NSW: Do Older Balcony Balustrades Need to Meet Current Building Codes?

This article discusses whether older apartment buildings must upgrade existing balustrades to comply with the balcony balustrade building code when safety deficiencies are identified or modifications are proposed.

Question: The balustrades on our 1983 built apartment building as no longer compliant. What do we have to do to make sure the building complies with the current building code?

Our apartment building in Wahroonga, NSW was built in 1983. Although the balcony balustrades met the regulations at the time they were built, they are deficient in two ways:

1. they are three feet high
2. they are made up of crossed members that would allow a small child to crawl through, or a bigger child to use in order to climb over.

If we add panels of Plexiglass to cover the cross-sections and also raise the level of the balustrades to one metre, would we be compliant with the current Code?

Answer: We recommend that the Owners engage a private certifier to review their proposed upgrades and ask the certifier to provide advice as to compliance requirements

An owners corporation can make changes to their building within certain parameters and in this instance, the Owners would need to consider:

The National Construction Code, Building Code requirements where a substantial change or replacement in respect of a building element is proposed.

Any upgrade of the balustrading would also need to meet requirements in terms of strength, rigidity and durability, particularly with respect to loading and wind loading.

We understand that this type of improvement may also require approval from the local authority and if the overall cost of the work exceeds $5000 a contract in the prescribed form will need to be entered into by the Owners.

Given the above we recommend that the Owners engage a private certifier to review their proposed upgrades and ask the certifier to provide advice as to compliance requirements for both the proposed upgrades and as to the lodgement of an application for approval with the local authority.

This will ensure that the proposed upgrades are certified and will meet the legislative requirements of the Home Building Act, National Construction Code and local authority.

This post appears in the November 2021 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.

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