As part of the ABCB’s commitment to delivering an NCC that is user-friendly, modern and accessible to practitioners of all experience levels, NCC 2022 comes with some important changes.

To support practitioners through these changes, the ABCB has developed a range of resources that explain how and why the NCC is changing, and what it means in practice. Keep an eye out for more detailed materials on each topic, as they’re released in the lead up to the Public Comment Draft (PCD) in May 2021.

Why?

As part of the ABCB’s improved useability project, the next round of enhancements to the code are coming in NCC 2022. The code has evolved over decades, and in moving from what was historically a print-only publication, to what will become an innovative and agile digital product, changes to its structure and format are needed. In embracing calls from the building and plumbing industries for digitisation, the changes have been designed with practitioners in mind and form part of the Board’s overall long-term strategy to improve usability of the code. The ABCB has outlined its plans for the future of the NCC in our Roadmap to better building and plumbing outcomes.

These changes are essentially to ensure the NCC has a consistent and predictable structure and format within volumes, and across all volumes, without changing the intent of the code in any way.

These improvements will mean the NCC:

  • Is more easily digested and understood by users, encouraging greater adoption across industry.
  • Is machine-readable which means it can be converted into a range of digital formats, allowing features such as personalised filtering of content.
  • Encourages digital innovation, such as integration with commonly used industry software and systems.
  • Facilitates contemporary education and training opportunities, incentivising new entrants to the building and plumbing industries.

What’s changing in NCC 2022?

Starting with PCD, here’s a snapshot of what you can expect:

  • NCC 2022 has a new Information Architecture, which allows for a consistent volume structure across the entire code.
  • Improved clause referencing system, Section-Part-Type-Clause (SPTC) has been developed to create a consistent referencing (numbering) system across all volumes, while retaining key aspects of the current system where possible.
  • Improved clause structure – A simple reorganising of the code’s content will mean a consistent clause structure across all volumes, and within volumes, greatly improving the user experience.
  • Improved web content accessibility – Improvements have been made to the visual display of content within the code, making it easier to read and reference, as well as allowing for greater understanding of its intent.

What we’ll end up with is a well-organised, logical and easily digestible code that is better placed to support all NCC users.

So while your NCC may look a bit different at first, the features and benefits will go a long way in supporting you in your industry and professional development, now and into the future. The ABCB has plans in place to transition practitioners over to the new structure as smoothly as possible, such as providing both (old and new) clause referencing systems in NCC 2022 for ease of reference.

What’s next?

We’ll be releasing a whole range of supporting resources over the coming months, to provide as much understanding and support as possible. Check out our other Connect articles on the changes, and keep an eye out for more in-depth resources on each of the key changes to NCC 2022. But if you have a question or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us in the meantime.

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