NCC 2025 Section J Requirements & Reports

Commercial design coordination / NCC 2025

NCC 2025 Section J requirements for commercial buildings

Understand what has changed, when the requirements apply and what to prepare for your Section J report. Plan facade performance, solar PV and services early, with a clear choice between Deemed-to-Satisfy (DTS) assessment and J1V3 modelling.

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What is NCC 2025 Section J?

NCC 2025 Section J is the energy efficiency section of Volume One of the National Construction Code. It sets requirements for building fabric and services, helping project teams address energy use through insulation, glazing, sealing, air-conditioning, lighting and on-site energy systems.

A Section J report documents how the assessed design meets the applicable requirements. The assessment scope depends on the building classification, climate zone, services and approval pathway. Confirm the edition and local variations with your certifier before specifying products or commissioning a report.

LittleShrub helps architects, builders and owners assess their design, resolve specification gaps and prepare compliance documentation. Start with the changes below, check the adoption table, then use the report checklist to prepare your project information.

Key guidance

What changes from NCC 2022 to NCC 2025 Section J?

NCC 2025 makes Section J a much earlier design conversation for commercial projects. It is no longer enough to leave the energy report until the building approval package is nearly finished, because the new provisions can affect facade intent, roof planning, services strategy, switchboard space, and whether gas remains a sensible option.

The Australian Building Codes Board has identified three headline changes for commercial energy efficiency in Volume One Section J: mandatory on-site solar photovoltaic systems, higher requirements for building envelopes and services, and improved lighting control requirements. The proposed Class 2 Section J changes did not proceed, so mixed-use projects need careful separation of the parts of the building that sit under NCC 2025 and the parts that continue under NCC 2022 Amendment 2 or local variations.

Read the ABCB summary of NCC 2025 changes for the official overview. Our role is to turn those requirements into a buildable compliance pathway.

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Does NCC 2025 apply to your project?

NCC 2025 does not apply everywhere on the same date. State and territory adoption, transition periods, project timing, and local variations all matter. As a practical rule, project teams should confirm the applicable NCC edition with the building certifier before locking in the compliance pathway.

For Section J, the main NCC 2025 uplift is aimed at buildings other than Class 2. This typically includes Class 3 accommodation and Class 5 to 9 buildings such as offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses, schools, healthcare buildings, aged care, public buildings, and many mixed-use commercial components.

If your approval is likely to land during a transition period, the safest move is to test the project against NCC 2025 early. That gives the design team time to decide whether to stay with NCC 2022 where permitted, or move to NCC 2025 before the project is forced there.

NCC 2025 adoption timing

NCC 2025 Section J adoption dates by state and territory

State/territory	Date to plan around	What this date means
Australian Capital Territory	1 May 2027	Get building approval by 30 April 2027, or have the development or works approval application formally lodged before 1 November 2026 if the project needs to preserve the option of NCC 2022.
New South Wales	1 May 2027	Aim to have the relevant approval pathway lodged before 1 May 2027 if relying on NCC 2022, and confirm the transition point and NSW variations with the certifier.
Northern Territory	No NCC 2025 Section J date	NT is not moving to NCC 2025 Section J at this stage. For commercial Class 3 and Class 5-9 buildings, NT adopted NCC 2019 Section J from 1 October 2023; Class 2 and Class 4 energy efficiency remains based on BCA 2009.
Queensland	1 May 2027	Lodge the building application by 30 April 2027, unless the project is already approved, commenced, or has written certification of substantial design progress.
South Australia	1 May 2027	For BCA and Section J work, aim to have the building rules pathway lodged before 1 May 2027 if relying on NCC 2022; plumbing follows NCC 2025 from 1 May 2026.
Tasmania	1 May 2027	Use NCC 2022 until 30 April 2027, unless project-specific transitional arrangements apply; after that, plan for NCC 2025.
Victoria	1 May 2026	For new Victorian work, assume NCC 2025 now; NCC 2022 may only be preserved where the permit pathway or RBS discretion supports a substantial-progress exemption.
Western Australia	1 May 2027	Lodge the building permit application by 30 April 2027 if the project needs NCC 2022; from 1 May 2027, NCC 2025 is mandatory for most applications.

Dates can still be affected by state variations, lodged application rules, project status, and certifier advice.

Selected Section J work

Previous Works

A small snapshot of some of our previous works.

