NCC fire safety compliance ready for certification.
Check fire and services designs against the National Construction Code and the Australian Standards it references — including the changes in NCC 2025 — before you go to your building certifier.
Codes and standards in Australia
- National Construction Code (NCC) 2025 (Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB)): Released 1 May 2026. Each state and territory decides when it adopts it, so NCC 2022 may still apply.
- NCC Volume One — Section C, D and E (ABCB): Fire resistance, access and egress, and services and equipment for Class 2 to 9 buildings.
- Referenced Australian Standards (Standards Australia): For example AS 1670.1 (detection), AS 2118.1 (sprinklers), AS 2419.1 (hydrants) and AS 1668.1 (smoke control).
- State and territory variations (State building regulators): Local variations and additions to the NCC, and the approval pathway for each state.
How building approval works
Planning approval (a DA or a complying development certificate) is followed by building certification against the NCC.
- Planning approval: A development application (DA) or, where eligible, a complying development certificate (CDC).
- Fire safety design: Show compliance through Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions, a Performance Solution, or a combination.
- Building certification: A registered building certifier or surveyor assesses the design against the NCC and issues the construction approval.
- Occupation: Inspections, fire system commissioning and the occupation certificate.
What Verify AI checks
- Fire-resistance levels (FRLs) and compartmentation — NCC Vol. One — Section C
- Exit numbers, widths and travel distances — NCC Vol. One — Section D
- Sprinkler protection, including open-deck carparks under NCC 2025 — NCC Section E / AS 2118.1
- Fire hydrant coverage — AS 2419.1
- Smoke detection and alarm systems — AS 1670.1
- Smoke control and air-handling in fire mode — AS 1668.1
Frequently asked questions
Is NCC 2025 in force?
NCC 2025 was released by the ABCB on 1 May 2026. Each state and territory decides when to adopt it, so check whether your project is assessed under NCC 2025 or NCC 2022.
What changed for fire safety in NCC 2025?
Changes include stronger fire safety for carparks, with sprinkler protection required for open-deck carparks (except stand-alone open decks), fewer concessions to fire-resistance levels, and clearer means of assessment for Performance Solutions.
Can Verify AI help with Performance Solutions?
Verify AI checks designs against Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions and flags where a design departs from them, which helps you scope a Performance Solution. The fire engineering analysis itself remains with your fire safety engineer.
What files can I upload?
IFC (2x3 and IFC4), DXF and PDF drawings exported from Revit, ArchiCAD, Bentley, Tekla or AutoCAD.