Continued Non-Compliance with NCC and Australian Standards
In our First Edition released last year, independent testing uncovered that several imported steel wall and ceiling products from China fell short of NCC compliance, by failing to meet the AS/NZS 4600 requirement for cold-formed steel to be at least 95% of its specified base metal thickness (BMT).
Ongoing independent testing has revealed that several imported products still fail to meet the 95% BMT code requirement, with our test results contradicting how the products are marked, specified and advertised.
Because base metal thickness is concealed beneath the zinc coating, it cannot be verified through visual inspection or routine on-site measurement. Accurate determination requires laboratory testing, including removal of the zinc coating to measure the base steel. As a result, the industry may rely on thickness markings and product information provided by importers.
Independent laboratory testing has identified discrepancies on some imported products exceeding 5% between thickness markings and measured results, which is non-compliant to NCC.
As an example, an isolation head track that is promoted as being a part of compliance-focused solution, was tested at only 93% of its specified BMT, below the NCC requirement. Although marked as 0.75 BMT, the tested Track measured just 0.70 BMT, revealing a clear difference between its stated and actual thickness.
The following test results reinforce the importance of choosing trusted, tested and fully compliant steel framing products
