AS 5113:2016 Classification of external walls of buildings based on reaction-to-fire performance
Standards Australia
This Standard incorporates Amendment No. 1 (September 2018). The changes required by
the Amendment are indicated in the text by a marginal bar and amendment number against
the clause, note, table, figure or part thereof affected.
After consultation with stakeholders in both countries, Standards Australia and Standards
New Zealand decided to develop this Standard as an Australian Standard rather than an
Australian/New Zealand Standard.
The objective of this Standard is to provide procedures and criteria for the classification of
external walls of buildings according to their tendency to limit the spread of fire via the
external wall and between adjacent buildings and limit falling debris that could be
hazardous to evacuating occupants and fire fighters.
Further information on the relationship of this standard with the National Construction
Code is provided in Appendix A.
The terms ‘normative’ and ‘informative’ have been used in this Standard to define the
application of the appendix to which they apply. A ‘normative’ appendix is an integral part
of a Standard, whereas an ‘informative’ appendix is only for information and guidance.
First published as AS5113:2016. Reissued incorporating Amendment No. 1 (September 2018).
This Standard sets out the procedures and criteria for the classification of external walls of
buildings according to their tendency to spread fire—
(a) via the external wall;
(b) between adjacent buildings;
and production of falling debris that could be hazardous to evacuating occupants and fire
fighters.
This Standard is applicable to all external vertical or near vertical surfaces and covers all
types of external wall systems, including façades, outer skins, core materials, cavities and
attachments.
This Standard does not address the fire resistance and load bearing capacity of external
walls, the fire hazard properties of internal surfaces or the impact of construction on the fire
severity of a fire occurring within a building.
Contents:
1: Scope
2: Normative References
3: Definitions
4: Classification Testing
5: Classification Procedure
6: Reporting The Classification
Appendix A: Relationship Of This Standard To The National Construction Code (NCC)
Appendix B: Commentary
Appendix C: Building-To-Building Fire Spread Test Procedure
Fire Safety.
Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council; Australian Building Codes Board; Australian Industry Group; Australian Institute of Building; AWTA Textile Testing; Building Research Association of New Zealand; Bureau of Steel Manufacturers of Australia; CSIRO; Engineers Australia; Fire Protection Association Australia; Fire Protection Association New Zealand; Forest and Wood Products Australia; Insulated Panel Council Australasia; Insulation Australasia; Insurance Council of Australia; Plastics and Chemicals Industries Association; Property Council of Australia; Society of Fire Protection Engineers.
