Australian Building Codes Board releases statement with ACECQA

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has released a joint statement with ACECQA regarding the fire safety requirements for early childhood centres located in multi-storey buildings. 

The statement has been made in line with the new requirements in the National Construction Code (NCC) which relate to early childhood services which operate in multi storey buildings, recognising that children under the care of others are among the most vulnerable occupants of a building. 

“It is important they can access and exit buildings safely, particularly in an emergency evacuation,” the ABCB notes.

The NCC has been updated to include extra requirements to address the difficulties associated with evacuating young occupants. Additionally, some requirements apply to all early childhood centres, regardless of building type. 

Requirements to improve the fire safety of early childhood centres in multi-storey buildings were introduced in NCC 2019 Amendment 1 and were further updated in NCC 2022.

At the Building Ministers Meeting in June 2023, Ministers considered the significant progress made with ACECQA and other regulatory authorities to ensure the fire safety requirements of the NCC and ACECQA’s National Quality Framework adequately protect children during an emergency.

As such the ABCB and ACECQA have published a joint statement about their respective roles and regulatory requirements. These requirements will ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of children during emergency evacuations from multi-storey buildings.

Read the ABCB and ACECQA statement here.