How do I find my wind region?

You find your wind region by locating the lot on the wind region map that the wind loading standard sets out for Australia, or by reading it for the address with a wind region check. The region is a letter from A to D, and it is where the wind class starts for every shed, patio and carport built on the lot.

What are the wind regions?

Region A covers most of the country, from the inland to the southern coasts. Region B covers bands between that broad area and the cyclonic coast, where stronger winds are expected. Regions C and D are the cyclonic regions along the northern coast, with region D, the most severe, on the north west coast of Western Australia. The standard splits the letters into numbered parts, so the map in it reads in more detail than the letters alone.

How do I read the region for an address?

The wind region check reads it for one address, and the site exposure checker goes further for the same property. Near the edge of a region, use the address rather than a picture of the map, because the lines are drawn at a national scale and a few streets can fall either side of one.

Is the wind region the same as the wind class?

No. The region says where the lot sits; the class says what a structure there is built for. The class adds the ground around the lot: the terrain, the shielding from other buildings and the slope, so two lots in one region can carry different classes. The post on the wind zone map explains how the classes are read.

Does a hill or the coast change it?

A hill does not change the region, but it can change the class. A lot on a ridge or near a crest catches more wind than one in a valley, and a lot facing open water or open country has less shielding than one in the middle of a suburb. That is why the class is worked out at the property while the region comes from the map.

Why does the supplier ask for it?

Because it changes the product. A shed, patio or carport kit is engineered for a wind class, and a higher class means heavier frames, more fixings and bigger footings, so the supplier needs the class before pricing the kit. The certifier then checks the engineering against the same class, and a kit rated below the site cannot be signed off.

Reading it for your own lot

RapidSiteplan reads the lot from its address in a minute: the boundaries from the land records, the contours that show whether the lot sits on a slope, and the wind region for the address. Place the shed or the patio and the sheet prints the wind class with the structure, for the supplier and the certifier alike. The shed and carport page shows the sheet, and the council pages for every state show what each council maps. Start with the address.

Common questions

How do I find my wind region? Find where the lot sits on the wind region map in the wind loading standard, or read it for the address with a wind region check. The region is only the first step: the wind class a supplier asks for also depends on the terrain, the shielding and the slope at the lot.

What wind region am I in? Most of the country is region A, with region B in bands between that broad area and the cyclonic coast, and regions C and D along the northern coast. Near the edge of a region the lines are too coarse to read off a picture of the map, so read it for the address.

What is my wind rating? The wind rating for a structure is its wind class, worked out from the region the lot is in and the ground around it. Two lots in the same region can carry different classes, so the rating belongs to the property rather than the suburb.