This is the last week of summer which means many of us will welcome the cooler weather and beginning of autumn.
As mentioned in my January CEO Update, we’ve been working on preparing the Public Comment Draft (PCD) for the next edition of the National Construction Code (NCC). The NCC is updated every 3 years in response to emerging issues, industry research, public feedback and government policy direction between publishing cycles.
Public consultation for the upcoming PCD will be open from 1 May until 30 June 2024. This is an opportunity for you to provide feedback on proposed changes to the NCC. Submissions provided during the PCD process will inform the final version for regulatory consideration. Submissions for the NCC public comment draft will need to be made before 11:59pm 30 June 2024. The list of core proposed changes will be announced soon and, of course, we’ll widely promote the opening for the formal consultation period.
We are committed to considering the views of all stakeholder groups. The consultation enables us to increase our understanding of the NCC environment and the potential impacts of any changes. Feedback from people with a range of experience and interest areas is necessary to help ensure the changes made support a NCC that is beneficial for all Australians.
The ABCB Chair, Glenys Beauchamp and I are part way through our meetings with key industry bodies to discuss the proposed changes to the next edition of the NCC. A key theme from these discussions has been about the importance of industry understanding provisions and being able to explain the changes simply. An important theme Glenys and I have been asked about is what we think the future looks like for the NCC. One stakeholder asked us:
‘We know we all need to think about the future, but how do we define that with so much change and uncertainty? What does this look like, and how can we prepare a path forward?’.
At our ABCB Forum in August 2023, we shared a map of some of the issues we know lie along the path to 2050. It’s important for us to think about how we can meet the expectations and future needs of all Australians and keep looking ahead. Our ABCB Forums are a great place to continue those discussions.
Registrations for the next ABCB Forums are now open. Join Glenys and I in-person on 19 March for our event in Melbourne, or online on 4 April for our virtual event. We’ll talk about some of the key proposed changes to the next edition of the NCC and answer your questions about the work of the ABCB.
The ABCB will also be traveling to each state and territory during May and June, as well as hosting some online webinars, to share detailed information about the proposed changes to the next edition of the NCC. We look forward to seeing you at one of the ABCB Roadshow events, so keep your eyes out for the opening of registrations!
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I look forward to seeing you at our Forums and Roadshows over coming months.
Regards
Gary