BCA - Bu ildin g Code of Au st r a lia

I n for m a t ion fr om t h e Au st r a lia n Bu ildin g Code s Boa r d ( ABCB)

The Building Code of Aust ralia is produced and m aint ained by t he Aust ralian Building
Codes Board ( ABCB) on behalf of t he Aust ralian Governm ent and St at e and Territ ory
Governm ent s. The BCA has been given t he st at us of building regulat ions by all
St at es and Territ ories.

The goals of t he BCA are t o enable t he achievem ent and m aint enance of accept able
st andards of st ruct ural sufficiency, safet y ( including safet y from fire) , healt h and
am enit y for t he benefit of t he com m unit y now and in t he fut ure.
These goals are applied so t hat t he BCA ext ends no furt her t han is necessary in t he
public int erest , are cost effect ive, easily underst ood, and are not needlessly onerous
in it s applicat ion.

The BCA cont ains t echnical provisions for t he design and const ruct ion of buildings
and ot her st ruct ures, covering such m at t ers as st ruct ure, fire resist ance, access and
egress, services and equipm ent , and cert ain aspect s of healt h and am enit y.

H ie r a r chy of t h e Pe r for m a n ce - Ba se d BCA

The perform ance- based BCA was draft ed following considerat ion of num erous
overseas m odels ( including t he New Zealand, Brit ish, Swedish and Dut ch exam ples)
t o suit t he Aust ralian building regulat ory environm ent . This has m eant t hat t he
perform ance- based BCA subst ant ially includes t he t echnical requirem ent s from t he
previous BCA90, wit h a 'perform ance hierarchy' built around t hem . The hierarchy of
t he BCA is shown below.

The following is an explanat ion of t he t erm s used and how t hey operat e in pract ice.
At Le ve l 1 are t he obj e ct ive s. These represent t he reason t he com m unit y want s a
m at t er regulat ed. They are prim arily expressed in general t erm s, and usually refer t o
t he need t o safeguard people and prot ect adj oining buildings or ot her propert y. An
exam ple of an obj ect ive from t he BCA is: The obj ect ive is t o safeguard t he occupant s
from inj ury or loss of am enit y caused by inadequat e height of a room or space.

At Le ve l 2 are t he fu nct iona l st a t e m e n t s. These set out in general t erm s how a

building could be expect ed t o sat isfy t he obj ect ives ( or com m unit y expect at ions) . An
exam ple of a funct ional st at em ent from t he BCA is: A building is t o be const ruct ed t o
provide height in a room or space suit able for t he int ended use.

At Le ve l 3 are t he pe r for m a n ce r e qu ir e m e nt s. These out line a suit able level of

perform ance which m ust be m et by building m at erials, com ponent s, design fact ors,
and const ruct ion m et hods in order for a building t o m eet t he relevant funct ional
st at em ent s and, in t urn, t he relevant obj ect ives.

The perform ance requirem ent s are t he core of t he BCA and are t he only part s of t he
code wit h which com pliance is m andat ory. An exam ple of a perform ance requirem ent
in t he BCA is: A room or space m ust be of a height t hat does not unduly int erfere
wit h it s int ended funct ion.

Le ve l 4 cont ains bu ildin g solu t ion s t hat set out t he m eans of achieving com pliance
wit h t he perform ance requirem ent s. The BCA provides for t wo m et hods t hat can be
followed t o develop a building solut ion:

At Level 4a are t he de e m e d- t o- sa t isfy pr ovision s. These include exam ples of

m at erials, com ponent s, design fact ors, and const ruct ion m et hods which, if used, will
result in com pliance wit h t he perform ance requirem ent s of t he BCA. An exam ple of a
deem ed- t o- sat isfy provision in t he BCA is: Ceiling height s m ust be not less t han 2.4
m et res in a habit able room .

At Level 4b are t he a lt e r n a t ive solu t ion s. The key t o t he perform ance- based BCA
is t hat t here is no obligat ion t o adopt any part icular m at erial, com ponent , design
fact or or const ruct ion m et hod. An approval aut horit y m ay st ill issue an approval if it
differs in whole or in part from deem ed- t o- sat isfy provisions described in t he BCA if it
can be dem onst rat ed t hat t he design com plies wit h t he relevant perform ance
requirem ent .

