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Purpose

1. The primary application of the Functional Classification of Buildings (FCB) is to classify buildings, or building work according to their stated predominant function or purpose.

2. It is principally used in the economic collections of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Data is compiled using this classification in a range of ABS publications including:
• Building Approvals, Australia (Cat. no. 8731.0)
• Dwelling Unit Commencements, Australia, Preliminary (Cat. no. 8750.0)
• Building Activity, Australia (Cat. no. 8752.0)
• Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary (Cat. no. 8755.0)


3. For the purpose of this primary application a building is a rigid, fixed and permanent structure which has a roof. Its intended purpose is primarily to house people, plant, machinery, vehicles, goods or livestock. An integral feature of a building's design is the provision for regular access by persons in order to satisfy its intended use.

4. For these collections the function of the completed building, or building work, is determined at the time the building approval is lodged.

5. In cases where a building may have multiple functions or purposes it is normally classified to the predominant function or purpose. There are exceptions:
• Multi-purpose buildings where the purposes or functions are independent and, if individually coded, would have an impact on published aggregates in their class. (For example multi-storey urban buildings with commercial and residential components). In these cases, an FCB code may be applied for each major function of a building
• Building work to alter, extend or renovate a non-residential building may be coded to the purpose or function applicable to the alterations rather than the building as a whole. (For example, the work to add a cinema complex to a shopping centre may be coded as entertainment)

6. As the classification encompasses all building types it can be used for other applications.

7. A concordance with a subset of the FCB is also to classify buildings in ABS population and social collections such as the Population Census and monthly Labour Force Surveys. For more information please refer to the 'Relationship with Social Classifications' section of this document.