Picture this:
You’re halfway through your shift at the warehouse, deep in a marathon study session at the library, or two sips into a lovely Pinot Gris at a cool new bar, when that familiar sensation strikes. You dig through your bag, only to realize...zero tampons. Cue period panic.
Starting in 2027, panic no more! Thanks to an update in the National Construction Code (NCC), all newly built or freshly renovated bathrooms will be required to have period product dispensers installed.
What is the NCC?
Think of the NCC as Australia’s master blueprint for buildings. It’s created by the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) to set the baseline rules for safety, health, accessibility, and sustainability for buildings nationwide.
It’s a guideline rather than a law, and state and territory governments can adopt, amend, or roll it out on their own timelines. It’s updated every three years to make sure Australian buildings are keeping up with (or even getting ahead of…) the rest of the world.
Who’s adopting the NCC guidelines?
The latest NCC update includes several major bathroom wins, including expanded all-gender facilities, and more women’s toilets to cut long queues, as well as mandatory period product dispensers.
Here is how the states and territories are rolling out the dispenser requirements specifically:
- Victoria and Tasmania - Effective now.
- Western Australia and ACT - Transitioning as we speak, mandatory starting 1st of May 2027.
- New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia - Mandatory starting 1st of May 2027.
- Northern Territory - Holding out for now.
Where will you find them?
Pretty much everywhere! Whether you're working, playing, studying, staying the night, or picking up groceries, period products will be available in all female and all-gender bathrooms.
Here is where the new rules apply:
- Places to stay and live: hotels, motels, hostels, student accommodation, boarding school dorms, and aged care facilities.
- Workplaces and business hubs: office buildings, multi-storey carparks, warehouses, distribution centres, factories, manufacturing plants, workshops, labs, and commercial showrooms.
- Retail and food spots: shopping centres, retail stores, cafes, restaurants, bars, and pubs.
- Health and education: hospitals, clinics, schools, universities, and libraries.
- Community spaces: churches, theatres, cinemas, and sporting venues.
What does this mean for Australian women and menstruating people?
Goodbye, bathroom roulette! No menstruating person will enter a newly constructed or renovated building with the fear of being caught out by their period from 2027 onwards.
While existing buildings won't magically change overnight, every renovation, rebuild, or new construction brings us closer to universal coverage across Australia (holding out hope for the NT down the track).
This change moves period care out of the hidden corner of personal emergencies and into standard public infrastructure. Period products are slowly but surely becoming as standard, expected, and essential as hand soap, paper towels, and toilet paper.
This aligns directly with Pixii’s mission to bring complete equality to work, ensuring that having a period never interrupts someone's ability to work, study, or enjoy public spaces safely and comfortably.
We created Pixii to ensure period products are freely available wherever they're needed. Thanks to this NCC update, that will gradually become the reality for every public and commercial building in Australia. Our mission is unstoppable now!
