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NCC 2022 Amendment 2: Every Change, and What to Re-check

Code and compliance

NCC 2022 Amendment 2: Every Change, and What to Re-check

NCC 2022 Amendment 2 took effect on 29 July 2025. It references AS 1428.1:2021 and rewrites D3D22, D4D4 and Volume Three E1D2. Every change, what did not change, and what to re-check.

Superseded (28 September 2026). This post describes NCC 2022 Amendment 2. The current edition is NCC 2025, which references the same AS 1428.1:2021 and carries D3D22(1)(f), D4D4(a) and Volume Three E1D2(b) unchanged. For the current requirements see our guides to ramps, stairs, handrails and sanitary facilities.

NCC 2022 Amendment 2 took effect in every state and territory on 29 July 2025. It is small and it is specific: the NCC now references AS 1428.1:2021 instead of the 2009 edition, and three clauses were rewritten to suit. If you design or certify stairs, ramps or handrails in accessible buildings, the details changed under you.

1. What Amendment 2 is for

The stated purpose is to align the NCC with the Access Code in the Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards 2010, which were themselves amended to adopt AS 1428.1:2021. Both instruments now point at the same edition of the standard, which removes a two-year period in which the Premises Standards and the NCC disagreed.

2. Every change, by volume

WhereClauseChange
All volumesSchedule 2 (Schedule 1 in Volume Two and the Housing Provisions)AS 1428.1:2009 replaced by AS 1428.1:2021 in the schedule of referenced documents
Volume OneD3D22(1)(f) HandrailsA handrail in a required exit serving an accessible area must comply with Clause 9 of AS 1428.1:2021, except that Clause 9(d) does not apply to a handrail required by D3D22(1)(c)(ii)
Volume OneD4D4(a) Parts of buildings to be accessibleRamps (other than fire-isolated ramps) must comply with Clause 7 of AS 1428.1:2021; stairways (other than fire-isolated stairways) with Clause 8; fire-isolated stairways with Clause 8.1(f) and (g)
Volume OneD4D4(g) and (h)Deleted. The carpet and backing thickness limits moved into AS 1428.1:2021, so the NCC no longer repeats them. D4D4(f) was renumbered editorially
Volume ThreeE1D2(b) General requirementsSupply taps and other operational controls in sanitary facilities for people with disability, in all buildings other than those covered by E1D2(a), must comply with AS 1428.1 (2021)

Volume Two and the Housing Provisions receive only the schedule update. No Class 1 or Class 10 provision was rewritten.

3. What did not change

  • The small-building concession survives as D4D4(f): a ramp to AS 1428.1 or a passenger lift need not serve a storey other than the entrance storey in a Class 5, 6, 7b or 8 building of not more than three storeys where each other storey is not more than 200 m².

  • Tactile ground surface indicators are still governed by AS/NZS 1428.4.1:2009, referenced from D4D9. Amendment 2 does not touch that standard.

  • Every other clause that references AS 1428.1 (D3D11, D3D16, D4D2, D4D3, D4D7, D4D10, D4D11, D4D13, Specification 16, E3D10, F4D5 and G4D5) now reads onto the 2021 edition automatically, without its own text changing. That is where the practical work is: the standard behind those clauses moved, so the dimensions, circulation spaces and door-hardware rules you are checking against are the 2021 ones.

4. What AS 1428.1:2021 changed from 2009

The standard is licensed content, so we summarise rather than reproduce. The areas where the 2021 edition differs enough to affect a drawing set are ramp and stair geometry and landings (Clauses 7 and 8, the two the NCC now names directly), handrail extensions and terminations (Clauses 8.2 and 9), and the treatment of carpet and floor transitions that the NCC used to carry itself. If a standard detail in your library cites "AS 1428.1-2009", treat it as unverified until it has been checked against the 2021 clause.

