The pause to the NCC doesn't benefit us all

In the last few months there have been plenty of Politicians, Media Sites, Industry Associations and Property Developers advocating for a reduction, roll-back, or at a minimum a pause to the National Construction Code (NCC).

According to Property Developers and their Associations, the reason we can't deliver enough houses isn't:

• the cost of construction materials,

• the cost of labour,

• the cost of defects on projects,

• the cost of insurance (which has increased due to cost of defects),

• industry's failure to digitise (which means they don't know where they are losing money) and increase productivity, and/or

• the fact that the whole industry is established to incentivise increasing prices - and to restrict supply to keep prices high because that increases everyone's profit margins

no - it's not those factors, it's red tape - namely the NCC and Planning Regulations.

And I can see why Developers don't like the NCC - because it isn't there for them - it's there to protect their customers. It sets non-negotiable standards that Developers have to comply with - so that Customers receive reasonable quality, durable, energy-efficient homes.

Developers don't like the NCC for the same reason that Drug Dealers don't like the Police - because they reduce profits - but they DO protect everyday people.

Whilst for developers a home is a way of making a profit, it's the biggest investment most people make in their lives - a quality home will keep people dry, it will keep people warm/cool and it will stand for years, protecting their investment.

The NCC 2025 provisions for energy efficiency may add a couple of thousand dollars to the price of building a home - but they will save an owner tens of thousands in energy bills over the life of the home. The NCC 2025 provisions for Waterproofing (if correctly implemented) will keep people dry and protect the value of their investments. Even the Australian Institute of Architects is against a pause - because they know the value of a national code.

Last week the Housing Minister Clare O’Neil announced a four-year pause to the NCC for residential buildings - the news media claimed this as a success and a "win for Industry and Buyers" - but the reality is that the NCC 2025 updates will still go ahead - and 2029 is only one year beyond the normal three year cycle, so perhaps this is just a political play to keep the media happy whilst we continue to develop and implement standards to improve the quality of the homes of millions of Australians in the future.