Steel Frames
A detailed 2026 guide for developers, builders and operators planning a new early learning centre across Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Steel framing has become the preferred structural system for new childcare centres in Victoria because it is non combustible, immune to termites, fast to erect and dimensionally precise. Those qualities directly support the fire safety, durability and large open play spaces that childcare design and the Education and Care Services National Regulations demand. This guide covers the Victorian childcare construction boom, the regulations your building must meet, the engineering standards behind a compliant steel frame, and real projects we have delivered across the state.
Key takeaways
There has rarely been a busier time to build childcare centres in Victoria. The Victorian Government’s Best Start, Best Life reform is a $14 billion investment that, among other things, is delivering 50 new government owned and operated Early Learning Victoria centres in the communities that need them most. The first four opened in early 2025 in Fawkner, Sunshine, Murtoa and Eaglehawk North, with a total of 18 centres and more than 1,800 licensed places due to be open by the end of 2026.
That state program sits on top of a long running national expansion. Industry analysis by Mandala and The Front Project found that long day care places in Australia grew by about 69 per cent between 2013 and recent years, from roughly 401,000 to 675,000 places, delivered through more than 2,700 new centres, while the average centre grew from around 63 to 74 children. The Commonwealth has added a $1 billion Building Early Education Fund to build and expand around 160 more centres nationally, with a focus on outer suburban and regional areas where childcare deserts remain.
For developers, builders and operators, the message is clear. A large pipeline of childcare centres needs to be built quickly, to a high compliance standard, and often on constrained sites in growth corridors. The structural system you choose has a direct bearing on how well you can hit those targets, and that is where steel framing earns its place.
Childcare centres carry one of the highest duties of care of any building type. They house infants and young children, operate long hours and face strict regulatory oversight. The frame has to support all of that, quietly, for decades. Here is where steel framing delivers.
Steel is non combustible, which means the frame itself does not ignite, fuel or spread fire. For a building full of young children, that is a meaningful safety advantage and a clean starting point for satisfying the fire provisions of the National Construction Code, administered by the Australian Building Codes Board. In bushfire prone parts of regional Victoria where a Bushfire Attack Level applies, a non combustible frame also helps with compliance under AS 3959, the bushfire construction standard, without the additional fire resistant linings or larger member sizes that combustible framing can require.
Termites cannot eat steel. The National Construction Code (NCC 2022, Volume Two, performance requirement H1P4) requires measures to manage termite risk, and a steel frame inherently satisfies the structural side of that without chemical or physical barriers around the frame itself. Slab edge protection is still required to protect other susceptible elements such as skirtings, architraves and linings, but removing the frame from the termite equation is a genuine maintenance and safety benefit in a childcare building, since it eliminates ongoing chemical treatments around the structure. The isgframes guide to steel frame houses sets out how this whole of building approach works in practice.
Childcare design relies on open, flexible rooms and unobstructed play areas, and the regulations make that space a legal requirement rather than a nice to have. Steel’s high strength to weight ratio carries larger clear spans with fewer internal supports, so architects can create the open, light filled rooms that early learning environments are built around. Paired with lightweight steel roof trusses and engineered steel wall framing, a steel structure makes it easier to hit the unencumbered space targets covered later in this guide.
Steel frames are manufactured to precise dimensions off site and arrive ready to assemble, which compresses the framing stage and cuts waste and rework. For an operator, a faster and more predictable build means an earlier opening date and earlier enrolment revenue. For a builder working to a tight government or commercial program, it means a more reliable schedule and fewer weather and trade delays during framing.
Steel does not shrink, warp, twist or absorb moisture the way timber can. That dimensional stability produces straight walls and square openings, which makes the later trades, the cladding, lining, joinery and compliance fit out, faster and cleaner. It also reduces callbacks for cracking or movement once the centre is operating, which matters in a building that runs at capacity every day.
Sleep rooms, activity rooms and staff areas all have different acoustic needs. Steel stud walls are readily detailed with the insulation and resilient lining systems needed to control sound between spaces. Our complete guide to steel stud framing explains how stud sizing and board isolation affect acoustic performance, which is directly relevant to a well zoned childcare layout.
Because steel framing does not need chemical pest treatments and does not harbour mould or damp the way untreated timber can, it supports a cleaner indoor environment, which matters in a building where young children spend long days. Steel is also one of the most recycled materials in the world, which supports the sustainability goals increasingly written into government and institutional childcare briefs.
A childcare centre has to satisfy two layers of rules at once: the building code that governs the structure, and the education and care rules that govern how the centre operates. The Education and Care Services National Regulations, administered through the National Quality Framework, set hard minimums for usable space. These sit under Quality Area 3, Physical Environment, of the National Quality Standard.
Requirement | Minimum per child | What is excluded |
Unencumbered indoor space (Regulation 107) | 3.25 sqm | Kitchens, bathrooms, nappy change areas, passageways, cot storage, staff and admin rooms |
Unencumbered outdoor space (Regulation 108) | 7 sqm | Pathways, thoroughfares, car parks, storage sheds and any space not suitable for children |
Source: Education and Care Services National Regulations 107 and 108, and ACECQA Quality Area 3 guidance. A breach of either regulation carries a penalty.
