There are rules for advertising a building or area for sale, lease, or sublease if it is a disclosure affected building or area.

Before offering or advertising to sell, lease, or sublease a disclosure affected building or area you must:

Advertising for sale, lease, or sublease includes (but is not limited to):

  • banners on buildings, foyers, and perimeter fences
  • advertisements in print newspapers, brochures, and magazines
  • online listings
  • requests for expressions of interest sent directly to potential purchasers or lessees.

The rules are set out in Section 15 of the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 (BEED Act) and the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Determination 2016 (BEED Determination).

The BEED Act imposes penalties for failing to comply with this requirement. Certain exemptions may apply.

Displaying the NABERS star rating

You must display the NABERS Energy for offices rating (0 to 6) determined by the CBD Accredited Assessor and the words ‘-star NABERS Energy for offices rating’ in your advertisement.

For example:

  • 0-star NABERS Energy for offices rating
  • 3.5-star NABERS Energy for offices rating
  • 4-star NABERS Energy for offices rating.

You must also make sure the rating is displayed prominently in each advertisement so that it is:

  • clearly visible
  • not obscured
  • that the rating number and text is the same size as the majority of the text in the advertisement.  

Incorrect NABERS rating displays

The NABERS Energy for offices rating is to be determined by a CBD Accredited Assessor. The CBD Accredited Assessor must not consider the purchase of electricity under the GreenPower program.

You can include the GreenPower-inclusive rating if it isn’t more prominent than the NABERS Energy for offices rating. For more information visit the NABERS website.

Displaying a NABERS Energy Commitment Agreement rating on its own is not enough to comply with the CBD Program obligations. You must also include the current NABERS Energy for offices rating.

Penalties for non-compliance

If you advertise or offer to sell, lease, or sublease a disclosure affected building or area without a current registered BEEC, there may be a breach of the law under section 11 of the BEED Act.

If you advertise and don’t include the current NABERS Energy for offices rating, then there may be a breach of the law under section 15 of the BEED Act.

A Court can impose civil penalties for each breach of (as of 1 January 2023):

  • up to $313,000 for the first day
  • $31,300 for each day after.

The Secretary of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (the department) can issue an infringement notice for non-compliance for an amount (as at 1 January 2023) of up to $31,300 per non-compliance.

Exemptions

You can apply for an exemption to these rules under limited circumstances as described in section 17 of the BEED Act.

Until your exemption is issued to you, you can’t advertise a disclosure affected building or area for sale, lease or sublease or civil penalties will apply.

If an exemption is granted under the BEED Act or the building is not disclosure affected, there is no requirement for advertising to indicate the building is exempt or not disclosure affected.

If you are issued with an exemption, you may include the words ‘CBD Program exempt’ or ‘CBD Program exemption granted’ in your advertising. This is not a legal requirement but is recommended.

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