Comments from interested parties are now sought on the draft National Building Energy Standard-Setting, Assessment and Rating Framework. The Draft Framework has been released by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency on behalf of the Energy Efficiency Working Group (E2WG) of the Select Council on Climate Change (SCCC), representing the Commonwealth, states and territories.
The Draft Framework is intended to drive significant improvement in Australia’s building stock by establishing a pathway for future increases in minimum building standards to 2020, and improving the approach to assessing and rating buildings.
The consultation will provide a broad range of stakeholders with the opportunity to review specific policy proposals in the Draft Framework and make submissions.
In summary, the Draft Framework is seeking feedback on specific policy proposals to provide direction on future energy efficiency standards, such as:
increasingly stringent minimum building standards set over time for new buildings and renovations;
coverage of all types of residential and commercial buildings, including new and existing buildings;
inclusion of building equipment and services as well as the building envelope in energy efficiency ratings;
improving the accuracy of building performance assessments and ratings through consistent measurement and reporting;
encouraging innovation and flexibility to meet defined performance standards;
increasing compatibility amongst rating tools used for existing and new buildings;
inclusion of broader sustainability issues over time including the level of greenhouse gas emissions generated and water used by buildings;
continuation of star ratings approach to communicating building performance; and
facilitating effective monitoring and compliance.