2016 CBD Program Review

In February 2016, the Australian Government released the report on the first independent review of Commercial Buildings Disclosure (CBD) Program. The review, produced by ACIL Allen Consulting, found the program to be a successful way of delivering significant benefits at a minimal cost to industry and government, achieving $44 million in benefits in its first four years.

The review also found that:

  • The Commercial Building Disclosure Program is an appropriate program that complements a suite of related government policies and programs, and should continue.
  • The CBD Program has been effective in inducing positive behaviour change in relation to commercial building energy efficiency in affected buildings, resulting in significant benefits.
  • The CBD Program remains the principal Commonwealth Government program for driving energy efficiency improvements in the office sector.
  • The focus for the CBD program should remain on office buildings.

The review recommended lowering the threshold for mandatory disclosure of energy efficiency information on buildings from 2000m2 to 1000m2 to capture smaller office buildings. Stakeholders and the public were consulted about this and the change was implemented on 1st July 2017.

The review also recommended extending the certification validity period for the energy efficiency office lighting assessment, known as a tenancy lighting assessment (TLA), from one to five years. This change was implemented on 1 September 2016. 

  • Download the CBD program review 2016 final report [PDF 1.7MB | DOCX 1.4MB]
  • Download the Regulation Impact Statement for the change in disclosure threshold recommended in the 2016 review [PDF 3.2 MB | DOCX 6.9MB]