The change allows smaller venues to put on live music without being required to comply with 9b requirements under the Building Code of Australia in the state of Victoria. It came into effect on Wednesday October 29.
Venues which are at, or under 500msq, with one or two storeys (roughly the size of the Corner Hotel in Richmond, or smaller) and put on live music, are now exempt from building code expenses and red tape. Live music will no longer trigger a shift from Class 6 to the more burdensome 9b Assembly Building Class (which covers large public spaces like airports and sporting complexes).
It’s a win for Melbourne’s live music activists who have been lobbying for this for two years.
A statement from Music Victoria said, “This is the final recommendation from our first white paper The Case for Regulatory Reform from 2012 that has been delivered by this Government. A great result and collectively the reforms elevate Victoria firmly ahead of the pack when it comes to regulatory support for live music.”
The Building Regulations 2006 are available on the Victorian Parliament’s website.
The Victorian Building Authority will also publish a practice note on the operation of the Building Amendment (Live Music) Regulations 2014, available here.
A associated notice of their making was published in the Victorian Government Gazette.
