Energy Performance Certificates and Minimum Energy Standards
Is there a mandatory form of energy performance certification? When does it apply and are there any prescribed minimum standards?

The Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 (Cth), together with the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Regulation 2010 and a number of ministerial determinations, established the Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Scheme, which began on 1 November 2010. The scheme is designed to enable potential purchasers or tenants of large commercial buildings to consider energy efficiency as part of their decision-making processes. The scheme requires owners and landlords of "Disclosure Affected Buildings" or "Disclosure Affected Areas" of buildings to do the following:

  • Have a building energy efficiency certificate (BEEC) registered on the Building Energy Efficiency Register, which is maintained by the Australian government's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, at the time that the building (or area) is offered for sale, lease or sublease
  • Include an energy efficiency rating on any sale, lease or sublease advertisement

A "Disclosure Affected Area" or "Disclosure Affected Building" includes a building or an area of a building that is used or capable of being used as an office if (i) 75% of the space by net lettable area is used for "administrative, clerical, professional or similar information-based activities, including support facilities for those areas" and (ii) that net lettable area is equal to or more than 1,000 square meters. A BEEC is composed of (i) a NABERS Energy star rating for the office building and (ii) information about the energy efficiency of the office lighting (called a "CBD Tenancy Lighting Assessment"). The act establishes the Building Energy Efficiency Register, which is available for inspection online.

The Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Amendment Act 2015 (Cth) commenced on 1 July 2015. This amending act introduced new exemptions and provided simpler certification processes under the Commercial Building Disclosure Program ("CBD Program"). These amendments aimed to reduce the administrative burden of complying with the CBD Program and provide greater flexibility for businesses maintaining their current BEECs.

The national greenhouse gas and energy reporting scheme was first implemented in Australia in 2007 through the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth). Mandatory annual reporting obligations have been imposed on certain corporations in control of facilities and/or corporate groups that emit greenhouse gases equal to or in excess of 50 kilotonnes of CO2 equivalent, or produce or consume energy equal to or in excess of 200 terajoules.

The Building Code of Australia (BCA) is Australia's primary national building standard. The BCA was produced and is maintained by the Australian Building Codes Board on behalf of the Australian government and state and territory governments. The BCA is a uniform set of technical provisions for the design and construction of buildings throughout Australia, containing provisions on matters such as structure, fire resistance, energy efficiency, and certain aspects of health and amenities. The BCA is given legal effect by legislation in each state and territory. However, any provision of the BCA may be overridden by state and territory legislation. Through regulations or appendixes to the BCA, some states and territories have introduced additional energy efficiency requirements in relation to building new homes. This is in conjunction with the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme that commenced 1 October 2023, which sets minimum energy standards for new homes across Australia. This is one of the ways of meeting the energy efficiency requirements established under the National Construction Code.