Longest run between landings, drawn to scaleflatter than 1 in 33walkwayno landings required1 in 33walkway25 m1 in 20walkway15 m1 in 14ramp9 mA ramp longer than 1 900 mm and steeper than 1 in 14: not permitted1 in 10step ramp1 900 mm max, rise 190 mm max1 in 8kerb ramp1 520 mm max, rise 190 mm max1 in 8threshold ramp280 mm max, rise 35 mm max091525 mLongest run between landings, drawn to scaleflatter than 1 in 33walkwayno landings required1 in 33walkway25 m1 in 20walkway15 m1 in 14ramp9 mA ramp longer than 1 900 mm and steeper than1 in 14: not permitted1 in 10step ramp1 900 mm max, rise 190 mm max1 in 8kerb ramp1 520 mm max, rise 190 mm max1 in 8threshold ramp280 mm max, rise 35 mm max091525 m
Each bar is the longest run allowed before a landing, drawn to scale: 25 m for a walkway at 1 in 33, 15 m at 1 in 20 and 9 m for a ramp at 1 in 14, the steepest a ramp longer than 1 900 mm may be, with the interval between those gradients found by linear interpolation. Landings are at least 1 200 mm long, or 1 500 mm by 1 500 mm at a turn of up to 90°. From AS 1428.1:2021 clauses 1.4.18 to 1.4.21, 7.2(b), 7.3(a) and (c), 7.5, 7.6.1, 7.7.2 and 7.8.1.
handrail, both sides865 to 1 000above the nosing300 minone tread300 minnosing detail30 % luminance contrast50 to 7515 maxopaqueriserhandrail, both sides865 to 1 000above thenosing300 minone tread300 minnosing detail30 % luminance contrast50 to 7515 maxopaqueriser
The handrail follows the nosings 865 to 1 000 mm above them on both sides, runs on for one tread at pitch and then 300 mm level at the bottom and 300 mm level past the top nosing, and ends turned down, back or through 180°. Each tread carries one strip at the nosing, 50 to 75 mm deep and set back no more than 15 mm, with at least 30 % luminance contrast. From AS 1428.1:2021 clauses 8.1(c) and (f), 8.2(b), (d) and (e), and 9(d) and (g).
Carpet or other soft coveringpilebacking11 max4 max15 maxThe same limits apply tomats, rugs and temporarymatting on other floors.Leading edge of a carpet trim or mat3 max5 max1:410 maxsquare facerounded or bevelledabove 5 mm: a 1:4 slopeCarpet or other soft coveringpilebacking11 max4 max15 maxThe same limits apply tomats, rugs and temporarymatting on other floors.Leading edge of a carpet trim or mat3 max5 maxsquare facerounded or bevelled1:410 maxabove 5 mm: a 1:4 slope
Drawn enlarged: carpet or another soft covering on an accessible path may have pile up to 11 mm and backing up to 4 mm, 15 mm combined, and where it meets another floor a trim or mat edge may rise square up to 3 mm, rounded or bevelled up to 5 mm, or above that at 1:4 to no more than 10 mm. From AS 1428.1:2021 clause 4.3.1.

5. What to do now

  • Re-check accessible ramps, stairs and handrails on any project assessed under NCC 2022 on or after 29 July 2025, against Clauses 7, 8 and 9 of AS 1428.1:2021.

  • Update template notes and standard details that cite the 2009 edition.

  • Hydraulic and interior documentation for accessible sanitary facilities now references the 2021 edition through Volume Three E1D2.

  • Download the amendment text: NCC 2022 Amendment 2 (ABCB, PDF). Three pages.

Two free tools work the geometry for you: the ramp calculator and the stair calculator. No account needed.

Sources: ABCB, NCC 2022 Amendment 2, version 1.0, released 28 July 2025, date of effect 29 July 2025; ABCB, Amended Premises Standards and NCC. First published 29 July 2025; corrected and expanded 2 September 2026; superseded note and corrections (D4D9, Volume Three E1D2) added 28 September 2026.

Questions this guide answers

When did NCC 2022 Amendment 2 take effect?

NCC 2022 Amendment 2 took effect in every state and territory on 29 July 2025. The ABCB released version 1.0 on 28 July 2025.

What did NCC 2022 Amendment 2 change?

It replaces AS 1428.1:2009 with AS 1428.1:2021 in the schedule of referenced documents, rewrites Volume One D3D22(1)(f) on handrails and D4D4(a) on ramps and stairways, deletes D4D4(g) and (h), and updates Volume Three E1D2(b), on taps and other controls in sanitary facilities for people with disability. Volume Two and the Housing Provisions receive only the schedule update.

Does NCC 2022 Amendment 2 change tactile ground surface indicators?

No. Tactile ground surface indicators are still governed by AS/NZS 1428.4.1:2009, referenced from D4D9, and Amendment 2 does not touch that standard.

Why was NCC 2022 Amendment 2 issued?

To align the NCC with the Access Code in the Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards 2010, which had been amended to adopt AS 1428.1:2021. Both instruments now point at the same edition, removing a two-year period in which they disagreed.

What should I re-check after NCC 2022 Amendment 2?

Accessible ramps, stairs and handrails on any project assessed under NCC 2022 on or after 29 July 2025, against Clauses 7, 8 and 9 of AS 1428.1:2021, plus any template notes and standard details that cite the 2009 edition.

Does NCC 2025 change any of this?

No. NCC 2025 references AS 1428.1:2021 and carries D3D22(1)(f), D4D4(a) and Volume Three E1D2(b) unchanged.

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