Fibre Reinforced Facade Encyclopedia: Testing and standards
A building class is the National Construction Code’s classification of a building by the purpose for which it is used, running from Class 1 dwellings through to Class 10 non-habitable structures. Classification is the first step in any NCC assessment: it decides which volume of the Code applies, and together with the rise in storeys it sets the type of construction and therefore the fire resistance and non-combustibility provisions that follow.
Classification follows use, not form. A three-storey building of identical construction is Class 2 as apartments, Class 5 as offices and Class 9b as a school, and each attracts a different set of fire, egress and lining requirements.
At a glance
| Property | Typical value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Code reference | NCC 2022 Volume One Part A6 Building classification | Check the edition adopted in your jurisdiction |
| Volume One | Class 2 to Class 9 buildings | The commercial and multi-residential volume |
| Volume Two | Class 1 and Class 10 buildings | Houses, sheds and structures |
| Class 1 | Single dwellings (1a) and small boarding houses (1b) | Class 1b limited to 300 m2 floor area and 12 residents |
| Class 2 and 3 | Apartments (2) and other residential accommodation (3) | Hotels, motels, backpackers, student and workers accommodation |
| Class 5, 6, 7, 8 | Office, retail, carpark and storage, factory | 7a carpark, 7b storage or wholesale |
| Class 9 | 9a health care, 9b assembly, 9c residential care | Schools, theatres, hospitals, aged care |
| Class 10 | 10a sheds and garages, 10b structures, 10c bushfire shelters | Fences, masts, pools and retaining walls are 10b |
| Minor use rule | Up to 10 percent of the floor area of a storey | May take the classification of the major use |
The classes in full
- Class 1a: a single dwelling, whether detached, or one of a group such as a row house, terrace or townhouse separated by a fire resisting wall.
- Class 1b: a boarding house, guest house or hostel with a total floor area not more than 300 m2 and not more than 12 residents, or four or more single dwellings on one allotment used for short term holiday accommodation.
- Class 2: a building containing two or more sole occupancy units each being a separate dwelling. Apartment buildings.
- Class 3: a residential building, other than Class 1 or 2, that is a common place of long term or transient living for a number of unrelated persons. Hotels, motels, boarding houses above the Class 1b limits, backpackers, residential parts of schools and of health care buildings.
- Class 4: a sole dwelling within a Class 5 to 9 building, where it is the only dwelling in that building. A caretaker’s residence.
- Class 5: an office building used for professional or commercial purposes.
- Class 6: a shop or other building for the sale of goods by retail or the supply of services direct to the public. Restaurants, cafes, showrooms, hairdressers, markets.
- Class 7a: a carpark. Class 7b: a building for storage, or for the display of goods for sale by wholesale.
- Class 8: a laboratory, or a building in which a handicraft or process for the production, assembling, altering, repairing, packing, finishing or cleaning of goods is carried on for trade, sale or gain.
- Class 9a: a health care building. Class 9b: an assembly building, including schools, theatres, places of worship and sports facilities. Class 9c: a residential care building such as an aged care facility.
- Class 10a: a non-habitable building such as a private garage, carport or shed. Class 10b: a structure such as a fence, mast, antenna, retaining wall, swimming pool or free standing wall. Class 10c: a private bushfire shelter.
Mixed use and the minor use rule
Few real buildings have a single use. The NCC classifies parts: a tower can be Class 2 above a Class 6 retail podium over a Class 7a carpark, and each part is assessed against its own provisions. Where classifications differ in the fire resistance they demand, the more onerous requirement generally governs the elements common to both.
A minor use occupying not more than 10 percent of the floor area of the storey it is in may take the classification of the major use of that storey. This keeps a small office inside a warehouse from dragging Class 5 provisions across the building, and it is one of the more frequently misapplied clauses in the Code because the 10 percent is measured against the storey, not the building.
Why classification matters to a facade
The class of the building, read with the rise in storeys, produces the type of construction: Type A, Type B or Type C. Type A and Type B construction bring the NCC requirement for external walls and their attachments to be non-combustible, which is the provision that governs whether a cladding material can be used on the Deemed-to-Satisfy route at all. Class 2, 3 and 9 buildings reach Type A at a lower rise in storeys than Class 5, 6, 7 and 8 buildings, because they house sleeping occupants or people who cannot readily evacuate.
Classification also drives the internal side of the wall. Wall and ceiling lining requirements in Specification 7 are set by class, by whether the building is sprinkler protected, and by location within the building, and they are expressed as group numbers rather than as combustibility. A product acceptable as a wall lining in a Class 5 office may not be acceptable in a fire isolated exit in a Class 9a health care building.
Class 1 and 10 sit in a different volume
NCC Volume One covers Class 2 to Class 9 buildings and is where the type of construction, fire resistance level and non-combustible external wall provisions live. Class 1 and Class 10 buildings are covered by Volume Two, which takes a different approach: there is no type of construction for a house, and external wall fire provisions are driven instead by separation from boundaries and, in designated areas, by AS 3959 bushfire construction requirements.
A cladding product with an AS 1530.1 report is being specified for different reasons on a Class 2 tower than on a Class 1a house, and a supplier’s evidence should be read against the class in front of you.
Standards and references
- NCC 2022 Volume One Part A6 Building classification (check the edition adopted in your jurisdiction)
- NCC 2022 Volume One Part C2 Fire resistance, including type of construction required and calculation of rise in storeys
- NCC 2022 Volume One Specification 5 Fire-resisting construction
- NCC 2022 Volume One Specification 7 Fire hazard properties
- NCC 2022 Volume Two for Class 1 and Class 10 buildings; AS 3959 for designated bushfire prone areas
Related terms
Questions specifiers ask
How many NCC building classes are there?
Ten numbered classes, several with sub-classes, running from Class 1 dwellings to Class 10 non-habitable buildings and structures. Class 2 to Class 9 are covered by Volume One.
What class is an apartment building?
Class 2, being a building containing two or more sole occupancy units each a separate dwelling. A hotel or motel with similar geometry is Class 3.
Can a building have more than one classification?
Yes. Parts of a building are classified separately by use, and each part is assessed against its own provisions. A minor use of not more than 10 percent of the floor area of a storey may take the major use classification.
Does the building class decide whether cladding must be non-combustible?
Indirectly. The class and the rise in storeys give the type of construction, and it is Type A and Type B construction that require external walls to be non-combustible under the Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions.
Where do houses sit?
Class 1 and Class 10 buildings are covered by NCC Volume Two, which has no type of construction and addresses external wall fire performance through boundary separation and bushfire provisions instead.
Working out which fire provisions apply to your facade? ShapeShift can map the classification and construction type to a tested ShapeShell system. Open the fire standards atlas
Reviewed by Richard Halvorsen, General Manager, ShapeShift Technologies. Last updated September 2026.