2022 National Construction Code - NCC Livable Housing Design Standard

2022 National Construction Code - NCC Livable Housing Design Standard

This ABCB Standard provides a set of technical provisions that if complied with will enable dwellings to better meet the needs of the community, including older people and people with mobility limitations.

This ABCB Standard has been adapted from the 'Silver' level requirements of the Livable Housing Design Guidelines (LHDG), fourth edition, 2017, which were first published by Livable Housing Australia.

It is important to note that this ABC Standard is not an exact replication of the LHDG. There are instances where adjustments have been made in order to convert the LHDG - which was drafted as a voluntary guideline - into a document suitable for use as a regulatory standard. There are also instances where adjustments have been made in response to stakeholder feedback provided through one or more of the consultation processes that occurred in the development of this document.

Scope

This ABC Standard is intended as a set of minimum necessary provisions rather than as an exemplar of best practice. This is consistent with the role of the National Construction Code (NCC), which calls up this ABCB Standard.

This ABCB Standard is not intended for use in designing specialist accommodation, nor is it intended to achieve equivalence with AS 1428.1. Therefore, its provisions may not accommodate the needs and abilities of all home occupants. Nonetheless, the features described herein are considered to be of most widespread benefit and use in the majority of circumstances.

Application

In this ABCB Standard, generic references are made to 'dwellings'. The specific application of this ABCB Standard to particular types of dwelling is determined according to the particular regulation or guideline in which the ABC Standard may be referenced.

In general, the provisions of this ABC Standard are designed for application to Class 1a buildings (houses and the like) and Class 2 sole-occupancy units (apartments), as defined in the NCC.

This ABCB Standard is referenced in the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions of Part G7 of NCC Volume One and Part H8 of NCC Volume Two.

This ABCB Standard is not intended to be read in isolation and must only be used in conjunction with the relevant Part of the NCC.

The ABCB will also publish a non-mandatory version of this ABC Standard based on the LHDG 'Gold' level requirements, which can be applied on a voluntary basis to achieve a higher level of livability.

Terms with a specific meaning
In this ABCB Standard, terms shown in italicised text have the meaning that they have in the NCC.