Supporting Government Policy

Connecting households to Australia’s energy future

Home Energy Rating assessments are part of Australia’s approach to achieving energy-smart homes and meeting national climate goals.  

Linking home energy ratings with state, territory and national policies helps households’ lower energy bills, reduce emissions and improve comfort and resilience during extreme temperatures.

Enabling Australia’s energy policy goals

Home Energy Rating assessments do more than assess how a home performs. They play an important role in helping Australia meet its national energy and climate commitments. By providing a consistent, science-based measure of home energy efficiency, these ratings support government policies that aim to reduce emissions, improve housing quality and climate resilience, and lower energy costs.

Home Energy Rating assessments support several government policies, including:

• Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings  – a national plan working towards a net zero emissions building sector by 2050, which also focuses on lowering costs for households and businesses.  
• Built Environment Sector Plan (BESP) – the Australian Government’s pathway for achieving net zero greenhouse-gas emissions in the built environment sector by 2050, as one of the 6 sector plans under the Australian Government’s whole-of-economy Net Zero Plan.
• National Energy Performance Strategy (NEPS) – sets out the Australian Government’s path to lower emissions and reduced energy costs across the economy through energy efficiency, demand flexibility, and electrification.  
• National Construction Code (NCC) – sets the minimum design and construction standards for buildings in Australia, including structural safety, health, amenity, sustainability, and energy efficiency requirements for new homes, with NatHERS being the most popular way of demonstrating compliance with the energy efficiency requirements.
• Home Energy Ratings Disclosure Framework – sets out a national approach to disclosing home energy ratings to households at the point of sale or lease, which can be implemented by state and territory governments.

Linking home energy ratings to Australia’s policy framework helps make energy-smart design a standard part of the housing sector.

Home Energy Rating assessments also inform financing and future policy, helping governments, industry and households work together to achieve the net zero target.  

By connecting personal choices to national outcomes, ratings support homes that are healthier, more comfortable, more affordable, and more sustainable for all Australians.