Here are 5 things you’ll want to know about Commercial building Section J compliance using NCC 2022.
Please note: This article has been updated for 2024.
Section J NCC 2022
The NCC Section J 2022 Volume 1 is specifically related to commercial buildings. The NCC Section J 2022 Volume 1, also known as the Building Code of Australia Section J, gives the NCC performance requirements and practice requirements of commercial buildings. Section J of the NCC focuses on various aspects of building energy efficiency for commercial buildings and sustainable practices in commercial buildings and commercial building projects. The updated guidelines in the NCC 2022 Volume 1 are aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions of commercial buildings. The code achieves this by applying requirements for elements like insulation, renewable energy integration, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The changes in the Building Code of Australia Section J NCC 2022 reflect the broader move over the last couple of decades towards more sustainable and energy-efficient building practices in Australia.
The key changes to building performance requirements NCC 2022 introduced
The Australian National Construction Code NCC 2022, Building code of Australia Section J made the following key changes for commercial buildings’ performance and feature requirements:
1. Slab-on-Ground insulation is gone thanks to Section J of NCC 2022
The old NCC 2016 requirement for insulation underneath a ground slab, in most cases, has been removed for Deemed to Satisfy (DTS) Section J assessments in the NCC 2022.
This has been good news for many for whom this had been an impediment to using the simpler, cheaper and faster DTS method for achieving Section J compliance for their projects – even for complex builds.
Note that for some buildings in Climate Zone 7 and all buildings in Climate Zone 8 (i.e. cold climates), insulation under a slab-on-ground is still required.
2. Future Proofing buildings for Solar, Batteries and Car Charging
The biggest new element of Section J commercial requirements that we saw in the NCC 2022 adopted volume is that buildings must now include an allowance for car charging (electric vehicle charging infrastructure), solar panels and battery systems (new Performance Requirement J1P4).
The requirement is only for the supporting electrical infrastructure, not for the renewable energy installations themselves. New building designs for most building classes must include these features moving forward (as of 1 October 2023), under Section J NCC 2022:
- Carparks with 10 or more spaces per storey must have dedicated electrical distribution boards for car charging.
- The main electrical switchboard for the building must have circuit breakers/DINs to allow for future installation of a solar panel system and a battery system.
- For buildings with roof area larger than 55 m², at least 20% of the roof area must be left clear for (optional) solar panels. There are exceptions for roof terraces, car parks etc.
3. Requirement for Class 2 SOU’s and Class 4 buildings had a major makeover
Class 2 Single-Occupancy-Units and Class 4 are the ‘residential’ building classes assessed under the commercial legislation.
In keeping with the major revision to Residential Energy Efficiency requirements (Volume 2 of the National Construction Code 2022), there are a large number of new and changed requirements for these 2 building classes in the Commercial legislation.
Under Section J NCC 2022, there are now two new Performance Requirements (J1P2 and J1P3) for these buildings for thermal performance and energy use, respectively.
The most significant change for Class 2 assessment that came into play with the NCC 2022 energy efficiency changes is that there is now a DTS pathway for energy efficiency compliance.
Previously, every unit needed its own NatHERS Assessment, with the building also needing to achieve a minimum average rating across all units. Depending on the project, DTS may be a more straightforward compliance pathway for Class 2 buildings.
If you’re working on a design on one of these buildings contact us early in the process to discuss the effect of NCC 2022 energy efficiency changes.
4. New NABERS ratings performance requirements for NCC 2022
Some class 2, 3 and 6 buildings now have specific (lower) NABERS star requirements, giving projects more flexibility for using this method of verification for those projects. We’ve seen this on many projects already since the 2022 NCC Section J updates came into effect.
5. NCC 2022 implementation timetable
Here’s a summary of the timeline of implementation, which only saw the most recent of the adoption requirements for energy efficiency performance requirements become mandatory from 1 October 2023.
Please note, however, that this information is a general guide only; as each state and territory in Australia had their own transitional provisions and exceptions for each building class. The implementation timeline varied across Australia, especially for the energy efficiency provisions.
The overall timeline as it relates to commercial buildings in Australia was:
1 October 2022 – NCC 2022 available for use.
1 May 2023 – mandatory adoption of NCC 2022, excluding the new energy efficiency requirements.
1 October 2023 – mandatory adoption for new energy efficiency requirements (i.e. charging, solar panel and battery provisions)
Most Australian states and territories adopted the NCC 2022 provisions, at least in part, from 1 May 2022, however some provisions are yet to be adopted for some states and territories, as of early 2024, with these timelines scheduled across 2024.
Got more questions about Section J compliance for your Commercial building project? Contact us today to see how we can help.