H1 - Structure

Short Version

When you walk into a home, you don’t usually think about the structure holding it up. You expect the floors to feel solid, the walls to stay straight, and the building to stand up in strong winds or heavy rain. That expectation is exactly what Part H1 – Structure of the NCC is designed to protect.

Part H1 in NCC 2022 Volume 2 sets the minimum safety standards for how a building must be designed and built so it doesn’t fail, move excessively, or deteriorate in ways that could put people at risk. In simple terms, it exists to make sure a building is strong enough, stable enough, and durable enough for everyday life and extreme events.

H1 - Structure looks at how a building holds up when it comes to things like:

• The weight of the building itself
• People, furniture, and stored items
• Wind, storms, and earthquakes
• Movement of the ground beneath it
• Long-term effects such as moisture, termites, corrosion, and decay

The goal is not just to stop a building from collapsing, but to make sure it performs reliably over time. A home that cracks, sags, or shifts excessively can become unsafe, uncomfortable, and expensive to repair. H1 - Structure is about preventing those problems before they happen, not fixing them later.

Importantly, H1 - Structure doesn’t tell designers and builders exactly how to build every structure. Instead, it focuses on the outcome: the building must be safe and stable for its intended life. This allows flexibility and innovation, as long as the final structure meets the required level of performance.

In everyday terms, H1 - Structure is about peace of mind. It helps ensure that the place you live or work in is designed to cope with real-world conditions, today and into the future. It’s the part of the NCC that quietly makes sure buildings do what we all expect them to do stand firm, stay safe, and last.

Why a Performance Solution May Be Needed for Structure

In many projects, structural compliance can be achieved by following standard construction methods set out in the NCC’s Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions and referenced Australian Standards. However, not all buildings are standard, and this is where a Performance Solution may be required. A Performance Solution for structure is often needed when a building uses non-traditional materials, innovative construction systems, or unusual design features. Examples include 3D-printed concrete walls, large cantilevers, reduced structural depths, unconventional footing systems, or buildings on challenging sites with reactive soils, slopes, or retaining walls.

In these cases, the standard rules may not directly apply, even though the building can still be made safe and compliant. A Performance Solution allows the structure ​to be assessed based on how it performs, rather than whether it matches a prescriptive detail. Engineering analysis, calculations, modelling, and testing are used to ​demonstrate that the building still meets the intent of H1 — namely, that it remains safe, stable, and durable.

​From an owner’s perspective, a structural Performance Solution is not about taking shortcuts. It is about providing assurance where the design falls outside the usual ​templates. It documents how risks have been identified, assessed, and managed so that the building will perform as expected over time.

​Put simply, a Performance Solution for H1 exists to allow smart, well-designed buildings to move forward when the rule book doesn’t neatly fit, importantly, without ​compromising safety or reliability.

Want to read how we have helped out with H1 Performance Solutions?

Read about past projects we've helped out with below: