NCC 2025 changes what commercial and mixed-use builders need to price, build and document. The main changes cover water management, fire safety in carparks, on-site solar for some new commercial buildings, and energy efficiency. For home builders there's a pause on new residential changes, which gives some welcome breathing room. For everyone else, the cost impact lands in three places: your estimates, your compliance paperwork and your job costs.
This post is a plain-English overview for builders and their finance teams. It isn't technical or legal advice. Always check the details for your building class with the ABCB and your state or territory regulator, and talk to your certifier.
What's changing in NCC 2025
The National Construction Code is updated by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB). NCC 2025 was released for preview in early 2026, and each state and territory decides when it takes effect. Check your own state's adoption date, because it affects which projects fall under the new rules.
The changes most likely to affect commercial builders are:
- Water management. Updated requirements for waterproofing and stormwater management in commercial buildings.
- Fire safety in carparks. Stronger requirements that reflect updated risk assessments.
- On-site solar. Requirements for solar PV systems on some new commercial buildings, depending on the building's size and type.
- Energy efficiency. Updated requirements across commercial building classes.
The exact requirements depend on the building class, so read the parts of the code that apply to the work you do.
What it means for your bottom line
Code changes rarely hurt builders because they're hard to build. They hurt when they aren't priced in, or when nobody tracks the extra cost.
- Estimates. New materials, extra trades (like solar installers) and different specifications all need to be in your estimating templates. A template that still reflects the old code will under-price work.
- Projects in the pipeline. Jobs designed before adoption but built after it may need design changes. Check which code a project falls under before you lock in a price.
- Compliance paperwork. More documentation and inspections mean more admin time on every job. That time costs money even if nobody bills for it.
- Supplier pricing. Material and system changes can bring new suppliers and new prices. Get quotes early rather than estimating from old rates.
- Variations. If a client changes scope to meet the new code, it needs to be recorded and priced as a variation, not absorbed.
How to prepare
Read the changes for the building classes you work in
You don't need to read the whole code. Focus on the parts that apply to your projects and note what's different.
Update your estimating templates
Add line items for new requirements, such as solar PV, updated waterproofing or carpark fire safety, so they're priced on every relevant tender.
Talk to your suppliers and subcontractors
Ask what's changing in their products and prices, and whether lead times will be affected.
Make sure your systems can track compliance work
Your project and job costing systems should show the extra inspections, documents and costs on each job. If they're tracked in a separate spreadsheet, they're easy to miss when you review job margins. See construction job costing.
Watch the first few jobs closely
The first projects built under new code requirements are where estimates are most likely to be wrong. Compare actual costs against the estimate as the job runs, not after it finishes, so you can adjust pricing on the next tender. A regularly updated WIP report makes this much easier.
Where better job cost data helps
Every code change creates the same question: did we price this right? You can only answer it if your job costs are current and broken down clearly enough to see the new items.
For example, if you add a solar PV line to your estimates, you want to see the actual cost of that line on each job so you know whether your allowance was right. That needs your estimating, job management and accounting systems to share the same cost codes and numbers.
That's the part we help with. We connect builders' job management software to Xero or MYOB and set up job cost reporting so you can see how each job is tracking while it's still running. See builder accounting software integration and construction financial visibility.
Frequently asked questions
When does NCC 2025 take effect?
Each state and territory decides its own adoption date. Check with your state's building regulator or the ABCB for the date that applies to your projects.
Does NCC 2025 affect home builders?
There's a pause on new residential changes, so home builders have fewer new requirements in this edition. Commercial and mixed-use projects face more of the changes.
Do projects already in planning need to meet the new code?
It depends on when the building approval is lodged and on your state's transition rules. Check with your certifier before you lock in a price on any project that crosses the adoption date.
How should builders price the NCC 2025 changes?
Update your estimating templates with the new requirements, get fresh quotes from suppliers and subcontractors, and track actual costs against those new line items on your first few jobs so you can adjust future pricing.
Can Kenomont help with NCC compliance?
We don't provide building code or certification advice. We help with the business side: connecting your job and accounting systems and setting up reports so you can see what compliance work really costs on each job.
Know what the changes cost you
If you want to see whether the new requirements are eating into your margins, we can help you get job cost reporting that shows it while the job's still running. Book a free initial chat, call 1300 470 091 or email [email protected].