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Recently The Sydney Morning Herald and Daily Telegraph reported an upcoming change to the Building Code of Australia 2013 (the BCA). The BCA forms Volumes One and Two of the National Construction Code (the NCC).
The Australian Building Code Board, the inter-governmental body that oversees the NCC, decided in September 2011 to support suggestions for “openable window barriers”, using screens, or fixed or lockable devices, in order to prevent children from falling out of windows more than two metres from the ground.
The changes have come about due to pressure from stakeholder groups and media reports of young children incurring injuries, sometimes occasioning death, from falling out of windows in their own homes.
In May 2013, the new regulations will come into force in the NCC.
From that date, new buildings will require the installation of fixed or lockable devices or strong screens on windows located more than two metres from ground level. The proposed fixed or lockable devices will allow a window to only open 12.5 centimetres, preventing a child from climbing through. Any proposed screen must be of “sufficient strength”, however there is no guideline as yet as to what strength is sufficient.
It is important to note that the installation of lockable devices or strong screens on windows is NOT required for existing buildings. The NCC applies to new constructions only. Owners Corporations are not required to retrofit their windows.
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Of course most BCA amendments are not retrospective. This is mostly as it should be.
However, schemes may be forced to consider their risk-management profile to address the issue of openability and child protection. For example, a Lot with no toddlers ever visiting may not need the same level of protection as one that contains two sets of triplets and sleep deprived parents!
On another note, should an individual Lot have its window opening restricted to a maximum of 125mm (or 100mm if AMA recommendations are taken aboard, considering the demographic at risk: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/call-to-change-law-over-balcony-falls/story-fnet085v-1226561736827), then ventilation requirements of the room may be constrained to below what the BCA requires. This may necessitate improvements by way of mechanical ventilation systems to offset the lost natural ventilation (in new-build or refurb projects).
In closing, I would certainly NOT like to be the consultant who recommended against installing opening restriction devices in an existing Lot if asked to assess the risks, if later a toddler did find their way through a window opening.
It’s an interesting (strata) place to work!
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