2019 Changes to the BCA

One of the most important things to keep in mind when undertaking a project, are the acts, guidelines and governing bodies concerning the materials and practices used when building. These are all things that you should stay on top and keep an eye for any updates and changes, as they may have a significant impact on your ability to complete or gain the necessary certifications for a job. 

With the new year comes a number of changes to the BCA, and we know that it can sometimes be difficult to find the information to asses, let alone find the time in your schedule to familiarise yourself with everything new. That's why we'd like to take this opportunity to briefly outline some of the larger changes for 2019.

The vast majority of changes contained within the latest edition of the BCA are in relation to quantification. According to the Australian Building Codes Board "...an estimated 40% of the codes Performance Requirements will be quantified by either directly or by a NCC Verification Method (VM)."

In conjunction with this there have been changes made to the overall readability of the BCA. Most of these changes revolve around the way that the 3 volumes are governed, formatted and structured of the NCC Online. The idea of these changes are to make the BCA easier to understand, as well as increasing it's accessibility. 

There are changes relating to new mandatory Fire Safety Verification Methods, as well as a requirement for Fire Sprinklers to be installed in class 2 & 3 buildings and changes concerning the concession for the use of bonded laminate materials.

There are many more changes to expect in the new edition of the BCA, as well as more information about the ones we have briefly mentioned here. If your interested in seeing and learning more of what to expect, we recommend reading this article from the Australian Building Codes Board website.

We hope that you found this reminder hepful and should you require any engineering services in order to help you complete your new projects this year, don't hesitate to get in touch with us now.