Helping you understand the National Construction Code (NCC)
What is the NCC?
The NCC sets out the requirements for the design and construction of buildings in Australia, including plumbing and drainage work. It sets the minimum required level for the safety, health, amenity, accessibility and sustainability that we need to achieve to build your home.
Changes to the code
Changes to the NCC happen every three years, however, the latest changes that came into effect 1 May 2024, are considered to be the most substantial to the NCC in the past 25 years. The changes significantly affected the waterproofing, liveability and energy efficiency of the home.
Some important definitions to understand when building your new home:
7-star compliance - the minimum standard that new homes must be built to under the NCC. In simple terms, 7-star is a measure of the thermal performance of your home. i.e. how hot and cold your house gets and how much heating and cooling you use. 7-star will deliver an improvement in thermal comfort over and above what the standard is today and this should lead to less energy usage.
Whole of Home - is a measure of the energy use of your home’s heating and cooling equipment and appliances, hot water systems, lighting, swimming pool, spa pumps and any other electrical devices. Renewable energy systems, such as rooftop solar panels, aren’t mandatory but can also be installed to help keep a home’s energy use within the required budget set under the NCC.
The Plantation Difference
Backed by $7 billion dollars - being part of the Henley Properties Group sees us proudly backed by our $7 billion parent company, The Sumitomo Forestry Group. Their financial strength means we have the funds to continually invest in research and innovation, well ahead of the market. Part of this investment has been an internal team of energy experts who are on hand to answer any of your questions.
Exclusive Energy Calculator The advertised price of all our homes includes 7-star and Whole of Home compliance, no matter the orientation of your block. If you choose any upgrades or your home doesn’t automatically comply because of specific developer requirements, our team has developed an exclusive energy calculator that will quickly advise the costs of compliance. This is all before we ask you to sign a contract!
You won’t find any ambiguous sums in our quotes, which can later translate to expensive upgrades to achieve that compliance.
Interior design consultation before you sign a contract - choosing your internal and external selections after you sign a contract becomes problematic if the builder can’t tell you how your selections will affect the energy efficiency of your home! This can only mean additional costs later. We doubt that any of us buy milk and bread without knowing the price, so we hold your interior design consultation before you sign a contract and commit to your largest financial investment. Pricing transparency is a core business value of ours.
Green Home Loans
We’ve partnered with Mortgage Domayne, an award-winning construction home loan specialist, who have access to lenders offering discounted interest rates on more sustainable homes. That’s another big green tick from us! This is a no cost, obligation free service for our customers.
Get in Touch
Don’t get caught with mystery 7-star energy upgrade costs after you sign a contract. Talk to the experts.
*7 Star and Whole of Home compliance is based on standard floorplan, base façade, inclusions and based on mid-range colours. Any changes requested to the standard floorplan, base façade, inclusions and colours darker than mid-range that may affect compliance will be quoted at sales stage and confirmed at tender.
