NABERS Ratings

What is a NABERS Energy rating?

A NABERS Energy rating assesses a building’s energy efficiency on a scale of 0 to 6 stars (see What do the star ratings mean?). The NABERS Energy rating also provides information about the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the operation of the building. NABERS Energy ratings disclosed under the CBD program must either be base building or whole building ratings. In addition, both the star rating and greenhouse gas emissions disclosed must be exclusive of GreenPower.

Current NABERS Energy base building or whole building ratings are available on the NABERS website linked through the Register of Recognised Ratings (see Find a BEEC).

What do I need to find a rating?

To search for a rating you need to know the name and/or location of the building. Alternatively, you can browse existing ratings in a particular area (street, suburb or state).

What if I can’t find a rating?

If you can’t find a rating on the register, it is possible that the building may have an exemption. The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency maintains a listing of currently exempt buildings (see Exemptions).

If office space over 2,000 square metres is currently available for sale, lease or sublease and is not on the Building Energy Efficiency Register or List of Exempt Buildings, it may be in breach of the disclosure requirements. Please contact the Department with information about the building in question.

If I already have a NABERS Energy whole building rating, do I still need to get a NABERS Energy base building rating to meet a disclosure obligation?

Yes. Under section 6(3) and (4) of the Secretary’s determination, a person working out the energy efficiency rating for a building must disclose a NABERS Energy base building rating unless it cannot be calculated because utility meters installed for the building are not sufficient to distinguish between base building energy use and tenancy energy use. In this case, a NABERS Energy whole building rating must be carried out.

Do I have to undertake an energy audit?

No. The Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program does not require building owners to undertake a comprehensive energy audit. An energy audit is an inspection, survey and analysis of energy flows for energy conservation in a building and is an important part of developing a cost effective energy efficiency improvement program.

What is the difference between a NABERS Energy rating and a Green Star rating?

Briefly, Green Star targets design and construction of new buildings and the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) rates the operational performance of existing buildings.

Green Star is a national, voluntary environmental rating system developed by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) that evaluates the environmental design and construction of buildings. Green Star tools are freely available for self-assessment but a design, project or building cannot publicly claim or promote a Green Star rating or use the Green Star rating logo unless the GBCA has validated the project's achievement through formal assessment. The Green Star Certification is a formal process which involves a project using a Green Star rating tool to guide the design or construction process during which a documentation-based submission is collated as proof of this achievement. For more information http://www.gbca.org.au/green-star/green-star-overview/.

The NABERS Energy rating is a performance-based rating system for existing buildings. NABERS tools are freely available for self-assessment, but a building cannot publicly claim or promote a NABERS rating unless that rating has been formally assigned. NABERS rates a building on the basis of its measured operational impacts on the environment on a scale of one to five stars. The system rates against a set of benchmarks developed using national building performance data. NABERS is a national system run by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage on behalf of Australian, state and territory governments. More information is at: http://www.nabers.com.au/office.aspx.

Are there plans to harmonise NABERS Energy rating and a Green Star ratings?

In February 2010, the Green Building Council of Australia, the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, which administers NABERS, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deliver a more consistent and compatible approach to building rating.

The MoU outlines the parties' commitment to develop a common language for both rating tools and the metrics that underpin them. This will deliver greater compatibility between the assessment of building attributes covered by Green Star and performance of key impact areas such as energy, water and waste, which are assessed by NABERS.

How can you rate an office area of a building that also contains a hotel and shopping centre?

The energy efficiency disclosure obligations currently only apply to buildings (and areas of buildings), where the office space comprises at least 75 per cent of the total space by net lettable area (or gross lettable area).

The NABERS Energy rules make provision for rating mixed use buildings. If an accredited assessor is unable to apply the NABERS Energy rules, because of the characteristics of the building, then the person who would otherwise be subject to the disclosure obligation can apply for an exemption to the Secretary of the Australian Government Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. Applications must be accompanied by a supporting statement from the accredited assessor, which explains why a rating cannot be assigned using the NABERS Energy rules. Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. See Exemptions for more details.

What is the process for obtaining a NABERS Energy rating in a lease of lease scenario, particularly when the lessor or lessee doesn't hold all relevant data, such as the energy bills?

Section 18 of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 enables accredited assessors to obtain information, such as energy use data, from building owners, lessees and sublessees.

In the sublease scenario, an accredited assessor engaged by the lessee (prospective sublessor) may, by notice in writing, require the building owner to provide information that is necessary for the purposes of the assessment. The written notice must specify a period of no less than 14 days within which the information must be given to the accredited assessor.