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Statutory scheme · Australia · AU

Commercial Building Disclosure

The Commonwealth scheme requiring a current Building Energy Efficiency Certificate before large office space is offered for sale, lease or sublease. It compels disclosure of an energy rating; nothing is covered by it and nobody holds it as insurance.

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What the scheme requires

  • Disclosure trigger: Under the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 (Cth) s.11, a constitutional corporation must not offer to sell, let or sublet disclosure affected office space, or invite offers to do so, unless a current Building Energy Efficiency Certificate for the space is registered. Sections 4 and 5 define the offering and inviting conduct the duty attaches to. AU · effective 2010-11-24 Federal Register of Legislation · 2026-08-17
  • Disclosure threshold: Set by the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure (Disclosure Affected Buildings) Determination 2016, made under s.10 of the Act, which the Act itself does not state. Two limbs, both of which must be met: at least 75 per cent of the building's space by net lettable area is used or capable of being used as office space, and the net lettable area of that office space is at least 1,000 square metres. A superseded transitional threshold of 2,000 square metres applied before 1 July 2017 and is historical only. AU · effective 2017-07-01 Federal Register of Legislation · 2026-08-17
  • Certificate validity: A Building Energy Efficiency Certificate is current for no more than twelve months from issue, under the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 (Cth). In practice a certificate is only as current as its shortest-lived component: the NABERS Energy for Offices rating it is built on is itself valid for up to twelve months. AU · effective 2010-11-24 Federal Register of Legislation · 2026-08-17
  • Lighting assessment validity: The Tenancy Lighting Assessment component is valid for five years, considerably longer than the twelve-month energy rating it is issued alongside. Because a certificate is only current while all of its components are, the lighting assessment is rarely the component that expires first. AU · effective 2026-08-17 Commercial Building Disclosure Program · 2026-08-17
  • Short lease exclusion: Leases and subleases for a term of twelve months or less are excluded from the s.11 disclosure duty entirely, by s.11(6) to s.11(8) of the Act. This is an exclusion written into the duty itself, not an exemption granted on application, so no application is made and no fee is payable. AU · effective 2010-11-24 Federal Register of Legislation · 2026-08-17
  • Exemption grounds: Exemptions under s.17 are granted on defined grounds: use for police or security operations (s.17(3)(a)); buildings or areas that are not assessable (s.17(3)(b), defined at s.17(7) and (8)); unsolicited offers, prescribed by regulation 5A; and a major refurbishment already in progress, prescribed by regulation 5B. Section 17A provides for automatic exemptions but no circumstance is currently prescribed under it. These are distinct from the threshold exclusions — a new building, a completed major refurbishment, or strata title — which take space outside the scheme rather than exempting it. AU · effective 2010-11-24 Federal Register of Legislation · 2026-08-17
  • Advertising requirement: Section 15 of the Act requires an advertisement for the sale, lease or sublease of disclosure affected office space to include the building's current energy efficiency rating, expressed in the manner the scheme determines. AU · effective 2010-11-24 Federal Register of Legislation · 2026-08-17
  • Assessor accreditation period: Section 26 of the Act sets a range rather than a fixed term: the Secretary may accredit a person as an assessor for a period of no less than twelve months and no more than three years. The CBD Program's stated current practice is to grant the full three years, which is practice rather than a statutory entitlement. AU · effective 2010-11-24 Federal Register of Legislation · 2026-08-17
  • Assessor nabers condition: Regulation 9(8) of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Regulations makes holding and maintaining NABERS registration a condition of accreditation, not merely program guidance. NABERS is administered by the New South Wales Government, so an assessor accredited under a Commonwealth scheme depends on a state-administered registration remaining current. AU · effective 2010-11-24 Federal Register of Legislation · 2026-08-17
  • Assessor insurance floor: The Regulations require an accredited assessor to hold public liability insurance of at least $10 million. No figure is prescribed for professional indemnity insurance. AU · effective 2010-11-24 Federal Register of Legislation · 2026-08-17

Who administers it

  • Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water — The Commonwealth department that administers the Commercial Building Disclosure scheme and accredits assessors under the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010.

What this scheme does not do

A disclosure scheme compels information to be published at a point in a transaction. It is not insurance: nothing is covered, no claim can be made under it, and holding a current certificate says only what the certificate measures on the date it was issued.

Sources