These numbers drive the floor plan. Because outdoor space must be more than double the indoor minimum, and because so many internal areas are excluded from the indoor calculation, the building has to be efficient and the usable rooms have to be genuinely open. A steel frame with long clear spans and thin, straight wall lines helps recover usable floor area that bulky structure would otherwise consume. In Victoria, building permits for the work are issued by registered building surveyors and overseen by the Victorian Building Authority, while the education and care side is regulated through the National Quality Framework.
Light gauge steel framing is a fully engineered system, not a generic product. A compliant childcare frame is designed and certified against a defined suite of Australian Standards, which is exactly why the National Construction Code recognises it with clear compliance pathways.
Standard | What it covers |
AS/NZS 4600:2018 | Cold formed steel structures, the core design standard for light gauge steel framing |
NASH Standard | Residential and Low-Rise Steel Framing, recognised by the NCC for design, bracing and tie down |
AS 1170 series | Structural design actions, the loads engineers design the frame to resist |
AS 4100 | Steel structures, used for hot rolled structural steel elements on larger builds |
AS 3959 | Construction in bushfire prone areas, where a BAL applies in regional Victoria |
AS 1397 | The coated steel sheet standard that governs the base material, including TRUECORE steel |
Source: National Construction Code compliance pathways and the standards referenced by Australian Steel Framing and the NASH Standard for Residential and Low-Rise Steel Framing.
On the material side, we build using Australian made TRUECORE steel, a BlueScope product manufactured to AS 1397. Framing sections typically range from about 0.55 mm base metal thickness for lighter non load bearing elements through to 1.15 mm and above for load bearing members, with the exact specification set by the engineer for each project. BlueScope backs TRUECORE steel with a manufacturer warranty, giving operators long term confidence in the structure.
The clearest proof is completed work. CMC Steel Solutions has supplied and installed the structural and light gauge steel framing for childcare centre developments across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria, each built with Australian TRUECORE steel. Full galleries are on our projects page.
Project | Scope |
Supply and install of the structural steel framework for a purpose built early learning centre in Melbourne’s west | |
Steel framing supply and installation for a regional childcare centre in Gippsland | |
Light gauge and structural steel framing for a new childcare facility in the south east | |
Steel framing built with Australian TRUECORE steel for a new childcare centre in Melbourne’s north |
Source: CMC Steel Solutions project records and project pages, linked above.
These childcare builds sit alongside our wider commercial steel framing work, which gives our team the experience to handle the structural complexity, compliance and program pressure that childcare developments bring.
Not every framing supplier is set up for the demands of a childcare build. When you compare suppliers, look for the following.
Framing is only one line in a childcare budget, but it influences several others. Steel’s speed and precision can shorten the program and reduce on site waste, while its termite immunity and durability lower long term maintenance and remove the cost of chemical treatments around the frame. Against that, steel requires correct engineering, detailing and thermal design to perform well, so the right comparison is total cost and risk across the life of the building, not just the framing line on day one. The most reliable way to understand the cost on your specific site and design is a project quote, since spans, storeys, site conditions and the fit out all change the figure.
Steel framing is non combustible, immune to termites, fast to erect and dimensionally precise. These qualities support the fire safety, durability and large open play spaces that childcare design and the Education and Care Services National Regulations require, while helping deliver the build quickly and to a reliable program.
Under the National Regulations, a centre based service must provide at least 3.25 square metres of unencumbered indoor space and 7 square metres of unencumbered outdoor space for each child. Kitchens, bathrooms, passageways and storage are excluded from the indoor calculation, so the building has to be efficient and the usable rooms genuinely open.
Steel is non combustible, so it does not fuel or spread fire, and it does not attract termites or need chemical pest treatments around the frame. Both factors are valuable in a building used by young children. Every design must still meet the fire provisions of the National Construction Code.
Light gauge steel framing is engineered to AS/NZS 4600:2018, the cold formed steel structures standard, and the NASH Standard for Residential and Low-Rise Steel Framing, both recognised by the National Construction Code. Loads are designed to the AS 1170 series, and the base material is coated steel made to AS 1397, such as TRUECORE steel.
Generally yes. Steel frames are manufactured to precise dimensions off site and arrive ready to assemble, which shortens the framing stage, reduces rework and helps deliver a more predictable program and an earlier opening date.
Yes. Steel framing carries multi level loads efficiently thanks to its high strength to weight ratio, and it is commonly used for two storey and split level childcare and commercial buildings, engineered to the specific loads and layout of each project.
Building permits are issued by registered building surveyors and overseen by the Victorian Building Authority, while the education and care side of the centre is regulated through the National Quality Framework and assessed against the National Quality Standard.
Yes. We provide supply and installation of structural and light gauge steel framing, so a single team is responsible for the frame from manufacture through to erection on site, with completed childcare centres in Werribee, Warragul, Cranbourne and Thomastown.
If you are developing a childcare centre anywhere across Melbourne or Victoria, our team can help you frame it safely, accurately and on time. We supply and install structural and light gauge steel framing built with Australian TRUECORE steel, engineered to AS/NZS 4600 and the NASH Standard and backed by a portfolio of completed childcare and commercial projects.
Call us on 1300 285 566, email info@cmcsteelsolutions.com.au, or request a free quote to discuss your project.
Are you looking for steel framing solutions? We at CMC Steel Solutions offer wide range of products for construction projects.
Connect with our team at 1300 285 566 or email us your doubts on info@cmcsteelsolutions.com.au for better response.
