Welcome to the
NABERS Annual Report 2025/26

Over the last decade, NABERS has rated more than 9,000 buildings and certified over 55,000 individual ratings. From those rated buildings, 15.2 million tonnes of emissions have been avoided, and $2.1 billion in energy costs saved.

This did not happen by chance. It represents the collective achievements of thousands of sustainability champions, facilities managers, corporate sustainability teams, consultants, contractors, NABERS Assessors and more.

In 2026, Australia has arguably the world’s most experienced sustainability workforce for large buildings. We know how to make buildings better, because we have been doing it for decades. And we will need every bit of that experience going forward, as the role buildings play in helping Australia meet its emissions reduction targets expands.

As some of you may know, I’ve spent nearly 20 years of my career thinking about buildings. But for the last two years, I’ve had the opportunity to take a step out of the built environment and look at decarbonisation from the perspective of the entire economy. Firstly, to lead the creation of the NSW Net Zero Commission in 2024 and, more recently, leading the development of NSW’s 10-year plan to reduce emissions to 2035.

I came away from that with a conclusion that surprised even me. Buildings will matter more to meeting our future emissions targets than even I had expected. And it all comes from the fact that the built environment is where we all live, and most of us work and spend most of our lives.

The Australian Government’s Built Environment Sector Plan shows that direct emissions from buildings – the Scope 1 emissions primarily from gas and refrigerants – account for about 5% of the national total.

This metric could make it appear as a relatively small sector, but it is anything but. Let’s have a closer look.

Every year, electricity is reported as Australia’s largest source of emissions. But where is this electricity actually used? The answer starts with buildings, which use roughly the same amount of electricity as all other sectors of the Australian economy combined.

The share of electricity use in buildings will likely rise in coming years, through data centres growth, electrification, and as millions of electric vehicles are charged from every day. Electricity emissions may be reported separately from buildings, but there is no arguing the dominant role buildings play in driving in them.

Then there is heavy industry. Historically, we have treated industrial emissions as completely separate from the built environment. But Australia isn’t manufacturing many cars, chips or computers. Much of our industry sector output goes into construction materials, such as cement, steel, aluminium, timber, glass and bricks.

This dependency means buildings could become a major catalyst for industrial decarbonisation by generating demand for low-carbon materials. But the reverse is also true: without demand buildings could become a barrier.

Even the bulk of our waste emissions challenge starts with organic waste, much of which is generated in buildings.

And I haven’t mentioned transport yet, which is expected to become Australia’s largest emitting sector around 2030. Buildings aren’t driving these emissions, but they will be central to reducing them because that is where most electric vehicle charging will occur.

The more we follow the emissions trail across the economy, the more it leads back to the built environment. This is a huge responsibility, but also an extraordinary opportunity. The actions we take in the building sector can support or directly drive major emissions reductions across the Australian economy.

Buildings need to electrify. We need to shift when buildings use electricity to make better use of abundant renewable energy. We need to reduce the embodied carbon in building materials. We need to address barriers to EV charging in buildings. And we need to do all of this while maintaining a laser focus on energy efficiency.

Luckily for us, many of these actions also carry very positive economic benefits. Energy efficiency and rooftop solar can help Australian households and businesses permanently reduce energy costs and improve affordability. Falling technology costs and availability have added several more tools to our cost-reduction toolkit, which now include EVs, batteries and heat pumps.

In many ways, this annual report is the story of NABERS getting ready for the bigger role our sector must play in the decade ahead.

This means ensuring buildings are efficient and electrified, with the NABERS Energy 2030 update rewarding lower energy use and supporting the shift to all-electric buildings.

It means helping building owners to use energy more flexibly – shifting, reducing peaks, storing and sharing electricity.

It means reaching more types of buildings: apartments, student accommodation, hotels and data centres. It means supporting buildings to reduce embodied carbon and create demand for low-carbon construction products, moving towards circularity and creating healthier indoor environments.

Ultimately, it means buildings that are better for people and the planet.

It is a bigger job for buildings. But we have never had more ways to make them better.

I return to NABERS with a much bigger appreciation of the large role buildings are called to play. But also, with confidence that industry and government working together can make it happen.

2025-26 was a pivotal year for NABERS.  Significant commitments were made to expand the reach of NABERS across the commercial building sector and strengthen the tools and services that support Australia's transition to net zero. As newly appointed Government Chair, I recognise the value of NABERS in providing accurate, credible and accessible information at a time of evolving energy landscapes in Australia and internationally.

A major milestone this year was the Australian Government's release of the Built Environment Sector Plan (BESP) in September 2025. The plan sets out the pathway for Australia’s built environment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and recognises the important role NABERS plays in supporting this transition. The Commonwealth committed over $9 million over four years to expand NABERS and the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) Program. This funding will further develop rating tools and extend to new sectors, increase voluntary disclosure rates and deliver useful products for industry in emerging areas such as energy flexibility and embodied carbon.

Alongside the BESP, the Australian Government released the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) Roadmap, to guide the future expansion of the CBD program. Mandatory disclosure of NABERS energy ratings through the current program has supported significant improvements in energy efficiency and emissions reductions. Expanding the program to more commercial building types will help extend these benefits across a broader range of sectors.

On 16 December 2025, the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council approved the Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings Implementation Plan. The plan recognises the important role NABERS plays in reducing emissions and energy demand through disclosure of ratings, building electrification, improved energy efficiency and the measurement of embodied carbon. The launch of the first public NABERS Embodied Carbon rating by the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon Josh Wilson MP, in late 2025 reflects the growing importance of being able to measure, verify, and compare the upfront embodied carbon with similar buildings.

I look forward to working with NABERS, industry colleagues and members of the NABERS National Steering Committee as the program continues to expand and evolve, bringing improved energy performance, lower emissions and better outcomes across Australia's built environment.

This year has been one of meaningful progress and growing ambition across the NABERS community. As Australia’s built environment continues its transition toward net zero, government and industry stakeholders have worked together to lead from the front – bringing technical insight, practical innovation and a shared commitment to measurable, transparent performance.

We saw major steps forward in decarbonisation, including the update to the NABERS Energy rating, ensuring buildings continue to be rewarded for genuine efficiency as the grid evolves. The award of Australia’s first NABERS Embodied Carbon rating marked another milestone, supported by strong industry engagement and a rapidly expanding cohort of trained Assessors.

NABERS’ feasibility study into energy flexibility opened an important new conversation about how buildings can support a more resilient electricity system, while the launch of the NABERS API is already transforming how organisations integrate trusted building performance data into digital workflows at scale.

Scale matters – and the 2026 Sustainable Portfolios Index demonstrated this clearly, with 67 portfolios across 31 companies participating, showcasing deep commitment to sustainability across the office, shopping centre and hotel sectors.

I’m thrilled to see NABERS expanding its impact across multiple sectors – from a 75% increase in rated hotel rooms to new pathways for student accommodation and apartments. International momentum has also continued, with NABERS New Zealand’s largest expansion to date and the first 5‑star NABERS UK Energy rating achieved.

These achievements are thanks to the whole NABERS community – government partners, assessors and industry stakeholders. Your collaboration continues to shape a more sustainable, more resilient built environment for Australia and beyond.