The decision of Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers to eliminate the purchase price for electrical contractors to obtain the National Construction Code has been applauded by the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) chief executive officer Suresh Manickam.

An in principle agreement to eliminate the NCC fee and to make the 2015 edition available online was adopted at the Australian Building Ministers’ Forum held in Sydney last week.

“This agreement to eliminate the $400 fee to purchase a copy of the National Construction Code not only reduces the cost burden for the thousands of businesses within the electrical construction industry across Australia, but also helps to raise the standards of safety and compliance across the sector in the long run”, Suresh says.

“Safety and compliance matters are of extreme importance to our industry and NECA welcomes any move that makes critical information for those employed within the sector more freely available and without cost. Greater promotion of the national code and making it available in an online environment will make it easier for SME businesses to operate within our industry, lead to stronger compliance outcomes nationally and deliver a better product for consumers.”

The National Construction Code is an initiative of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) that provides model regulations for building and plumbing and sets minimum requirements for the design, construction and performance of buildings within a single code, enshrined throughout state and territory legislation.