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Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB)
Update on the National Construction Code
Last week the Treasurer led the Economic Reform Roundtable, supported by other key ministers. You are likely to have seen media reports from this event, referring to possible outcomes for the National Construction Code (NCC).
On Sunday 24 August, the Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Cities, Clare O’Neil, and the Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt, issued a joint media release. This media release advised that a decision has been made to pause further residential changes to the NCC until the end of the National Housing Accord period (mid-2029), following finalisation of NCC 2025. Please note that this pause excludes essential safety and quality changes.
I am sure that industry and other stakeholders are eager to hear the outcome of timing for adoption and implementation of NCC 2025, which is to be considered by Building Ministers. We will provide an update as soon as we can.
Public record
As part of our commitment to provide more visibility of our work and the matters the Board is considering, we publish a brief Public Record after each Board meeting.
During the Board meeting held on 31 July 2025, Board members discussed opportunities to support improvements in housing and construction productivity, the ABCB budget status, and the status of the next edition of the NCC. Read more in the Public Record of the July Board meeting.
WaterMark update
We have been working with the state and territory plumbing regulators and industry to raise awareness of, and progress the transition to, lead free plumbing products. This initiative is important to ensure our drinking water is even safer. We acknowledge the significant contribution of industry to the transition.
Work continues on the development of appropriate and robust product specifications for the evaluation and WaterMark certification of plumbing and drainage products. As new or amended product specifications are developed, we release them for public consultation via our Consultation Hub. We will let you know about open consultations through updates on our website, newsletter and social media channels.
National Voluntary Certification Scheme for Manufacturers of Modern Methods of Construction
Last month we published an issues paper for the National Voluntary Certification Scheme for Manufacturers of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC).
We are keen to hear your input on the questions raised throughout the paper. Your comments will help us develop the Scheme, along with consistent definitions for MMC to be included in the NCC. These initiatives aim to support productivity growth in the construction sector in Australia by making it easier for MMC manufacturers to meet NCC requirements.
Taming the world’s biggest rivers
When constructing dams for flood control and electricity generation, engineers face formidable technical challenges.
To tame rivers for flood control and electricity generation, engineers face formidable technical challenges. Here are four different dam types and the engineering principles that guide their construction.
By Lachlan Haycock and Heath Dunn – Dams have evolved from simple irrigation walls to some of the largest structures ever built. By taming rivers, they provide flood control, irrigation, electricity and water security.
Australian-designed and made rocket achieves lift-off
Though the Eris rocket crashed shortly after takeoff, the launch massively advances the domestic space industry.
In just 14 seconds, Gilmour Space Technologies’s Eris rocket made history. The company’s CEO tells create what went right and what went wrong with the launch.
It was a clear North Queensland day, about 8:35 a.m., on Wednesday 30 July, and the team of engineers at Gilmour Space Technologies was making history.
At that moment, the first orbital launch vehicle to be designed and built in Australia took off from Bowen Orbital Spaceport. As steam spilled over the launchpad and an orange flame spurt forth from the ascending craft’s tail, the team celebrated the culmination of years of effort and ingenuity.
“As soon as it leaves the pad, you know you’ve made history,” said Adam Gilmour, the co-founder and CEO of Gilmour Space. “When it got off the ground, the entire company was jumping in the air and screaming,”
Aiming for a low-Earth orbit, the 23 m, 30 t rocket, named Eris, stayed airborne for 14 seconds before slipping out of its trajectory and falling back to Earth.
How ABB and Synergy delivered one of Australia’s largest battery projects
What it takes to transform WA’s energy future, with 500 MW of installed capacity and 2000 MWH of storage.
When Synergy set out to transform Western Australia’s energy future with the Collie Battery Energy Storage System (CBESS), they envisioned a benchmark project that would drive the state closer to the State Government’s net zero targets. With support from ABB Electrification, that vision is becoming a reality.
The CBESS project, strategically located adjacent to the Collie Power Station, features 640 batteries and 160 inverters, and with 500 MW of installed capacity and 2000 MWH of energy storage. It is designed to store renewable energy produced during the day and release it into the Southwest Interconnected System (SWIS) when demand peaks.
As Marlon Cooray, Synergy’s Manager of Major Projects, explains, “This is Synergy’s third large-scale battery project and the most ambitious yet. The CBESS project will be able to store 10 times the energy of KBESS 1, which Synergy deployed just two years ago.”
Engineering for a wild world
From sea level rise to cyclone-proof terminals, engineers are safeguarding assets against climate extremes.
With a changing climate impacting the economy, infrastructure and more, building resilience in the built environment has never been so important.
By Lachlan Haycock, Joseph Harding and Chris Sheedy
From destructive extreme weather events to major economic losses, resilience in the built environment is more vital than ever.
