Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) is a national program designed to improve the energy efficiency of Australia’s large office buildings.

Transitional Provisions Ending this Year

The current transitional provisions of the CBD program that require only a NABERS base building energy rating to be disclosed will end on 31 October 2011, with full mandatory disclosure requirements commencing on 1 November 2011.

From 1 November 2011, the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 (BEED Act) requires corporations selling, leasing or subleasing certain large (>2000sqm) office spaces to register a full Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC), not just a NABERS rating.

What is a BEEC ?

The BEEC is comprised of three parts:

1.   NABERS Energy base building rating
2.   Tenancy lighting energy efficiency assessment
3.   General energy efficiency guidance for building owners and tenants

The BEEC may be valid for up to 12 months, however will only be valid to the date of the expiry of either Parts 1 or 2 whichever occurs first, as Parts 1 and 2 individually may be valid for up to 12 months but may be completed at different times.

At the time of disclosure, the BEEC will need to be valid, current and registered on the publicly accessible registry on the CBD program’s website.

Importantly, both the NABERS rating and new tenancy lighting assessments take a significant amount of time to complete the assessment and certification process, so need to be undertaken and certified well before a need to disclose for advertising may arise to avoid the risk of non-compliance with the legislation.

What’s the difference?

The required BEEC now incorporates a tenancy lighting assessment. A CBD tenancy lighting assessment of a building is based on a methodical survey of the general lighting system installed in the tenant office spaces of a building (the system that is reasonably expected to be left in a tenant space when the tenant leaves and the tenancy fitout removed).

The NABERS base building rating requirements remains the same as the current transitional provisions, and still requires a full 12 months of building operational data to provide a valid accredited NABERS assessment. Note that a NABERS estimate or non-accredited assessment has no credibility in terms of the BEEC, it requires a current certified NABERS Energy base building rating.

The general energy efficiency guidance will be provided as part of the BEEC when issued.

Accredited tenancy lighting assessments

For a lighting assessment to be valid under the BEED Act, it must be performed in accordance with the new CBD Tenancy Lighting Assessment for Offices Rules, by a CBD accredited assessor.

The tenancy lighting assessments may be completed for all of the building, in which the total office space NLA is assessed, or for a selection of tenancies only within the building. Typically, an all building assessment would be undertaken if the building is being prepared for sale. Assessments of tenancies typically would be undertaken if these areas are to be advertised for lease or sub-lease.

The lighting assessment measures only the energy used by the lighting on an area basis. It does not assess or measure lighting output, quality or suitability of the lighting for use in offices.

Penalties for failure

Failure to disclose may result in civil penalties of up to $110,000 for the first day and $11,000 for each subsequent day may be imposed by a Court for each breach of a disclosure obligation. Alternatively, the Secretary of the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency can issue an infringement notice of up to $11,000 for the first day and $1,100 for each subsequent day of non-compliance.

Further penalties may apply for various breaches of the CBD. Refer to the website for further information with links to the Act and subordinate legislation: www.cbd.gov.au

Have you got a CBD action plan?

Napier & Blakeley are experts in the provision of strategic property advice and can assist in getting your property ready for the demands of the full disclosure requirements.

Meeting the requirements for a BEEC in obtaining an accredited NABERS rating and tenancy lighting assessment for your building is time consuming and intensive, which many people underestimate, so be pro active and plan ahead.

The CBD accreditation and training process for performing tenancy lighting assessments is underway. It is expected that tenancy lighting assessments and hence full BEECs will be available from July 2011, so don’t leave it to the last minute to meet your mandatory disclosure requirements and organise a BEEC with a CBD accredited assessor.

Contact 

Our strategic, cost effective advice will best position your property for the future.

Call Napier & Blakeley today to ensure you are ready for the upcoming changes to this legislation on 1 November 2011 or if you want further information on the Commercial Building Disclosure, or any other Napier & Blakeley services please contact any of our offices below:

Melbourne - Rob Howells            03 9915 6300             rhowells@napierblakeley.com
Sydney – Gavin Peach                02 9299 1899              gpeach@napierblakeley.com

Napier & Blakely services:

• Accredited CBD Tenancy Lighting Assessments
• Accredited NABERS Ratings
• Technical Due Diligence
• Capital Expenditure Planning
• Quantity Surveying
• Strategic Asset Management
• Building & Sustainability Consulting
• Property Depreciation