Summary | CMS

Building classes

Classes of Building
Class 1	Class 1 buildings are dwellings.
	Class 1a	One or more buildings forming a single dwelling like: a detached house; and two or more attached buildings separated by a fire-resisting wall, e.g. row house, terrace house.
	Class 1b	One or more buildings which together form: a guest house, boarding house, a hostel or something similar which does not accommodate more than 12 people and more than 300m2 floor area; or four or more dwellings in one allotment, used for short-term accommodations for holidays. A Class 1b building cannot be located above or below another dwelling or another building class (except for a private garage).
Class 2	A building containing two or more sole-occupancy units, each being a separate dwelling.
Class 3	Class 3 buildings are residential buildings other than Class 1 or 2. These are long-term or transient living accommodations for unrelated people. These include the following: boarding house, guest house, a hostel or backpackers larger than the limits of a Class 1b building dormitory-style accommodation or workers’ quarters healthcare facilities like accommodations for children, elderly or people with disability which must not be considered under Class 9 residential parts of motels, hotels, schools, hospitals or jails
Class 4	A Class 4 building is the only dwelling or residence within any Class 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 buildings.
Class 5	An office building used for professional or commercial purposes, except for buildings of Class 6, 7, 8 or 9. Examples include: law office office for general medical practitioners
Class 6	Buildings that directly sell goods by retail or supply services to the public, such as: restaurants or cafés markets, shopping centres and malls public laundry hairdressers and barbershops
Class 7	Class 7a	A building which is a car park.
	Class 7b	The following buildings are classified under Class 7b: warehouses storage buildings buildings used to display or produce wholesale goods
Class 8	These are process-type buildings such as: buildings used for production, assembling, altering, repairing, finishing, packing or cleaning of goods or produce laboratories (classified as such because of their high potential for fire hazard)
Class 9	A building of a public nature.
	Class 9a	Healthcare buildings in which occupants are either: undergoing or have undergone medical treatment; or in need of physical assistance in the evacuation during emergencies.
	Class 9b	Assembly buildings used for social, theatrical, political, religious or civil purposes. The following are examples of Class 9b buildings: schools universities childcare centres pre-schools sporting facilities night clubs public transport buildings
	Class 9c	An aged care building. An aged care building is defined as a residential accommodation for elderly people who are: provided with personal care services; and need 24-hour staff assistance to evacuate the building in an emergency.
Class 10	A non-habitable building or structure.
	Class 10a	A private garage, carport, shed or the like.
	Class 10b	Structures like: fence mast antenna retaining wall swimming pool other such similar structures
	Class 10c	A private bushfire shelter.

Behaviour of structural materials

Fundamental Types of Loading

Structural members behave in a particular manner in response to different types of forces. Examining fundamental types of loading will explain how these individual structural components react upon resisting and transmitting loads.

The graphic above shows how fundamental types of loading affect structural components.

Compression – loading condition that compresses the material together. This loading applies to footing, columns, retaining walls, and truss members.
Tension – loading condition that, as opposed to compression, stretches or pulls the member apart. This loading applies to truss members and connections.
Shear – loading condition that causes the member to slide apart along a plane that is parallel to both end forces as shown. This applies to beams, slabs, columns, roof trusses, wind bracings, footing, and retaining walls.
Torsion – loading condition that causes twisting in a structural component. This applies to beams and slabs.
Bending – loading condition that causes the member to experience compression on one side and tension on the other. This loading applies to all structural members mentioned excluding roof truss and wind bracings.

Australian Standards (AS) and Australian/New Zealand Standards (AS/NZS)

Some of the AS and AS/NZS standards and codes relevant to building design and structural integrity are shown in the table below:

Standard	Title
AS 4100:2020	Steel Structures
AS/NZS 5131:2016	Structural Steelwork – Fabrication and erection
AS 3600:2018	Concrete Structures
AS 4773.2:2015	Masonry in small buildings, Part 2: Construction
AS 2870-2011	Residential slabs and footings
AS/NZS 2327:2017	Composite structures—Composite steel-concrete construction in buildings
AS 4440-2004	Installation of nail-plated timber roof trusses
AS 1684-2010	Residential timber-framed construction

Other Standards

Organisation	Standard	Title
ASTM International (formerly American Society for Testing and Materials)	ASTM E72-2015	Standard Test Methods of Conducting Strength Tests of Panels for Building Construction
	ASTM E695-2003	Standard Test Method of Measuring Relative Resistance of Wall, Floor and Roof Construction to Impact Loading
National Association of Steel-Framed Housing (NASH)	NASH Standard 2014	Steel Framed Construction in Bushfire Areas (incorporating amendment A)
Standards Australia with International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)	AS ISO 9239 Part 1 (2003)	Reaction to fire tests for floorings — Determination of the burning behaviour using a radiant heat source
Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia (CCAA)	TN 61	Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia — Technical note — Articulated walling
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)	ISO 2103:1986	Loads due to use and occupancy in residential and public buildings

