ICC Solutions for the Oceania Region
The ICC family of solutions ensures the safety, affordability and sustainability of buildings worldwide. Our team of experts is here to guide you through your building safety initiatives, ensuring compliance with local regulations. We take the time to understand the unique needs of each partner, user or client, offering tailored advice to meet those specific requirements.
Learn more about product approval in Australia / New Zealand
ES Mark
CodeMark/WaterMark
Environmental Product Declaration
Off-Site Construction
Accreditation
Codes & Standards
ES Mark
With more than ninety years in product evaluation, ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) offers certification services for building and plumbing products to demonstrate compliance with the Australian National Construction Code (NCC) or New Zealand Building Code’s (NZBC) evidence of suitability requirements.
Under its Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ) endorsed ES Mark scheme, Evaluation Service Reports (ESRs) or Evaluation Service Listings (ESLs) issued by ICC-ES can be used as evidence to demonstrate compliance with the NCC and NZBC.
ICC-ES also maintains accreditation from the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) and ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) for building product approval in compliance with Australian and New Zealand building codes, covering a comprehensive range of services.
Evaluation Reports
Product Compliance is a major pillar in the regulatory framework. ESRs verify that innovative building products comply with code requirements.
Evaluation Service Listings (ESLs)
Product Compliance is a major pillar in the regulatory framework. ESLs verify that building products comply with standards referenced in code requirements.
Evaluation Reports
International Scope
ESRs are widely accepted internationally, including in North, Central and South America, parts of the Middle East, Europe and Asia. These reports can be used to demonstrate compliance with building codes, particularly where prescriptive standards do not exist for new and innovative products. The products that receive ESRs are evaluated for compliance with Acceptance Criteria (AC), a normative document that is developed by ICC-ES technical experts and reviewed and approved by an independent panel.
Click here to see the extensive list of approved ACs developed by ICC-ES to facilitate market-entry for innovative products.
Australia and New Zealand
In the case of Australia, an ESR can be considered to be a certificate issued by a certification body stating that the properties and performance of a material, product, form of construction or design fulfil specific requirements of the BCA under (1) (c) of provision A5G3.
In the case of New Zealand, an ES Mark Scheme ESR can be considered to be the equivalent of an Appraisal, where ICC-ES is a third-party assessor of a product’s performance, independent of the product manufacturer or distributor, where using AC, the product is evaluated to the requirements of the NZBC.
Evaluation Service Listings
Building products/systems abiding to a specific standard requires proof of compliance through a listing report. An ESL allows manufacturers of building products covered by existing consensus standards to show their product compliance with applicable standards/national scheme referenced in the building codes and other applicable codes.
In the case of Oceania, an ESL would be determined having regard to standards referenced in either the BCA or NZBC. If the normative document is a reputable international standard not referenced in either of the local codes, at present this could not be regarded as an ESL and would need to be assessed as an ESR or CodeMark to establish compliance with the BCA or NZBC.
Interested in having your product listed to any of the outlined schemes or evaluated as per the local requirements?
CodeMark Australia
ICC-ES is a Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ) accredited conformity body for CodeMark Australia.
As a voluntary building product certification scheme, CodeMark Australia can be used by product manufacturers and suppliers to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the NCC for both innovative products and where there are referenced standards. Reports from accredited test laboratories can be used, or alternatively ICC-ES can assist in undertaking the tests if within its scope of accreditation.
CodeMark Australia certification is accompanied by mandatory acceptance subject to use in accordance with a certificate's scope and limitations.
WaterMark
Through its Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas (PMG) program, ICC-ES is accredited by JASANZ as a WaterMark Conformity Assessment Body (WMCAB) to provide plumbing product certification for WaterMark and WaterMark Lead-Free under the Plumbing Code of Australia (Volume Three of the National Construction Code).
Read more about WaterMark Certification Scheme or Lead Free Plumbing Products.
WaterMark Certification Scheme
In Australia, WaterMark is a mandatory certification scheme for certain types of plumbing and drainage products, principally those that come into contact with the potable water supply. The scheme is designed to protect community health and safety, where once a product is certified, it is fit for purpose and authorized for installation by a licensed plumber.
