The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has announced that the draft changes for the 2011 Plumbing Provisions, earmarked for inclusion in the new National Construction Code (NCC) series, will be available from the ABCB website for public comment from today.

The National Plumbing Regulatory Forum (NPRF) and the ABCB were asked by the Building Ministers' Forum in February 2010 to work together to deliver consolidated building and plumbing regulation.

The Plumbing Provisions will be pubclished for the first time in 2011.

The development of the NCC will eventually result in the consolidation of all on-site construction regulation (building, plumbing, electrical and telecommunications).

A consolidated national document that includes plumbing could deliver benefits and cost savings through:
• efficiency gains from removing overlap and inconsistency between codes
• gains through an improved regulatory framework for plumbing standards, from more consistent adoption of performance-based standards and use of impact analysis
• broader benefits from complementing other reform initiatives, such as national licensing and reforms in the training sector

The Plumbing Provisions will be available for public comment on the ABCB website www.abcb.gov.au.

The closing date for submissions is September 1, 2010.