termitebarrier.com.au · Sheet 01
Sheet 01The code
What the building code requires for termite protection
Where a house or other Class 1 or 10 building goes up in a place with a known risk of subterranean termites, and one of its primary building elements is open to attack, Part 3.4 of the code’s Housing Provisions requires a termite management system. That system must be chosen to suit the code’s Table 3.4.2, comply with AS 3660.1 or have passed the tests in Section 5 of AS 3660.3, carry a durable notice, and use only a chemical that is on the pesticides register.
General information, not building advice. The official place to check is the code itself, linked at the foot of this page, read with your building certifier.
The trigger: two tests, both met
The code’s housing volume covers Class 1 buildings (houses, townhouses, terrace houses and the like) and Class 10a buildings such as private garages and carports, as QBCC’s booklet explains the classes. Part 3.4 applies to them only when both of its tests are met:
Housing Provisions, NCC 2022“The requirements of this Part apply where: a Class 1 or 10 building is constructed in an area where subterranean termites are known to present a potential risk of attack; and a primary building element of a Class 1 or 10 building is considered susceptible to termite attack.”
Subclause 3.4.1(1). ABCB, Part 3.4 Termite risk management
The second test turns on materials. Under 3.4.1(2), the code counts a primary building element as not subject to termite attack when it is made wholly of the following, alone or mixed:
- “Steel, aluminium or other metals.”
- “Concrete.”
- “Masonry.”
- “Fibre-reinforced cement.”
- Timber that is “naturally termite resistant in accordance with Appendix C of AS 3660.1”.
- Timber that is “preservative treated in accordance with Appendix D of AS 3660.1”.
Two notes in the code qualify the list. Masonry is not subject to attack, but termites may get in through mortar and other joints. And where only some primary building elements are susceptible and the rest are termite resistant, only the susceptible ones need a termite management system.
What the system has to be
Clause 3.4.2 sets four requirements for any system the code calls for. In its words:
- “be selected appropriate to Table 3.4.2”;
- “comply with AS 3660.1; or have been tested and passed the tests required by Section 5 of AS 3660.3”;
- “have a durable notice installed in accordance with 3.4.3; and”
- “where a chemical termite management system is used, the chemical must be included on the appropriate authority’s pesticides register.”
The code’s explanatory note adds a point about the tested route: where a chemical termite management system has been tested to AS 3660.3, it has to be installed as it was tested for those test results to stay valid. The durable notice has a sheet of its own, and so does the pesticides register.
The table, row by row
Table 3.4.2 matches each part of the building to the kinds of system that may protect it.
| Building element | Options the table lists |
|---|---|
| “Concrete slab-on-ground: slab perimeter or external wall perimeter” | “Slab edge exposure”; “Sheet material”; “Granular material”; “Chemical”. |
| “Concrete slab-on-ground: penetrations/control joints/area beneath the slab” | “Sheet material”; “Granular material”; “Chemical”. |
| “Suspended floors” | “Sheet material”; “Granular material”; “Chemical”. |
| “Attachments to buildings” | “Termite management system to the attachment”; “Inspection zone between attachment and building”. |
Three notes travel with the table. The entire area beneath a slab must be treated when the slab is not designed and built to AS 2870 or AS 3600. A “component” is a part that forms a full system only in combination with others: a concrete slab on its own is not a complete termite management system, and, depending on the construction methods and site conditions, pipes passing through it need more. And the attachments the table means, its note says, are “downpipes, service pipes, steps, verandahs, porches, access ramps, carports, trellises, decks, heated water systems, air-conditioners and the like”. Sheet 03 draws the system types in section.
Where a state or territory changes the rule
Queensland adds a design life. Its variation says the system must have a design life of at least 50 years for a non-temporary Class 1 building, unless it is easily and readily accessible for replenishment or replacement and can be replenished or replaced. A chemical perimeter system there goes in a treated, backfilled trench under a concrete cover strip at least 50 mm thick and 300 mm wide. QBCC’s booklet says Queensland also extends the definition of a primary building element to include architraves and skirting, door jambs, and window frames and reveals.
The Northern Territory counts naturally termite-resistant timber as not subject to attack only where Mastotermes darwiniensis is not prevalent, and asks for additional measures where it is. Business Queensland names that species, the giant northern termite, as the most destructive of the subterranean termites that damage timber in Queensland.
In New South Wales, the state government says the builder is responsible for installing a termite risk management system for the work, and warns that some building contracts may try to shift that liability to the owner, so read the contract for who is accountable.
NCC 2025, and when each state starts using it
NCC 2025 was published on 1 May 2026, but states and territories adopt it on their own dates. The clauses quoted on this sheet are NCC 2022’s. NCC 2025’s Part 3.4 opens with the same two tests, word for word. The ABCB’s adoption table read as follows on 8 October 2026:
- 1 May 2026NCC 2025 adopted
The Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia, each with a 12-month transition period, and Victoria.
- 1 May 2027NCC 2025 takes effect
New South Wales and Queensland; South Australia for the Building Code of Australia; and Tasmania, which adopted it temporarily from 1 May to 4 June 2026 and has a transition period from 5 June 2026 to 1 May 2027.
- Not adoptedas listed
The Northern Territory.
The ABCB adds its own warning: some NCC requirements may apply at different times, or not at all, because of state or territory variations, so check the variations for your jurisdiction before relying on a date. Whichever edition applies, Part 3.4 ends at the same object on the wall: the durable notice, written to be read by future owners of the building.