The intensity and frequency of natural disasters and wild weather have increased markedly in recent years, with a significantly greater area of the world being impacted by disasters such as droughts and floods.
Green hydrogen – what’s the real story?
Its future remains uncertain as a web of governance challenges impede project deployment.
Green hydrogen plays a key role in Australia’s decarbonisation roadmap and international positioning. Its future in Australia remains uncertain, however, as a web of technological, environmental and governance challenges present an impediment to successful project deployment.
Asemeh Pousti of La Trobe Business School is addressing the potentially fatal gaps in this complex interplay. Harnessing her 20 years’ experience in academia and project development, her unique business decision support model aims to address the sustainable freshwater supply chains required for green hydrogen production in Australia.
“A key insight of my work is that freshwater, often overlooked, is the critical feedstock for green hydrogen,” she told create ahead of her presentation to Engineers Australia’s Climate Smart Engineering (CSE) 2025 conference from 27-28 August.
The fuel of the future
The Federal Government’s National Hydrogen Strategy has set ambitious green hydrogen production targets, aiming to establish Australia as a major global clean energy exporter.
Engineering at the speed of light
This Australian company powers half the world’s internet.
Amid ever-growing demand for high-speed internet and data services, a global manufacturing company with a vitally important Australian facility is well-placed to capitalise.
The wavelength management company Finisar has achieved no fewer than 15 world firsts. They include the first liquid-crystal on silicon wavelength selective switch (LCoS WSS) in 2006, the first flexible-grid WSS in 2010, the first quad WSS in 2020 and, earlier this year, the first low-cost edge WSS – with plenty of others in the years in between.
It’s fair to say the company is committed to innovation and is benefiting from its relatively high research and development spend (more than 15 per cent). It is estimated that half the world’s internet traffic passes through switches based on Finisar’s original invention.
A WSS is an optical device used in fibre-optic communication networks to route individual wavelengths (channels) from an input fibre to one or more output fibres without converting the signal to electrical form.
Engineering greener defences against floods
Nature-based solutions are reshaping the way engineers manage flood risks and protect critical infrastructure.
A growing understanding of how nature-based solutions can be used for flood mitigation is changing the way Australian communities are managing flood risks.
Flood mitigation has long relied on traditional engineering infrastructure, such as dams and levees, to control water flow, store excess runoff, and safeguard communities. Now, as flood risks are escalating due to climate change, a new approach is gaining a better understanding.
Nature-based solutions (NbS) to flooding involve applying natural processes to address flood challenges while also delivering environmental, social, and economic benefits beyond flood mitigation.
It is a concept that has gained considerable international recognition in recent years and, unlike traditional engineering approaches, it aims to make landscapes more sustainable and resilient, according to Associate Professor Roslyn Prinsley, Lead, Disaster Solutions at ANU.
Prinsley is leading the team of researchers behind the Australian guidelines for Nature-based Solutions for flood mitigation – funded by the National Emergency Management Authority – which will be released in October this year.
Developed to bridge the gap between support for the concept of NbS and the review and analysis of how these types of solutions actually work, the guidelines demonstrate how researchers, community groups and governments can take a nature-based approach to flood management.
Engineering a heat-proof city
Engineers are reimagining how we cool and live in a built environment threatened by soaring temperatures.
Smarter housing reforms required
Engineers Australia calls for engineering expertise in shaping a smarter, nationally consistent construction code to deliver more homes faster.
Following last week’s Federal Government Economic Reform Roundtable, and its decision to pause and streamline the National Construction Code (NCC) Engineers Australia is urging that the engineering profession be directly engaged in reforms to the code to ensure new housing is delivered faster, more affordably and without compromising quality.
Engineers Australia CEO Romilly Madew AO FTSE HonFIEAust EngExec said the NCC pause announced by the Albanese Government offers an opportunity to rethink how the code is developed and implemented.
“Builders and engineers want clarity and consistency. These initiatives, taken together, can make a real difference in lifting productivity, enabling modern methods of construction and increasing housing supply,” Madew said.
She emphasised that inconsistency across jurisdictions is undermining the benefits of a unified code.
“Inconsistencies create complexity for industry stakeholders operating across borders, increase compliance costs, and undermine the potential productivity gains that a unified code could deliver. Addressing these jurisdictional divergences is therefore critical to unlocking the full benefits of the NCC and driving national reform outcomes.”
Madew also reaffirmed Engineers Australia’s readiness to play a central role in reform.
“A smarter NCC, developed with industry expertise, will cut red tape, lift productivity and unlock new housing supply. Engineers Australia is ready to provide the unique perspective of its 140,000 members, many of whom are at the forefront of delivering new homes in Australia. We look forward to working with the government to progress these vital reforms.”