Pursuant to its obligations under the 2015 Paris Agreement, Australia has enacted and is in the process of developing further legislation directed at limiting global warming to a total of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. The Climate Change Act 2022 (Cth) became effective in September 2022. It mainly codifies Australia's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets at 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and at net zero by 2050. These legislated targets are consistent with Australia's new nationally determined contributions under the 2015 Paris Agreement and were made more ambitious than they were in 2022.

These targets are generally consistent with a separate legislative mechanism designed to put downward pressure on greenhouse gas emissions, which is known as the Safeguard Mechanism. However, there is currently no clear and codified target for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in connection with commercial buildings.