chalkline. Snap the line. Build to it.
regulation Compliance and regulation 4 min read

AS 5216: design of post-installed and cast-in fastenings in concrete

AS 5216:2021 is the AU standard for designing post-installed and cast-in concrete fastenings. Anchors must be prequalified per Appendix A or carry an ETA per Appendix B.

By Chalkline. Last updated 29 May 2026. Verified 29 May 2026.

Ask Chalkline about this →

AS 5216 is the Australian Standard for the design of post-installed and cast-in fastenings in concrete. The current edition is AS 5216:2021. It is the basis for almost every engineered anchor schedule on Australian residential and commercial work, and it is the standard a builder will see referenced on an engineer’s drawings for retaining walls, balustrade fixings, plant mounts, and other structural anchor jobs.

Where it sits

NCC 2022 Housing Provisions clause 2.2.4(6) calls up AS 5216 for any post-installed anchor used in a structural application on a Class 1 home (verified 2026-05-29, via the live anchors and chemical anchors article). It sits alongside:

  • AS 4291: mechanical properties of fasteners (the bolts and screws themselves).
  • The manufacturer’s installation guide: the procedural rules (hole prep, embedment, torque) that turn a designed anchor into an installed one.

AS 5216 is the design standard. It sets how an engineer calculates the capacity and the spacings, and the prequalification path the chosen anchor product must meet.

What it requires

AS 5216:2021 requires every structural anchor to be prequalified, by one of two routes (verified 2026-05-29):

  • Appendix A: prequalification testing per AS 5216 itself.
  • Appendix B: equivalence via a current European Technical Assessment (ETA) issued under the European Organisation for Technical Assessment (EOTA) framework. Most products sold in Australia by Hilti, Ramset, and Hobson rely on this route.

Anchors without either form of prequalification cannot be used in structural applications under AS 5216, even if they look identical to a prequalified product.

What it covers

Within the prequalified envelope, AS 5216 covers (per the live anchors article):

  • Mechanical anchors: sleeve anchors, wedge anchors, drop-in anchors, expansion anchors.
  • Chemical (bonded) anchors: epoxy, vinylester, hybrid resin systems with stud or rebar.
  • Cast-in fastenings: studs, channels, sockets cast into concrete at the pour.

For each, the standard specifies the design method for tension, shear, and combined loads, the spacing and edge distance requirements, and the partial safety factors for design.

What a builder does with it

Builders do not design anchors to AS 5216, but the standard surfaces in three day-to-day decisions:

  • Confirm prequalification: when a fixing is structural (retaining wall ties, balustrade-to-slab, plant-to-deck), ask the supplier or check the manufacturer site for either an AS 5216 Appendix A test report or a current ETA. A datasheet without one is not a structural product.
  • Install to the spec: the engineer designed the anchor against a specific embedment depth, torque, and hole prep. AS 5216 capacity assumes that install. Cutting embedment depth or skipping the brush/blow on a chemical anchor moves the actual capacity off the designed value.
  • Document the install: photos of the hole prep and torque-wrench reading on a structural anchor row are the records that survive any future query.

For a builder

  • No structural anchor without an engineer’s spec. If a fixing is doing structural work, it needs an engineered design per AS 5216, not a builder’s pick from the trade-counter shelf.
  • Match the ETA to the supplier: ETAs are edition-specific; check that the document on the supplier’s site is current before specifying.
  • Mind the substrate: AS 5216 prequalification is concrete-specific. Hollow-block, masonry, and timber substrates need different products and different design standards.
  • Hole prep is half the job: a chemical anchor in an un-brushed, un-blown hole bonds to dust, not concrete. The standard assumes the prep is done; the rated capacity is conditional on it.

References

See also

Last updated: 2026-05-29. Verified: 2026-05-29. Quarterly review for currency.

Related articles