Somewhere right now, on a project that has already gone to tender, there is a drawing note that says "waterproofing to manufacturer's details and NCC." That note has launched a hundred leaks. Here is the uncomfortable arithmetic of NCC Volume One. For external above-ground waterproofing, the Deemed-to-Satisfy pathway points you at AS 4654 and you can, with care, tick your way to compliance. For below-ground waterproofing, there is no current DtS pathway and the recent NCC framework has not...

Water ingress in buildings young and old often has a common starting point: design coordination gaps that are left for resolution on site. Drainage paths, balcony, planter, podium, wet area falls, set downs and membrane terminations are just some of the building elements that are documented across separate drawings, schedules and trades. Each item may appear reasonable in isolation, but water does not read drawings in isolation. It finds the unresolved gaps. By the time these issues reach...

For Class 2–9 buildings, NCC 2025 Volume One makes water management a whole-of-design issue. Pre DA and certainly well before Construction Certificate, projects should engage a specialist waterproofing consultant to review falls, drainage, balconies, podiums, façades, basements and waterproofing interfaces before compliance risk is locked in.