Section J Report

Cake By Kate

Small retail store within a larger shopping complex

Section J Report

Grevillea Waters

A retirement village main building

Section J Report

Tumut River Brewing Co

A new brewery in the heart of Tumut

Section J Report

Charles St Lawson

Upgrade to an existing building

Key guidance

Mandatory solar PV and roof planning

The biggest practical change is that solar PV moves from a future-ready allowance to an installed design item for many commercial buildings following the Deemed-to-Satisfy pathway. This affects the roof plan from the start of design.

A compliant strategy may require a review of suitable roof area, plant zones, skylights, safe access, trafficable areas, overshadowing, and whether a conditioned-area output pathway produces a smaller system size. Buildings that keep gas services may also need additional PV to address the emissions difference against an all-electric alternative.

That means Section J now reaches into coordination between architecture, ESD, electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, structural, and builder cost planning. Waiting until documentation is nearly complete can leave solar competing with plant, exhaust, roof lights, access paths, and fall protection after the roof has already been designed.

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Fabric, glazing, services and controls

NCC 2025 Section J strengthens the parts of the design that most often create late surprises: facade performance, insulation systems, air sealing, HVAC efficiency, ventilation, lighting power, and lighting controls.

For architects and builders, the key point is that glazing and facade decisions need to be checked while the design is still flexible. Large areas of west-facing glass, weak frame performance, poor shading, or too many facade variations can quickly push a simple DTS pathway into rework or a performance solution.

For services teams, the new settings make equipment selection and controls documentation more important. Lighting control intent, HVAC zoning, air-conditioning and ventilation efficiency, heated water strategy, and energy monitoring need to line up with the report and the drawings.

Key guidance

Why J1V3 may be the practical path

A Deemed-to-Satisfy Section J report is still useful when the design naturally fits the minimum requirements. It is direct and familiar, but it can also force awkward specification upgrades when the building is close to compliance but not quite there.

For many NCC 2025 projects, J1V3 will probably become the really practical approach. It gives the design team a performance pathway for larger glazing areas, refurbishment constraints, unusual services strategies, heritage limitations, mixed orientations, and projects where a prescriptive answer would be technically compliant but unnecessarily expensive to build.

We will always tell you when DTS is genuinely the simplest option. But if the project has facade complexity, services constraints, refurbishment limitations, or needs room to optimise, we are likely to recommend checking the J1V3 pathway before the design is locked. Read more about our J1V3 energy modelling service.

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What do you need for an NCC 2025 Section J report?

A strong NCC 2025 Section J assessment starts with coordinated information. We can help identify gaps, but the earlier the design data is available, the easier it is to avoid assumptions and rework.

Building class, climate zone, NCC edition, jurisdiction, and approval timing
Coordinated areas, schedules, and take-off information where available
Plans, elevations, sections, roof plans, and reflected ceiling plans where relevant
Wall, roof, floor, slab edge, thermal break, and insulation details
Window and glazing schedules with U-value, SHGC, frame type, and opening details
External shading, awnings, roof lights, balconies, screens, and facade projections
Roof plant, skylights, trafficable areas, access paths, and likely PV zones
HVAC, ventilation, lighting, hot water, gas, electrical, and controls information where in scope

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NCC 2025 Section J FAQs

When does NCC 2025 Section J apply?
There is no single adoption date for every Australian project. Check the state and territory table above and confirm the applicable edition, transition arrangements and local variations with your certifier. The ABCB NCC guidance explains the role of each jurisdiction.

Can my project still use NCC 2022 Section J?
This depends on your jurisdiction and approval circumstances. If that edition applies, see our NCC 2022 Section J report guidance. Projects assessed under an older approval pathway can also refer to our NCC 2019 Section J guidance.

Is solar PV mandatory under NCC 2025?
For many commercial buildings following the DTS pathway, yes. The exact requirement depends on the building class, roof suitability, available roof area, climate zone, conditioned area, and any applicable state or territory variation.

Does NCC 2025 apply to Class 2 apartment common areas?
The ABCB has stated that the proposed Class 2 Section J amendments did not proceed and NCC 2022 Amendment 2 remains applicable for these buildings, subject to jurisdictional variations and project-specific advice.

Should we choose Section J DTS or J1V3?
Use DTS when the design complies cleanly. For many NCC 2025 projects, J1V3 is likely to be the more practical approach, especially when the design has glazing, heritage, refurbishment, services, cost constraints, or enough complexity to justify a performance pathway.

When should we start?
At concept or early design development. NCC 2025 can affect roof planning, facade design, services strategy, and electrical coordination, so early checking is much cheaper than late redesign.

Adoption timing and jurisdictional variations can change. Confirm the applicable edition and project pathway with the relevant authority and certifier.

NCC 2025 Section J Reports

NCC 2025 Section J requirements for commercial buildings