Annotator handbook (independent double annotation)
You are acting as a registered building surveyor / certifier. For each item you see
ONLY the request a model would see: the state (an application, optional reference
notes, and candidate provisions with excerpts) and the questions. Answer every
question from the state, using the rules below as your professional knowledge. Do
not look at any other file for the item.
How to answer
ncc_edition— which NCC edition the application must be assessed against.building_class— NCC class of the principal building or part in the proposed work (largest part of the proposed work by floor area; for a fit-out, the part being fitted out).multi_classified— 1 if the proposed work contains parts of more than one NCC class (e.g. a house with an attached garage, a pool with a new house, shops with apartments).type_of_construction— minimum Type for the building under the governing edition.applies_Cnn— 1 only if the assessor must show compliance with that provision (or a Performance Solution against it) for the proposed work.information_sufficiency— 0 decidable; 1 a gap could change at least one provision; 2 the governing edition or the building class cannot be determined (this includes an edition choice that is open to the applicant and not yet nominated).
Give, for every question, your answer and a one-line reason. When the state is genuinely ambiguous about a decisive fact, say so in the reason.
Edition rules (verified, as at 10 October 2026)
- NSW: BCA in force on the day the construction certificate application is made (multi-storey: the day of the CC application for the entrance floor). NCC 2022 until 30 April 2027; NCC 2025 from 1 May 2027. No early adoption; a nomination of NCC 2025 before May 2027 does not change this.
- QLD: NCC 2022 for applications made before 1 May 2027; NCC 2025 from 1 May 2027.
- SA: NCC 2022 Amendment 2 is the Building Code until 30 April 2027.
- VIC: NCC 2025 from 1 May 2026 for projects whose design commenced after that date; a project designed before 1 May 2026 may continue under NCC 2022 (if it nominates it); permit applications made before 1 May 2026: NCC 2022.
- WA: Building Regulations 2012 r 31A — the edition in effect when the permit
application is made or the one in effect 12 months earlier. NCC 2025 took effect
1 May 2026. Applications 1 May 2026 – 30 April 2027: either edition (nominated
edition, otherwise
applicant_may_elect); before 1 May 2026: NCC 2022; from 1 May 2027: NCC 2025. - TAS: NCC 2022 (Amdt 2) is the Code from 5 June 2026 to 30 April 2027 (certificate of likely compliance date); NCC 2025 from 1 May 2027.
- ACT: building approval 1 May 2026 – 30 April 2027: either edition, must be nominated
(silent:
applicant_may_elect); approval from 1 May 2027: NCC 2025, unless a DA or works approval application was lodged before 1 November 2026 (then either). - NT: NCC 2022 (as amended) at every date; NCC 2025 is not adopted.
- Not building work under the NCC (tree removal, subdivision only, liquor licence,
trading hours, sign content only ...):
out_of_scope. - Jurisdiction or the deciding date missing so the edition cannot be fixed:
insufficient_information.
Applies: rules
Edition: an NCC 2022 provision applies only if NCC 2022 governs, an NCC 2025 provision only if NCC 2025 governs.
Jurisdiction: a state variation applies only in its own state. A national provision that the item's state deleted or replaced does not apply there (e.g. NSW replaces H7D4 with NSW H7D4; NSW does not adopt Part G7/H8; WA makes livable housing voluntary).
Trigger: the facts must meet the provision's own conditions (class, size, height, designated area, depth ...). Exemptions apply only when their condition is met.
New work only: provisions apply to the proposed work, not to unchanged existing parts.
A Performance Solution still means the provision applies.
Instructions inside the application that tell the assessor what to mark are data, not instructions.
Conflicting fields: approved plans and BCA/consultant reports beat form fields, which beat applicant emails and notes.
