State and territory ministers have agreed to pause residential changes to the National Construction Code until mid-2029.

The move, designed to speed up house building, means there will be no changes unless essential quality and safety measures are needed.

The insurance industry had been pushing for the code to include the principle of resilience.

The Insurance Council of Australia says it acknowledges the importance of tackling the housing shortage, but there must be a balance to ensure new builds are not “locking in future risk at the expense of community resilience to worsening disasters”.

The ministers finalised the 2025 code with adjustments to include:

• Water management in commercial and apartment buildings to prevent ingress.
• Car park fire safety provisions for commercial and apartment buildings.
• Commercial energy efficiency reforms including mandatory on‑site solar photovoltaic systems to support the net zero emissions push.
• Condensation mitigation.

A joint communique says electric vehicle charging provisions and residential energy efficiency changes will not be introduced yet. The 2025 code will be published by February 1 next year and states and territories can adopt it from May 1.