Floor coatings with volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

If you’re supplying floor coating services through QBuild or the Department of Housing and Public Works, you must comply with standards around volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in your products.

VOCs are a group of carbon-based chemicals that easily evaporate at room temperature. Many common household materials and products, such as paints and cleaning products, emit VOCs.

VOCs can affect indoor air quality. Breathing low levels of VOCs for long periods of time may increase some people’s risk of health problems, or may affect those with asthma or chemical sensitivity.

We ensure our buildings are safe, healthy and environmentally-sustainable by setting objectives derived from policy, product standards, NatSpec and Standards Australia. These objectives are set out in QBuild documentation, such as project briefs specifications.

When applying floor coatings, using a best practice approach provides an assurance that any risks associated with VOCs from floor coatings are appropriately managed.

As a supplier, you need to:

• comply with the Australian Paint Approval Scheme (APAS) specification AP-VS0209 Floor coatings for building interiors (PDF, 278KB)
• ensure only APAS certified products (PDF, 28KB) are used for floor coatings.
• be accredited under the Painting Contractors Certification Program (PCCP) for the application of Class 18 floor coatings. View the list of Queensland-based PCCP accredited contractors (PDF, 207KB).

Note: These requirements apply to surface coatings only. They do not apply to coatings such as waterproofing, that will be covered by a concrete topping pad.