QBCC Fact Sheet

The use of compliant uilding products plays an important role in the safety of buildings and their occupants in Queensland.
The National Construction Code (NCC) sets out the building performance requirments to be met for each class of building. The NCC considers many elements of the building construction including external walls.
External walls can have a number of components. Cladding can be used as a component which forms part of the load bearing wall, or as an attachment to a load bearing wall.
To determine the fire resistance requirements of an element of a building you must know the class of the building and its rise in storeys. Buildings come in classes from 1 through to 10A. The matrix is a combination of the class of the building and its rise in storeys resulting in the type of construction (A, B or C). Type A, B and C each have their own fire resistance requirements.
Whether a cladding is part of a wall or an attachment the restrictions on its use are quite stringent from a Deemed to Satisfy perspective.

Type A construction

For buildings requiring Type A fire-resisting construction the NCC Deemed to Satisfy addresses two common cases:
a. The cladding forms part of the external wall (part of the wall but more than simply an attachment).
In this case the cladding must be non-combustible in accordance with the relevant Australian Standard (AS 1530.1:1994).
b. The cladding is an attachment to an external wall. The external wall is required to meet the specific fire resistance level (FRL).
In this case advice should be sought from a specialist to determine if the cladding complies.

Aluminium Composite Panel (ACP)
A popular cladding type is ACP. An ACP is generally light weight and easy to install.

An ACP is a bonded laminated material usually consisting of at least three layers bonded together under pressure.

An ACP consissts of layers which are either:

• Non-combustible, for example aluminium;
• Deemed non-combustible, for example PVDF paint and other coatings;
• Combustible, for example polyethelene;
• An ACP may be used in a compliant or non-complaint way.

For further information about fire performance of external walls and cladding, please refer to the attached avisory note.