He wears strange pants, he may be a building inspector part 1
Working in an industry regulated by Building Regulations, the National Construction Code, Australian Standards and at times Building Inspectors. There is confusion as to what is the legal requirement and what do I have to comply with. So the question is “When does an Australian Standard become a legal requirement?”
To get this in 300 words, I will keep it very simple, but foolproof.
- Each State and Territory in Australia operates with their own Building Act or equivalent legal instrument. Building is regulated at a State Government level.
- The Building Act will make reference to the Building regulations (State based again). This document talks about the administrative requirements for building projects
- The Building Regulations will make reference to the National Construction Code, which defines the methodology for the minimum requirements for building compliance.
- The National Construction Code makes reference to several Australian Standards to provide a more detailed and prescriptive method.
- So an Australian Standard only becomes legally enforceable when it is referred in the National Construction Code. If it’s not referred in the National Construction Code, then it’s just an Australian Standard.
WARNING the above video could bore you to death…
Watch out for 3rd party referencing for an Australian Standard. For example, a Fire Engineer might design an alternative solution as allowed in the National Construction Code, and in his alternative solution, he might refer to a non-referenced standard, so it becomes a compliance requirement as it is called up by a 3rd party.
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Other legislation might refer to an Australian Standard, so it’s always a good idea to understand what legislative framework you are working in. For example, you might need to comply with two different sets of regulations.
One last thought is when there are conflicts between Building Regulations, National Construction Codes, Australian Standards and Building Inspectors, which one do you follow…..The answer is the highest-ranking document will prevail. I.e. The regulations will trump the National Construction Code and the National Construction Code will trump the Australian Standards.