Fibre Reinforced Facade Encyclopedia: Testing and standards
The National Construction Code requires the external walls of buildings of Type A and Type B construction, together with anything built into or attached to them, to be non-combustible. In NCC 2022 Volume One that requirement sits in clause C2D10, formerly C1.9. Around it sit three other provisions that decide what a facade may be made of: Specification 5 for the fire resistance levels of building elements, Specification 7 for fire hazard properties, and Verification Method C1V3, the route to a Performance Solution where the cladding is not non-combustible.
Non-combustible under the Code means not deemed combustible when tested to AS 1530.1. Everything else in an external wall, including membranes, insulation, sealants, brackets and attachments, is either covered by a concession in C2D10 or justified through a Performance Solution.
At a glance
| Property | Typical value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Edition described here | NCC 2022 Volume One | In force in NSW, Queensland, South Australia and the NT |
| NCC 2025 | Published 1 May 2026, adopted in Victoria, the ACT and WA | NSW, Queensland and SA deferred adoption to 1 May 2027 |
| Core clause | C2D10 non-combustible building elements | Formerly C1.9 |
| Definition relied on | Not deemed combustible to AS 1530.1 | NCC Schedule 1 |
| Applies to | External walls of Type A and Type B construction | Type C construction is not caught |
| Type of construction | Set from building class and rise in storeys | Table C2D2, formerly Table C1.1 |
| Fire resistance levels | Specification 5, formerly Specification C1.1 | Separate requirement, expressed in minutes |
| Fire hazard properties | Specification 7, formerly Specification C1.10 | Group numbers, floor linings, sarking, insulation |
| Performance route | Verification Method C1V3 with an AS 5113 classification | Plus sprinklers and other stated conditions |
| Vertical separation of openings | Spandrel not less than 900 mm high with an FRL of 60/60/60, or an equivalent projection | Part C3 |
Which buildings the requirement catches
Type of construction is not a choice. It is read from the building’s class and its rise in storeys. For Class 2, Class 3 and Class 9 buildings a rise of three storeys or more gives Type A and two storeys gives Type B; for Class 5 to Class 8 buildings a rise of four or more gives Type A, three gives Type B, and two or fewer gives Type C. The C2D10 requirement applies to Type A and Type B.
So a three storey apartment building is caught while a two storey office building of the same height is not. Effective height matters elsewhere in the Code, but this requirement follows the type of construction.
Which edition is in force where
The NCC is not a national mandatory standard in itself. It takes effect only where a state or territory adopts it, and adoption is currently fragmented. NCC 2025 was published on 1 May 2026 and was adopted on that date by Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia, with transition provisions in Victoria for designs substantially commenced earlier and a six month transition in the ACT running to 1 November 2026.
New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia deferred adoption to 1 May 2027, so NCC 2022 remains the edition in force in those states. Queensland allows voluntary early adoption, and the South Australian deferral applies to the Building Code while the Plumbing Code was adopted on 1 May 2026. The Northern Territory reversed its adoption and continues under NCC 2022. Tasmania is unresolved, with legislation proposed to pause adoption.
This page sets out the NCC 2022 provisions and uses NCC 2022 clause numbering, because that is the edition in force in most jurisdictions, including Queensland. For a project in Victoria, the ACT or Western Australia, treat the clause references here as a guide to the substance of the requirement rather than to its current numbering.
What C2D10 actually permits
The clause does more than state a prohibition. It also lists materials that may be used wherever a non-combustible material is required, without holding an AS 1530.1 report of their own: plasterboard, perforated gypsum lath, fibrous plaster sheet, fibre-reinforced cement sheeting, pre-finished metal sheeting with a combustible surface finish within stated thickness and spread of flame limits, sarking type material within stated thickness and flammability index limits, and bonded laminated materials meeting conditions on each laminate, on adhesive thickness and on the indices of the laminate as a whole.
It then permits paint and similar thin coatings, and lists ancillary elements that may be fixed to a wall required to be non-combustible: gutters, downpipes and flashings, small grates and grilles serving a building service, electrical fittings and cover plates, signs within stated limits, awnings and shading devices, hand rails and certain brackets. Each carries its own qualifications on size, thickness or index.
The concessions are narrow, conditional, and not a general licence. A composite panel with a combustible core is not a bonded laminated material within the meaning of the clause, because each laminate other than the adhesive must be non-combustible in its own right.
