Energy use in the commercial building sector accounts for around ten per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions and this figure is rising. Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is one of the quickest and cheapest ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help mitigate climate change. That’s why improving energy efficiency in the building sector is a clear priority for Australia’s governments.

Mandatory Commercial Building Disclosure
Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) is a national program designed to improve the energy efficiency of Australia’s large office buildings and was established by the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010.  The CBD program intergrates the NABERS Energy for Offices rating tool into the information that is disclosed to prospective buyers and tenants.

CBD applies to:
• building owners who are selling or leasing office space with a net lettable area of 2,000 square metres or more
• tenants who are subleasing part of their tenancy with a net lettable area of 2,000 square metres or more
• a disclosure affected building is a building that is used or capable of being used as an office and contains a net lettable area of office space of 2,000 square metres or more.  
• similarly, a disclosure affected area of a building is an area that is used or capable of being used as an   office, has a 2,000 square metres or more net lettable area, and is not a new construction or held under  strata title

Sellers or Lessors are required to register an up-to-date Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC) on the Building Energy Efficiency Reigster, and to include a NABERS Energy star rating in advertisements, if they wish to sell, lease or sublease that office space.

BEECs are valid for 12 months, must be publicly accessible on the online Building Energy Efficiency Register.

What must be disclosed, by whom and when
1. A valid certified NABERS energy rating (exclusive of green power) must be displayed on all advertisements for the sale, lease or sub lease of applicable buildings.
2. Disclosure to prospective purchasers, tenants or sub-tenants a valid and Certified Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC) which will include:-
  i. Certified NABERS energy rating.
  ii. Assessment of Tenancy lighting.
  iii. General Energy Efficiency Guidelines.
3. Register the BEEC on the Building Energy Efficiency Register website.

A NABERS Energy Rating is a performance based energy rating system that measures actual operating performance of a building.  NABERS Energy applies to the base building, or to tenancies, or to the whole building. Star ratings are based on energy consumption data from a continuous 12 months and a rating is derived by calculating the normalised amount of annual carbon dioxide emissions per m2 of NLA.  Normalisation accounts for the building location within Australia, normal hours of operation, overtime usage and vacant areas.

• Ratings for disclosure cannot include green power
• Ratings and the BEEC must be less than 12 months old
• NABERS Energy requires twelve contiguous months of metered fuel data (electricity, gas, oil etc).
• The base building rating includes energy used by common services (i.e., landlord supplied and paid for)
   such as cooling and ventilation systems, lifts, hydraulics, car parks and lobbies, lighting, fire stair
   lighting, etc.