There are several m eans by which an approval aut horit y can assess whet her a
building solut ion, com plies wit h t he BCA. These are referred t o as a sse ssm e n t
m e t hods and include t he following:

a. The use of clause A2 .2 of t he BCA. This clause allows t he following evidence ( in

som e cases subj ect t o condit ions) t o be subm it t ed in support of a proposal t hat a
m at erial, form of const ruct ion or design m eet s a perform ance requirem ent or a
deem ed- t o- sat isfy provision:

o a report from a Regist ered Test ing Aut horit y.

 o a current Cert ificat e of Accredit at ion or Cert ificat e of Conform it y.
o a cert ificat e from a professional engineer.
o a current cert ificat e issued by a product cert ificat ion body t hat has
been accredit ed by t he Joint Accredit at ion Syst em of Aust ralia and
New Zealand ( JAS- ANZ) .
o a current Scient ific Services Laborat ory ( SSL) Product List ing Dat a
Sheet .
o any ot her form of docum ent ary evidence t hat adequat ely
dem onst rat es suit abilit y for use.

b. Anot her assessm ent m et hod is referred t o as a verificat ion m et hod. Verificat ion
m et hods include:

o Calculat ions - using analyt ical m et hods or m at hem at ical m odels;

and/ or
o Test s - using a t echnical operat ion eit her on sit e or in a laborat ory t o
direct ly m easure one or m ore perform ance crit eria of a given solut ion.

I n keeping wit h t he flexibilit y provided in t he perform ance- based BCA, designers are
not rest rict ed t o using a list ed ve r ifica t ion m e t h od. Any ot her m et hod m ay be used
if t he approval aut horit y is sat isfied t hat it est ablishes com pliance wit h t he BCA.
However, in m aking a decision, an approval aut horit y m ay have regard t o t he
relevant deem ed- t o- sat isfy provisions or verificat ion m et hods provided for in t he
BCA.

Where physical crit eria are unable t o be t est ed or m odeled by calculat ion, t he opinion
of a t echnical expert m ay be accept ed. This is referred t o as t he use of e x pe r t
j u dgm e n t .

The final assessm ent m et hod is referred t o as com pa r ison t o de e m e d- t o- sa t isfy.

This m et hod perm it s a com parison t o be m ade bet ween t he deem ed- t o- sat isfy
solut ion and t he proposed building solut ion. I f it can be dem onst rat ed t o t he
approval aut horit y t hat t he building solut ion com plies in an equivalent or superior
way t o a deem ed- t o- sat isfy provision, t hen it will be deem ed t o m eet t he relevant
perform ance requirem ent .

Under t his hierarchy an applicant can use any m at erials, com ponent s, design fact ors
or const ruct ion m et hods which com ply wit h t he relevant perform ance requirem ent .
For Aust ralia, t his is a significant m ove away from sole reliance on prescript ive
requirem ent s and is designed t o encourage innovat ion and t he use of new
t echnology.

However, t he BCA st ill cat ers for t hose who prefer specific guidance, or wish t o
cont inue t o use t radit ional building m et hods. The deem ed- t o- sat isfy provisions of t he
BCA cont inue t o provide det ailed prescript ive m et hods for est ablishing com pliance
wit h t he perform ance requirem ent s.
H ow t h e pe r for m a n ce - ba se d syst e m is u se d

The BCA successfully com bines a dual approach. I t provides a st rong degree of
cert aint y, com bined wit h a high degree of flexibilit y, so t hat :

• if com pliance is achieved wit h t he deem ed- t o- sat isfy provisions, a building

•
proposal is deem ed t o have com plied wit h t he BCA; however
if a building proponent want s t o t ake an alt ernat ive approach, t hey have t he
opport unit y t o do so - on t he underst anding t hat t heir proposal m ust achieve
t he perform ance requirem ent s of t he BCA.

The first st ep in using t he perform ance- based syst em is t o choose t he m eans by

which t he building proposal will achieve com pliance wit h t he BCA. This will be by
eit her:

•
•
a deem ed- t o- sat isfy solut ion; or

•
an alt ernat ive solut ion; or
a m ixt ure of deem ed- t o- sat isfy and alt ernat ive solut ions.

I f an alt ernat ive solut ion is chosen, t he building proponent m ust ensure t hat an
assessm ent m et hod is chosen which sat isfact orily indicat es t hat t he alt ernat ive
solut ion will m eet t he perform ance requirem ent s in t he BCA. The nat ure of t he
assessm ent m et hod will vary depending on t he com plexit y of t he alt ernat ive
solut ion.