The Federal Government has announced changes to the National Construction Code (NCC), including new liveable housing provisions and efficiency standards.
At last week’s Building Ministers’ Meeting, ministers agreed to the changes, which include a seven-star minimum energy efficiency rating – up from six – as well as provisions to make new houses more accessible for seniors and people with disabilities.
According to Industry Minister Ed Husic, the update is part of a new “modern homes agenda”.
“We are helping Australians live in new homes that are more comfortable, more sustainable, and more supportive for people with mobility constraints.
“The Liveable Housing provisions will see at least one point of step-free access to the home, slightly wider doorways, and better access to facilities inside the house,” he said.
Ben Myers (pictured), Executive Director of the Property Council’s Retirement Living Council (RLC), told The Weekly SOURCE the NCC changes offer opportunities to retirement villages, as the higher price of new homes built to these standards will make the added benefits of retirement living more appealing to consumers.
“I think the arguments in favour of age-friendly communities probably become clearer, and the cost of building a new age-friendly community perhaps becomes less of a differential now, if apartments and homes throughout the rest of the country are having to be built to a higher standard.
“We’ve been saying for some time now that you can have an age-friendly house anywhere, but you don’t get the benefits of a retirement living community simply by building a house that’s age-friendly.
“You need to have the components of community removing social isolation, as well as providing access to care when people need it, to get the full benefits that a retirement community can deliver for its residents,” he said.
The new NCC will be available from 1 October 2022, before commencing on 1 May 2023. More details are available in the communiqué from the Building Ministers’ Meeting.
