Building Classifications
Steel shed buildings come in many different classifications and different importance ratings. We use the site location and the intended use of the shed to determine the building importance rating your shed will be.
| CLASS 1A | A single dwelling being an attached house or one more attached dwelling |
| CLASS 1B | Boarding /guest house or hostel not exceeding 300m2 and not more than 12 people residing, which is not located above or below another dwelling or another class of building other than a private garage. |
| CLASS 2 | A building containing 2 or more sole occupancy units each being a separate dwelling. |
| CLASS 3 | A residential building other than a class 1 or 2, which is commonplace of long term or transient living for a number of unrelated persons. |
| CLASS 4 | A dwelling in a building that is class 5,6,7,8 or 9 if it is the only dwelling in the building. |
| CLASS 5 | An office building used for professional or commercial purposes, excluding buildings of class 6, 7, 8 and 9. |
| CLASS 6 | A shop or other building for the sale of goods by retail or the supply of services direct to the public. |
| CLASS 7 | A building which is for car parking, storage, display of goods or produce for sale by wholesale. |
| CLASS 8 | A laboratory or building in which a handcraft or process for the production, assembling, altering, repairing, packaging, finishing, or cleaning of goods or produce is carried on for trade, sale or gain. |
| CLASS 9A | A health care building. |
| CLASS 9B | An assembly building in a primary or secondary school, but excluding any other parts of the building that are of another class. |
| CLASS 10A | A private garage, shed, carport and the like. |
| CLASS 10B | A structure being a fence, mast, antenna, retaining wall or free standing wall, swimming pool or the like. |
Building Importance Levels
The BCA (Building Code of Australia) defines four Importance levels, these are used to determine the level of risk that the steel structure may pose to humans and the public interest:
| Level 1 | Buildings with a low degree of hazard to life and other property in case of failure |
| Level 2 | Default level – buildings not assigned levels 1, 3 or 4 |
| Level 3 | Buildings designed to contain a large number of people |
| Level 4 | Buildings essential to post-disaster recovery or associated with hazardous facilities |
The BCA explains that importance levels
- Apply to structural safety only, not to serviceability or functionality;
- Are a function of both hazard to human life and public impact of building failure, and
- Must be assigned on a case by case basis.
Terms such as shed, garage and workshop mean different things in different contexts, but it is the specific use to which the building will be put and its physical location in relation to other development that determine the community consequences of building failure.