Government building and construction legislation and regulations

State/Territory	Legislations/Regulations
Queensland	Building Act 1975 Building Regulation 2006 Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 Queensland Development Code
New South Wales	Home Building Act 1989 Home Building Regulation 2014 Civil and Administrative Act 2013 Civil and Administrative Tribunal Rules 2014 Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 Contractors Debts Act 1997
Tasmania	Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 Building Act 2016 Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016
Northern Territory	Building Act 1993 Building Regulations 1993 Building (RBI and Fidelity Fund Schemes) Regulations 2012 Building (Resolution of Residential Building Work Disputes) Regulations 2012 Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act 2004
Australian Capital Territory	Building Act 2004 Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 Building and Construction Industry Training Levy Act 1999 Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2009
Victoria	Building Act 1993 Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002
South Australia	Building Work Contractors Act 1995 Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 Worker’s Liens Act 1893
Western Australia	Building Act 2011 Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011 Building Services (Registration) Act 2011 Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1960 Home Building Contracts Act 1991 Construction Contracts Act 2004

Access the National Construction Code, NCC (2019) Volumes 1, 2, and 3 on ABCB’s website, upon free registration.
https://infostore.saiglobal.com/en-au/standards/as-3959-2018-122340_saig_as_as_2685241/ and https://www.nash.asn.au/nash/publications/nash-standards
To develop a further understanding of the requirements of high wind visit https://infostore.saiglobal.com/en-au/standards/as-nzs-1170-2-2011-r2016--117837_saig_as_as_268251/
To develop a further understanding of the requirements of snow and ice visit https://infostore.saiglobal.com/en-us/Standards/AS-NZS-1170-3-2003-R2016-Amdt-2-2017-1919569/
To develop a further understanding of the requirements of earthquake visit https://www.standards.org.au/standards-catalogue/sa-snz/building/bd-006/as--1170-dot-4-2007
Australian Height Datum is Australia’s official height reference system, which means it is used as the basis for all vertical control for mapping. To read more about it visit http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/positioning-navigation/geodesy/datums-projections/australian-height-datum-ahd
The Construction Work Code of Practice provides further discussion regarding workplace procedures and safety. Visit https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/system/files/documents/1901/code_of_practice_-_construction_work.pdf
The Environmental Guidelines for Major Construction Sites published by the Environment Protection Authority Victoria provides further discussion regarding environmental requirements. Visit Publication 480: Environmental guidelines for major construction sites | Environment Protection Authority Victoria (epa.vic.gov.au)
To see the full document of ‘A Guide to Australian Building Product Conformity, visit https://www.abcb.gov.au/-/media/Files/Resources/Corporate/A_Guide_to_Australian_building_product_conformity.pdf?la=en&hash=8E0D85EC4D927065BE9E697DDFD55F57F5BDB8CE
To further understand compliance and conformance principle and procedures for building products and materials, and to further guide you in the analysis of new and emerging building technologies, visit https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/getmedia/d088c8eb-d43a-48f4-938f-69360d7ebdab/3080_APCC_Guide_to_Procurement_Ed2_251115web.aspx
For a discussion on new and emerging building technologies visit https://www.constructiondive.com/news/8-coolest-construction-technology-innovations-of-2015/410375/
For a discussion on new and emerging building technologies visit https://www.industryupdate.com.au/article/australian-construction-industry-embraces-new-technologies
For a discussion on new and emerging building technologies visit https://www.bigrentz.com/blog/construction-technology
For a discussion on new and emerging building technologies visit https://worldfinancialreview.com/2020s-construction-technology-trends
Refer to the video to watch a more detailed discussion regarding earthwork process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sMz99Z3mm0
A geotechnical report for a proposed shopping centre development in Schofields, NSW can be found here https://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/files/assets/public/public-exhibitions/spp-17-00047/appendix-c-geotechnical-report.pdf
To have more in-depth understanding regarding the compliance with standards and codes, read the Excavation Work Code of Practice 2018 by Safe Work Australia through this link https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/model-code-practice-excavation-work
This document contains the installation guide of wood sheeting for flooring purposes. https://www.dindas.com.au/f.ashx/pdf/dindas-plyfloor-install-guide-june11.pdf
To learn more detailed information regarding tilt-up wall erection process, refer to https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/atoms/files/code_tiltup_precast_.pdf
To have a closer look regarding the installation of wall cladding, read the installation instructions for weatherboard, linked below. This installation guide contains a more detailed discussion not stated in the general process for the installation of wall cladding. https://www.tilling.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Weatherboard-Install-e20180806.pdf