A Performance Solution now means the same thing as an Alternative Solution.
Alternative Solutions were the correct term and were used until the revision in NCC / BCA 2016. Before 1 May 2016, they were described as “a building solution that complies with BCA performance requirements, other than by reason of satisfying the Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions.”
Now the term Performance Solution has the same meaning as the previous term used, being an Alternative Solution.
A Performance Solution (being the correct term since the introduction of NCC / BCA 2016) now means “a method of complying with the Performance Requirements other than by a Deemed-to-Satisfy Solution.”
Essentially, the two terms are interchangeable and now mean the same thing.
The team on any construction project may decide to meet the Performance Requirements via a route which does not strictly meet the prescriptive Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions. When this approach is proposed, it is correctly referred to as a Performance Solution (or Alternative Solution).
However, it could also incorrectly be described as a Dispo, Dispensation, or Waiver.
Performance Solutions will only comply with the National Construction Code when the Assessment Methods used can prove that the Building Solution can satisfactorily demonstrate compliance with the Performance Requirements.
If a Performance Solution is demonstrated to be at least equivalent to a Deemed-to-Satisfy Provision, the Performance Solution is deemed to have achieved compliance with the relevant Performance Requirement.
This, therefore, requires a detailed assessment of the design, using an appropriate Assessment Method. This is where we stand out from the pack. We have Access Consultants that have completed building surveying degrees and the Victoria University graduate certificate course in performance-based building and fire codes who are experts at preparing Performance Solution / Alternative Solution reports.