Specification 7 and the rest of the facade
Non-combustibility is not the only fire hazard requirement a facade attracts. Specification 7 sets fire hazard properties for linings and materials: group numbers under AS 5637.1 for wall and ceiling linings, critical radiant flux under AS ISO 9239.1 for floor coverings, and AS 1530.3 or AS 1530.2 indices for other components including sarking. Insulation, balcony soffits and the internal face are each reached by one of these provisions.
Separately, Specification 5 sets the fire resistance level required of each element by type of construction, and Part C3 covers compartmentation and separation, including vertical separation of openings by a spandrel or projection. These are assembly requirements in minutes, independent of what the cladding is made of.
The performance route: C1V3 and AS 5113
Where a design uses a cladding that is not non-combustible, the Deemed-to-Satisfy route is unavailable and compliance is demonstrated against the Performance Requirement for spread of fire via the external wall. Verification Method C1V3 provides a defined way of doing that. Its central condition is a full-scale test of the external wall system to AS 5113, achieving the EW classification, on a system built as the building’s wall will be built. Further conditions attach, including an automatic sprinkler system of the type the Code names and requirements for cavity barriers.
A fire engineer assembles that evidence into a Performance Solution for the specific building. The test report is necessary; it is not sufficient, and it is not a product approval. If the wall as detailed differs from the wall as tested in insulation, cavity depth, substrate, panel thickness or cavity barrier arrangement, the difference has to be assessed.
How the two routes look in practice
On the Deemed-to-Satisfy route the facade material carries an AS 1530.1 result of Not Deemed Combustible and the submission is a document check. Glass fibre reinforced concrete, fibre cement, terracotta, stone and metal are the usual materials, and ShapeShell-RC sits here, tested by Ignis Labs.
On the performance route the facade material is combustible and the evidence is a full-scale test of the system. ShapeShell-RT, the fibre reinforced polymer system, is not non-combustible and is never described as such. It holds an AS 5637 Group 1 classification from AWTA Product Testing, an EN 13501-1 classification of B-s2 from Intertek, and it was tested to BS 8414 and AS 5113 at BRE Global, meeting all AS 5113 criteria. At 5 to 32 kilograms per square metre it is the lighter option, always used with a fire engineer’s Performance Solution.
Standards and references
- NCC 2022 Volume One: C2D10 (non-combustible building elements), Table C2D2 (type of construction), Specification 5 (fire-resisting construction), Specification 7 (fire hazard properties), Part C3 (compartmentation and separation), C1V3 (verification method for spread of fire via external walls)
- NCC Schedule 1 definitions of non-combustible, rise in storeys, effective height and fire source feature
- AS 1530.1 (combustibility), AS 1530.2 (flammability index), AS 1530.3 (early fire hazard indices), AS 1530.4 (fire resistance)
- AS 5637.1:2015 (group number) and AS ISO 9239.1 (floor coverings)
- AS 5113:2016 Classification of external walls of buildings based on reaction-to-fire performance
- AS 4284 (building facade testing) and AS/NZS 1170.2 (wind actions), for the non-fire facade requirements
Related terms
Questions specifiers ask
Does the NCC require non-combustible cladding on all buildings?
No. The requirement in C2D10 applies to external walls of buildings of Type A and Type B construction. Type of construction is read from the building’s class and rise in storeys, so a low rise building may be Type C and outside the requirement.
What is the NCC definition of non-combustible?
A material that is not deemed combustible when tested to AS 1530.1, together with the short list of materials that C2D10 permits to be used wherever a non-combustible material is required without a test of their own.
Can combustible cladding be used at all under the NCC?
Yes, through a Performance Solution. Verification Method C1V3 sets out a route based on an AS 5113 EW classification for the wall system as built, a sprinkler system and further conditions, with a fire engineer’s assessment for the specific building.
Which NCC edition applies to my project?
That depends on the state or territory. NCC 2025 was adopted on 1 May 2026 in Victoria, the ACT and Western Australia. New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia deferred to 1 May 2027 and remain on NCC 2022, as does the Northern Territory; Tasmania is unresolved. Transition provisions can also apply to a design already under way.
Does an external wall need a fire resistance level as well?
Often. Specification 5 sets fire resistance levels by type of construction, and Part C3 can require a spandrel or projection between openings. Those are assembly requirements in minutes, separate from the non-combustibility of the material.
Deciding between the Deemed-to-Satisfy and performance routes? ShapeShell-RC is non-combustible to AS/NZS 1530.1, and ShapeShell-RT holds a full-scale AS 5113 pass from BRE Global. See ShapeShell fire test data
Reviewed by Richard Halvorsen, General Manager, ShapeShift Technologies. Last updated September 2026.