Vital practitioner resource on fire performance of external walls and cladding

The VBA recommends Victorian building practitioners, particularly those involved in the design, construction, fit-out and oversight of buildings, use this ABCB Advisory Note to inform themselves on the Australian Standard for testing external wall assemblies and CodeMark Certificates of Conformity.

The Advisory Note was initially developed and published in August 2016, following a meeting of the Building Ministers' Forum, the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB). Its purpose is to explain how the National Construction Code (NCC) should be interpreted to assist in future decisions on product selection, installation and certification in relation to the use of high-risk cladding products on high-rise buildings.

The Advisory Note superseded an Industry Alert titled 'External walls and BCA compliance' issued by the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) in February 2016 and updated in June 2016.

In September 2016, the ABCB revised the Advisory Note and reissued it as 'Advisory Note 2016-3 'Fire Performance of External Walls and Cladding'.