In recent times, Australian construction regulation has been subject to significant change, particularly surrounding the topic of fire protection. This has caused considerable confusion and misdirection with regard to the compliance of fire rated products within the Australian marketplace.
The ABCB (Australian Building Codes Board) alerted the industry that it would be making a decision on the which edition of AS 1530 to nominate as the correct edition to test to.
The ABCB outlined that only tests and reports pertaining to the most recent revision of AS1530 (2014) would be considered acceptable in new builds. This change was to take effect as of April 2019.
In response to this mandate, Bostik Australia took proactive steps to ensure its fire rated sealant range was certified to AS1530.4:2014.
These reports were circulated to some of our customers. It is worth noting that not all manufacturers of fire-rated sealants have been so forth-coming.
More recently, the ABCB have allowed concessions for manufacturers with regard to product testing and reports relating AS1530 parts 1 to 4, as outlined in the following statement:
For AS 1530 Parts 1 to 4
(a) Until 1 May 2022, subject to the note AS 4072.1, reports relating to tests carried out under earlier editions of AS 1530 Parts 1 to 4 remain valid.
As a consequence, Bostik Australia would like to remind its customers of the validity of its pre 2018 test documentation and reassure them that Bostik will always take the necessary approach to product compliance in the construction industry.
Through third party consultation, Bostik has confirmed the compliance and suitability of its fire rated sealants for the applications and corresponding fire resistant levels outlined in its test literature.
For further information, please enquire with the Bostik technical team 1800 267 845 or via the Bostik Australia website.