Monitoring compliance of disclosure obligations
The Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Waters monitors sale, lease and sublease transactions as well as advertisements in print and online media to check compliance with Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) Program requirements.
Our approach is to encourage voluntary compliance. We do this by helping you to understand your rights and obligations and by making it as easy as possible for you to meet those obligations.
However, we will investigate those who opportunistically or deliberately contravene the law. For example, if a disclosure affected building or area of a building is found to have been offered for sale, lease or sublease without an up-to-date Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC), or a current exemption, we will investigate.
All potential contraventions of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 (BEED Act) are prioritised for investigation using a risk management approach. We will take action based on the particular circumstances of each case.
If you have information about a breach of the disclosure requirements, contact the CBD Program.
For more details about our approach, download the CBD Education, Compliance and Enforcement Policy.
Business continuity and BEED Act Compliance
The Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Waters CBD Compliance area, as always, works with the regulated community to achieve compliance with BEED Act requirements.
If members of the regulated community have business continuity issues, for example limitations on assessor travel, CBD Compliance will take a constructive and pragmatic approach to any potential non-compliance.
We require that we be contacted as soon as possible when such issues are emerging and we will look at the circumstances of each case.
Penalties for not complying
There are penalties for breaching disclosure obligations. For details, see the relevant sections on selling, leasing, subleasing and advertising.
Auditing energy efficiency assessments
The BEED Act sets out provisions for auditing energy efficiency assessments under the CBD Program to ensure they are done properly.
Tenancy Lighting Assessments (TLA) and exemption applications undertaken by CBD Accredited Assessors should accurately represent the actual performance of the rated premises. In addition, CBD Assessors must carry out their duties with diligence, ensuring compliance with the BEED Act.
In order to provide a quality-assurance and continuous improvement measure, the Department has established the CBD Auditing Program, which is underpinned by the CBD Program Auditing Policy.
For more details on the Level 2 audit program, see the Level 2 Audit Program Guidance
Energy Efficiency Non-Disclosure Register
An instance of non-disclosure occurs where an individual or corporation is issued with an infringement notice, or where a court imposes a civil penalty. Details of non-compliance will be listed on the Energy Efficiency Non-Disclosure Register if there have been two or more instances of non-disclosure by an individual or corporation within 12 months.