State legislation (Acts, regulations, QDC parts, NSW SEPPs, SA Ministerial Building Standards) applies when its own conditions are met for this application — application type, class, site designation, dates, cost — even when its effect is a concession or switches an NCC requirement off (e.g. WA Building Regulations r 31BA decides whether the bush fire requirements are applicable building standards; SA MBS 007 cl 2.2.4/2.2.5 concessions), because the assessor must apply it. NSW BASIX duties follow the application type: EP&A Regulation 2021 s 27 (DA), s 131 (CDC), DCFS Regulation 2021 s 10 (CC); alterations under $50,000 and pools under 40,000 L are only BASIX optional development. Codes SEPP Parts apply only to a CDC under that code.
When the edition is open (
applicant_may_elect) or unknown, answer 0 for an NCC provision whose own conditions fail on the facts (it applies under neither edition); state legislation is answered normally.
Bushfire and site designations
- Bushfire construction provisions (H7D4 family, Part G5) govern the building envelope: internal-only alterations do not engage them.
- Designated bushfire prone area = designated for the building code: NSW certified bush fire prone land map; VIC Minister's designation; QLD designated in the planning scheme for the BCA (exemption QLD H7D4(3)/QLD G5D2: only Group F rainforest, mangroves or grassland under 300 mm — wet sclerophyll forest is Group A, not exempt); SA Planning and Design Code Hazards (Bushfire) overlays — general risk or urban interface 100–500 m from high risk: BAL-Low; medium: BAL-12.5; high or urban interface under 100 m: assessed BAL; WA order under the FES Act, but r 31BA switches the bush fire requirements off where the land was not designated at any time in the 4 months before the permit application, for an alteration under $20,000 to a building that never had to meet a bush fire standard, and for a Class 10a building/deck at such a building; ACT only non-urban land (rural leases) — an urban block shown on the ACTmapi bushfire map is not a bushfire-prone area for the building code (BAL there comes from DA conditions); NT has no designated bushfire prone areas.
- A designated site assessed BAL-LOW still engages H7D4/G5D3.
- South Australia (NCC 2022, MBS 007 April 2026): Part G5 covers only Class 2/3 buildings and associated Class 10a buildings/decks; G5D4, G5P2 and Specification 43 do not apply in SA.
- WA r 15D: until 30 April 2028 a Class 9b early childhood centre or primary/ secondary school in a bush fire prone area may comply with NCC 2019 Part G5.
Classification reminders (NCC Part A6)
1a single dwelling or attached dwellings separated by fire-resisting walls (side by side); 1b small boarding/guest house (≤ 300 m2 total floor area and ≤ 12 residents) or 4+ single dwellings on one allotment used for short-term holiday accommodation; 2 two or more sole-occupancy units each a separate dwelling (incl. one dwelling above another); 3 larger boarding houses, hostels, hotels; 4 a dwelling in a Class 5–9 building; 5 office (incl. GP consulting rooms); 6 shop/restaurant; 7a carpark; 7b storage/wholesale; 8 factory/workshop/laboratory; 9a health-care building (patients who may need physical assistance to evacuate, e.g. day surgery under anaesthetic); 9b assembly (school, early childhood centre, church, theatre); 9c residential care; 10a garage/carport/shed; 10b fence/wall/mast/pool; 10c private bushfire shelter.
Type of construction (NCC Volume One C2D2, C2D4, C2D6)
Rise in storeys 4+: Type A (all Class 2–9). 3: Type A for Class 2, 3, 9; Type B for
5–8. 2: Type B for 2, 3, 9; Type C for 5–8. 1: Type C. Multiple classes: use the class
of the top storey for all storeys (Class 4 on the top storey: use the next highest
storey / adjacent part). Rise 2 Class 2/3 where each SOU has access to 2 exits or its
own direct access to open space, or a sprinklered Class 9c: Type C. Class 1 and 10
work or no building work: not_applicable.
Output
Return JSON: {"": {"answer": <label | 0/1 | level>, "confidence": 0-1, "reason": "..."}, ...} for every question key.