Commerical buildings get new nabers and save on energy costs

PRESS RELEASE

From 1 July 2017, the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) Program will extend to commercial building spaces of 1,000 square metres and more, helping more businesses save on their energy costs.

The Turnbull Government is expanding the program, which provides accessible information on the running costs of a commercial building, to smaller commercial office buildings.

The move from 2,000 square metres to 1,000 means an additional 1,000 commercial office buildings are now required to disclose their energy efficiency when they sell, lease or sublease their property.

The NABERS Energy star rating must appear on all forms of advertising material for the building.

This will help inform purchasers and tenants about building energy costs and will deliver more than $50 million in energy savings and around 3.5 million tonnes of emission reductions over five years.

The change will affect building owners selling or leasing office space with a net lettable area of 1,000 square metres or more and their real estate agents advertising the property.

A comprehensive independent review of the program in 2016 found it was successful in delivering significant benefits at minimal cost to industry and government.

The review also found the program has been effective in creating positive behaviour change in relation to energy efficiency in buildings under the program.

More information on the CBD Program and review and the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) can be found at cbd.gov.au.