A product that is listed on the Australian Building Codes Board’s (ABCB) Schedule of WaterMark Products and is to be installed in Australia must be WaterMark certified and provided with a Scope of Use statement by an accredited CB specifying its intended use.
In New Zealand, plumbing and drainage systems must be constructed using materials and products fit for their intended purpose to achieve the relevant requirement of the NZBC. WaterMark Certification can be accepted as proof of compliance with NZBC.
Lead Free Plumbing Products
ICC-ES has been accredited by JASANZ for the purpose of certifying products to the requirements of the Plumbing Code of Australia to satisfy the Lead Free WaterMark status, which will also be accepted in New Zealand. ICC-ES is also able to offer its laboratory capabilities in the U.S. to test for lead free products to NSF/ANSI/CAN 372.
As part of the 2022 edition of National Construction Code (NCC) Volume Three (Plumbing Code Australia) adopted on May 1, 2023, ABCB has limited allowable lead content in plumbing products that contain copper alloys and are intended for use in contact with drinking water to a weighted average lead content of no more than ≤ 0.25 percent.
This requirement is accompanied by a transition period to enable the industry to have new and existing products certified to conform to NSF/ANSI/CAN 372. Beginning May 1, 2026, these provisions will be in effect, and only products that conform to the new requirements will be authorized for installation in Australia. New Zealand has instituted equivalent requirements.
Environmental Product Declaration and Life Cycle Assessment
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are designed to meet the global market demand for science-based, transparent, quality assured information about product environmental performance.
ICC-ES is an accredited Program Operator and its expert engineers can guide a manufacturer through the process from start to finish.
Off-Site/Prefabricated Construction
In North America and other global locations, ICC-ES provides manufacturing site inspections by certified inspectors, design review and evaluation for off-site/prefabricated construction pods, systems and components. With over 40 years of industry expertise, ICC-ES is well-positioned to support the growing demand for this form of construction in Australia and New Zealand.
ICC-ES has also created Acceptance Criteria for product evaluation of off-site components and assemblies (e.g. office pods, volumetric structures, 3D printing, mass timber, shipping containers, etc.).
Accreditation
The ICC Family of Solutions includes the International Accreditation Service (IAS), an ILAC-MRA signatory and member of IAF, APAC, and IAAC, that provides accreditations and related services in compliance with ISO/IEC 17011, national and international conformity assessment requirements, and the needs and requirements of its customers.
Codes and Standards
ICC technical experts are available to provide advice or develop reports that assess the applicability of I-Code content to local requirements as input to a Performance Solution in the case of Australia, or Alternative Solution in New Zealand.
While they aren’t the mandated building codes in Australia and New Zealand, the I-Codes and ICC Standards may contain evidence that can be used to demonstrate compliance with the Performance Requirements of the Building Code of Australia and New Zealand Building Code.
The I-Codes and ICC standards can also be used or adapted for use by Indo-Pacific nations that may have less well-developed building regulations, and which can also access ICC training for capacity building.
ICC Periodic Table
Download the International Code Council Periodic Table as a quick reference to all of the Code Council's codes, standards and guidelines.
Performance/Alternative Solutions for Design
International Code Council (ICC) technical experts are available to provide advice or develop reports that assess the applicability of International Code (I-Code) content to local requirements as input to a Performance Solution in the case of Australia, or Alternative Solution in New Zealand.
While not the mandated building codes in Australia and New Zealand, the I-Codes and ICC Standards may contain evidence that can be used to demonstrate compliance with the Performance Requirements of the Building Code of Australia and New Zealand Building Code.
The I-Codes and ICC standards can also be used or adapted for use by Indo-Pacific nations that may have less well-developed building regulations, and which can also access ICC training for capacity building.
Technology/Digitization
Local government officials, practitioners and constituents need easy access to planning ordinances. The ICC family of solutions offers building code solutions that make it possible to digitally link planning ordinances, land use zoning, building codes, planning and building approval documentation and other essential content with local procedures and public service platforms. Learn more
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