Welcome to the
NABERS Annual Report 2023/24

This past year, sectors that were once on the periphery have come into plain sight, and stakeholders once on the margins are now stepping into the mainstream, as NABERS continues to expand its influence across the built environment and accelerate the pace of change.

We have never released so many tools to market in a single year. The launch of NABERS rating tools for schools, retail stores alongside the NABERS Energy Performance Indicator, underscores our commitment to covering all sectors and most of the building lifecycle.

This broader focus is sparking new conversations and bringing fresh stakeholders into the fold. The 150% growth in residential aged care and retirement living NABERS Energy and Water ratings is evidence of this expanded reach. So is our work on the NABERS Embodied Carbon framework, which has opened doors to engagement with new manufacturers and suppliers, like the steel and concrete sectors.

The success of the NABERS + CBD Conference this year – our largest ever – is also testament to our broader engagement. A larger cohort of delegates enriched discussions and ignited new opportunities to innovate and collaborate.

Developing rating tools is important, but their true impact lies in their application. One of the year’s most astounding milestones was the Victorian Health Building Authority’s decision to disclose NABERS ratings for its public hospital portfolio – 133 hospitals in total. NABERS is now shaping long-term strategies and guiding capital expenditure decisions, and this represents a real turning point for government leadership.

Other government policies, like the Australian Government’s Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy and the NSW Government’s Sustainable Buildings State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP), set ambitious targets for NABERS, signalling even greater change on the horizon.

As we look ahead, NABERS is poised for significant growth. Engaging with new stakeholders across the majority of the building lifecycle – from design to operation – we are exploring how NABERS can contribute to emerging opportunities, such as grid-interactive buildings and the disclosure of refrigerants.

On behalf of the NABERS team, I extend my heartfelt thanks to the many stakeholders who have contributed to our shared success this year. Your engagement, commitment and dedication underpin NABERS’ success.

Together, we are moving towards a future where the built environment is not just a backdrop but the central stage for an economy-wide focus on reducing carbon emissions and building a future that is resilient, efficient and sustainable.

2023-24 has seen NABERS continue to expand its suite of rating tools, to schools and retail stores. NABERS has also launched the Energy Performance Indicator, to help more building sectors measure and improve their energy efficiency. Year on year, NABERS is enabling more organisations to improve their building performance, reduce emissions and save costs.

The Australian Government’s National Energy Performance Strategy highlights the development of NABERS ratings so that more major commercial building sectors have access to voluntary energy and emissions ratings. The Strategy recognises NABERS as an effective and important tool in improving the energy and emissions performance of Australia’s commercial buildings.

The Australian Government is also leading by example on climate action in government operations to achieve net zero by 2030. The government released its Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy in November 2023, and uses NABERS ratings to set minimum requirements for government-owned and leased buildings and data centres. The strategy also encourages use of NABERS Energy ratings for hotels, warehouses and embodied carbon tools.

The Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program continues to demonstrate that buildings that obtain and disclose a NABERS Energy rating can improve their energy performance over time. Trusted NABERS ratings are foundational to the success of the CBD Program. 2023-24 financial year saw more than 1,600 Building Energy Efficiency Certificates issued using NABERS Energy for Offices ratings. A public consultation on the possible expansion of the scheme was also undertaken.

I look forward to continuing to work with the members of the NABERS National Steering Committee and our industry colleagues to see NABERS ratings contribute to improved energy performance in Australia’s built environment.

The end of the 2024 financial year marked a very special milestone for the NABERS program – the program's 25th Birthday. With a special celebration at this years' NABERS + CBD conference, we marked 25 years of game changing impact: over $1.7 billion in energy bill savings, 1.57 million tonnes CO2 abatement and the collective commitment of thousands of passionate sustainability professionals to the most successful energy efficiency program in Australia's history.

The conference was attended by over 700 NABERS stakeholders and if you were there, you would have noticed a decisive mood of excitement and ambition for the future. Kicking off with announcements on the launch of the NABERS Embodied Carbon pilot rating and the commencement of a consultation flagging an ambitious expansion and reimagining of the CBD Program, it was emblematic of the huge strides we continue to make to decarbonise Australia's buildings.

With these innovations and more, such as the successful launch of the NABERS Renewable Energy Indicator and now NABERS Energy Performance Indicator - making energy performance accessible to any building - NABERS continues to demonstrate its responsiveness to the market, empowering stakeholders to lower their CO2 emissions and achieve cost savings, further advancing sustainability in the built environment.

This year also saw a 15% rise in NABERS Energy and Water ratings for shopping centers, a 150% surge in residential aged care, and retirement living ratings, and a 125% increase in apartments achieving 5-star NABERS Energy ratings or higher. This is a heartening sign that we will continue to see NABERS rate more and more buildings across the full spectrum of the built environment and its environmental impact.

Looking ahead as we near the halfway mark in this critical decade of climate action, there are important policy commitments in the works which NABERS will be crucial to the success of. A non-exhaustive list includes the role of Embodied Carbon ratings in future revisions of the National Construction Code, an update to the Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings, a Built Environment Sector Decarbonisation Plan and the previously mentioned expansion of the CBD Program.

It has never been more important for industry and governments to come together and take the next decisive steps to ensure our buildings are on a 1.5C aligned decarbonisation pathway, and we are focusing on creating spaces that are comfortable and healthy for our people and the planet.