia adopted only Volume Three (the Plumbing Code of Australia) from 1 May 2026. The Building Code components of NCC 2025 Volumes One and Two were deferred to 1 May 2027.

NCC 2022 Amendment 2 continues as the applicable Building Code standard in South Australia until 30 April 2027. Existing concessions for small allotments under the Ministerial Building Standard MBS-007 continue until at least 1 May 2027.

Western Australia

Western Australia’s building regulations recognise the edition of the Building Code that was in effect 12 months before the time the application for a building permit was made. This effectively builds a 12-month lag into WA’s NCC adoption by design.

Different industry sources have reported WA’s NCC 2025 adoption status differently. Practitioners working on WA projects should confirm with their certifier which edition applies to the specific permit application timeline of their project.

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory Government initially confirmed adoption of NCC 2025 from 1 May 2026 and then reversed that decision. Industry sources have confirmed that NCC 2025 will not apply in the Northern Territory and that NCC 2022 continues to apply. No future adoption date for NCC 2025 has been set.

Practitioners working on NT projects should confirm the operative edition with the relevant NT authority and consult the NT Government fact sheet for jurisdiction-specific variations.

Tasmania

Tasmania’s position is unresolved at the time of writing. The Tasmanian Government introduced the Building Amendment Bill 2026 to pause commencement of NCC 2025 and freeze NCC adoptions in the state for five years. The Bill passed the Tasmanian House of Assembly but had not cleared the Legislative Council before 1 May 2026.

Tasmanian practitioners should consult the Tasmanian Department responsible for building regulation, and verify the current operative edition before relying on any specific position.

What this means for projects in design now

A project being designed now sits under the edition of the NCC that will be operative in the relevant jurisdiction at the time of certification. For a project being designed for delivery in 2026 or early 2027 in a deferred jurisdiction (NSW, Queensland, parts of SA), NCC 2022 continues to apply. For a project being designed for delivery in Victoria, the ACT, or WA, NCC 2025 may apply depending on permit timing.

The fragmented adoption picture means designers and builders operating across state boundaries need to maintain separate specification documentation for each jurisdiction. A standard construction specification that references NCC 2022 provisions cannot be applied directly to a Victorian or ACT project that has crossed into NCC 2025.

Practitioners should confirm the operative Code edition with their certifier before lodging any new approval, particularly where the project timeline may straddle an adoption date.

Common misconceptions

NCC 2025 is not a national mandatory standard. It is operative only in jurisdictions that have adopted it, and adoption is fragmented.

NCC 2022 is not outdated nationally. It remains the operative Code in NSW, Queensland, the Northern Territory, parts of South Australia, and arguably Tasmania depending on the legislative position.

Submitting a building permit application before a state’s adoption date does not automatically lock in NCC 2022. In most jurisdictions, the edition that applies depends on when the approval is granted, not when the application is submitted. Verify with your certifier.

A project cannot mix provisions from NCC 2022 and NCC 2025. The applicable edition must be nominated and applied consistently across the project.

Quick reference

NCC 2025 was published on 1 May 2026. Adoption is jurisdiction-specific. Victoria, the ACT, and Western Australia adopted from 1 May 2026 with varying transition arrangements. NSW, Queensland, and the Building Code in South Australia deferred to 1 May 2027. The Northern Territory continues under NCC 2022. Tasmania’s position is unresolved. The authoritative source for current adoption status is the ABCB.

About CPD On Demand

CPD On Demand produces accredited courses on NCC compliance for the Australian building and construction industry. Courses are categorised by regulatory currency, allowing professionals to access content aligned with either NCC 2022 or NCC 2025 depending on their jurisdiction. NCC 2025-specific content covers the new commercial energy efficiency provisions, condensation management updates, water management provisions, and the strengthened requirements for structural and fire safety Performance Solutions.