Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00410:body:0:p13
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00410
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 33864–36896

achieve acceptable standards of structural sufficiency, safety, health and amenity. It contains technical provisions for the design and construction of buildings and other structures relating to structural sufficiency, fire spread within and between buildings, building occupant access and egress, fire fighting equipment, smoke hazard management and fire brigade access to buildings. In addition, health and safety amenity aspects such as ventilation, lighting, legionella controls, sanitary facilities and damp and weatherproofing measures are covered in the NCCA.

The NCCA refers to Australian Standards, but designers should be aware that these may not adequately control workplace risks if applied to a situation outside that contemplated in the Standard or if the Standard is out-dated. The NCCA also does not provide guidance for some specialised structures such as major hazard facilities (for example, refineries).

Assessing risk
A risk assessment involves considering what could happen if someone is exposed to a hazard and the likelihood of it happening.
It is a way of deciding how much effort should be focussed on designing out a hazard – the more serious the risk of harm, the more time and effort should be dedicated to eliminating or minimising the risk.

Risk assessment is not an absolute science, it is an evaluation based on available information. Therefore, it is important those involved in a risk assessment have the necessary information, knowledge and experience of the work environment and work process.

If similar tasks or processes apply for a number of projects, or the design is of a fairly routine nature, a generic risk assessment model might be appropriate. However, the designer is still responsible for ensuring that the generic assessment is valid for the project, before deciding
to adopt it.
Risk assessment methods for assessing design safety may include:
    * fact finding to determine existing controls, if any
    * testing design assumptions to ensure that aspects of it are not based on incorrect beliefs
      of anticipations on the part of the designer, as to how workers or others involved will act
      or react
    * testing of structures or components specified for use in the construction, end use and maintenance
    * consulting with key people who have the specialised knowledge and/or capacity to control
      or influence the design, (for example the architect, client, construction manager, engineers, project managers and safety and health representatives), to identify and assess risks; consulting directly with other experts, (for example specialist engineers, manufacturers and product or systems designers) who have been involved with similar constructions, and
    * when designing for the renovation or demolition of existing buildings, reviewing previous design documentation or information recorded about the design structure and any modifications undertaken to address safety concerns; and consulting professional industry
      or employee associations who