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CSR Gyprock Red Book

The CSR Gyprock Red Book is the design guide of tested plasterboard systems with documented FRLs. How builders use it to spec a compliant fire-rated wall.

By Chalkline. Last updated 25 May 2026. Verified 25 May 2026.

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The CSR Gyprock Red Book is CSR’s published design guide documenting tested plasterboard wall, floor, and ceiling systems and the Fire Resistance Level (FRL) and acoustic performance each one achieves. On a framed job it is the reference builders and certifiers reach for to specify a compliant fire-rated or sound-rated assembly, which is why the trade calls it “the install bible”.

Why it matters: the NCC prescribes the outcome, not the product

The key thing to understand is that the NCC sets the required FRL (or sound rating), but does not list specific products or layer counts. To build a wall that actually achieves, say, FRL 60/60/60, you need a tested system: a documented build-up (board type, number of layers, stud type and spacing, insulation, fixings) that has been fire-tested as an assembly to prove the rating.

The Red Book is the catalogue of those tested systems for CSR Gyprock products. You match a tested system to your frame type and stud spacing, then build it exactly as documented. Change the build-up and you no longer have the tested rating.

The Knauf Fire Systems Guide is the direct equivalent for Knauf plasterboard, and other manufacturers publish their own. A NATA-tested system from any of these is the compliance pathway.

For a builder

  • “Build to the NCC” is not a spec. A fire-rated wall needs a tested system from the Red Book (or an equivalent guide), not a guess at layer counts.
  • Match the system to your frame. The tested system assumes a particular stud type and spacing; confirm yours matches before ordering board.
  • Build it exactly. Substituting a board, dropping a layer, or changing the fixing pattern voids the tested FRL. Document which system number you built.
  • Keep the system sheet. The certifier checks the as-built wall against a documented tested system; have the Red Book system reference on file.

Also known as: Gyprock Red Book, the Red Book, CSR systems guide.

See also

Last updated: 2026-05-25. Verified: 2026-05-25. Quarterly review for currency.

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