Information last reviewed at:
12 September 2007
Related Documents
Proposals for Change (PFCs)
The Proposal for Change (PFC) process is used by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) to consider technical proposals to change the BCA. The process has been developed based on the Council of Australian Governments principles for good regulatory practice to ensure appropriate rigour is used in the assessment of proposals.
Proponents of change are required to provide justification to support their proposal. This justification includes:
- a description of the proposal;
- an explanation of the problem it is designed to resolve;
- how the proposal is expected to solve the problem;
- who will be affected and how they will be affected; and
- any consultation that has taken place.
PFCs are considered at the ABCB National Technical Summit which is held annually to discuss and assess proposals. The Summit is attended by more than 50 representatives from industry, research and regulatory organisations from Australia and New Zealand with an interest in the BCA. Based on the outcomes of the Summit, the ABCB's Building Codes Committee (BCC) develops a series of recommendations for Board consideration which includes broad priority ranking of supported proposals. Depending on the complexity, the BCC may recommend that changes be included in the next version of the BCA, or included on the ABCB's work program for further research, analysis and consultation.
The final date for submission of PFCs for consideration at the Summit is 1 February annually. PFCs should be submitted electronically using the PFC template to ABCB.Office@abcb.gov.au. Guidance information to assist in preparation of a PFC is also available. Enquiries can be directed to 1300 134 631.