Home fire sprinklers for SDAs: correcting the record

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The Fifth Estate - LETTER TO THE EDITOR: We write in response to a published article in The Fifth Estate regarding the proposal to install home fire sprinklers in residential…

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: We write in response to a published article in The Fifth Estate regarding the proposal to install home fire sprinklers in residential accommodation for people living with a disability.

While we welcome open public discourse on residential building standards, the article in question contains key factual inaccuracies, misinterprets statutory regulatory frameworks and fundamentally misrepresents both the purpose and broad-based coalition behind the Class 1c Proposal for Change.

We request that The Fifth Estate publish this response in full to ensure your readers receive an accurate, evidence-based account of the regulatory landscape, safety data and cost frameworks surrounding fire protection for vulnerable Australians.

The article incorrectly asserts that “Schedule 1 of the NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) Rules sets out which NCC class applies to each SDA Classification”.

This is incorrect. Schedule 1 of the NDIS SDA Rules 2020 defines SDA Building Types (such as apartments, villas, houses, group homes) based on dwelling design, resident count and functional layout.

It does not define or mandate National Construction Code (NCC) building classes (such as Class 1a, 1b, 2, 3, or 9c). The determination of an NCC building class rests entirely with the registered building certifier or surveyor under relevant state and territory legislation, based on the intended purpose for which it is designed, constructed or adapted to be used.

In practice, SDA dwellings for two or more unrelated residents with disability are frequently classified as NCC Class 3 (residential care) by building certifiers. This imposes complex institutional/commercial fire protection requirements – such as commercial-grade sprinkler installations, fire doors, and commercial emergency lighting – on what is meant to be a residential home.

The article frames our advocacy as an attempt to “restrict Class 1 buildings” and “force all SDA to comply with an institutional standard”.

This…

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