Generally, newly constructed buildings are automatically not disclosure affected for 2 years, from the date of issue of the Certificate of Occupancy (or equivalent).
In some cases, depending on the stage of a construction project, a new office building may be disclosure affected.
You may also be able to apply for an exemption from the CBD Program obligations where the new construction results in the building or area being non-assessable, most commonly because a NABERS Energy for offices rating can’t be assigned.
Construction is underway
When contracts for construction or equipment supply have been executed, the construction is considered ‘underway’.
While the construction of a new office building is underway, the building is not disclosure affected.
Construction is completed
After a new office building construction has been completed, the building is not disclosure affected for 2 years from the date the Certificate of Occupancy (or equivalent) is issued.
If there are staged certificates for different areas of the building, the building is not disclosure affected for 2 years from the date the last certificate was issued.
Once the last Certificate of Occupancy (or equivalent) is more than 2 years old, the building can become disclosure affected. If disclosure affected, it needs a Building Energy Efficiency Certificate (BEEC) or an exemption before it is offered for sale, lease or sublease.
However, if the nature of the works means that no Certificate of Occupancy is required to be issued when the new building is complete, the building will be immediately disclosure affected. The conditions for issuing a Certificate of Occupancy vary between jurisdictions.
Gathering data for the NABERS rating
Under the current NABERS Energy and Water for Offices Rules, if your building is newly built, it will be eligible for a NABERS Rating as soon as a 12-month NABERS Rating Period can be completed.
After a new build is completed, the 12-month NABERS Rating Period can only begin once one of the following requirements is met:
- 75% of the office NLA is occupied by tenants, or
- it has been 2 years since the Certificate of Occupancy (or equivalent) was issued.
Where a new building is not eligible for a NABERS Energy for offices rating, you can seek an exemption on the basis that the building or area is non-assessable.
You will also need to allow time to prepare and process the NABERS Energy for offices rating. NABERS Assessors are allowed up to 4 months after the rating period ends to submit their application. An exemption may be granted to cover the NABERS Rating Period and submission time. The longest exemption is 12 months, but multiple exemptions may be granted if it isn’t yet possible to work out the NABERS Energy for offices rating.
Construction has just finished on an office building and a Certificate of Occupancy issued. The building is not disclosure affected for 2 years, during which it maintains an occupancy rate above 75%.
This means the rating period can begin immediately, and the building will be eligible for a NABERS Energy for offices rating as soon as 12 months of data has been obtained.
The owner knows that 2 years after the Certificate of Occupancy is issued, the building will become disclosure affected. The owner organises a CBD Accredited Assessor to complete the NABERS Energy for offices rating and BEEC application before the 2 years is up.
While NABERS allows up to 4 months for a CBD Accredited Assessor to submit a rating application, by starting early, the company is able have the BEEC application approved as soon as the building becomes disclosure affected.
In this example, as the building is eligible to gather NABERS Energy data at any time, the owner could voluntarily submit a BEEC application prior to the building becoming disclosure affected.
Construction has just finished on a building. No Certificate of Occupancy (or equivalent) is required to be issued for this building. Therefore, the building is immediately disclosure affected.
However, the building is not immediately eligible for a NABERS Energy for offices rating because 12 months of data is not available. An exemption is obtained for the maximum duration of 12 months, because the building is non-assessable.
Eight months after the construction is completed, the building achieves 75% occupancy and the NABERS Rating Period (12 months of data collection) begins.
The owner obtains a second exemption to cover the remainder of the NABERS Rating Period and the 4-month submission window allowed by NABERS.
Construction has just finished on a building. No Certificate of Occupancy is required to be issued for this building. Therefore, the building is immediately disclosure affected.
On completion of construction, the building is not immediately eligible for a NABERS Energy for offices rating because 12 months of data is not available. An exemption is obtained for the maximum duration of 12 months, because the building is non-assessable.
The new building continues to be below 75% occupancy.
12 months after the construction was completed, an additional 4-month exemption is granted to allow for a CBD Accredited Assessor to collect data and submit the NABERS Energy for offices rating.
Once the second exemption expires, the building may be required to obtain a BEEC or other exemption before it is offered for sale, lease or sublease. Buildings with low levels of occupancy, even less than 75% occupancy, may still be required to obtain a BEEC if a NABERS Energy rating can be completed.
Construction has just finished on an office building and a Certificate of Occupancy issued. The building is automatically not disclosure affected for 2 years. 18 months after the construction is completed, the building achieves 75% occupancy and the NABERS Rating Period (12 months of data collection) can begin.
The building becomes disclosure affected 6 months later, when the Certificate of Occupancy is 2 years old.
Although the building is now disclosure affected, it is still non-assessable, as only 6 months of eligible data is available.
The NABERS Energy for offices rating can’t be obtained until a CBD Accredited Assessor has collected 12 months of data. Once 12 months of data has been collected, the CBD Accredited Assessor can begin the process to complete the NABERS rating, within the 4-month window allowed by NABERS.
The NABERS rating can’t be begin until 6-10 months after the building becomes disclosure affected at 2 years old.
The owners will need to apply for a 10-month exemption as the building is still disclosure affected until the NABERS Rating can be finalised.
Construction has just finished on an office building and a Certificate of Occupancy is issued. The building is automatically not disclosure affected for 2 years.
Occupancy only reaches 60% during this period so the building’s NABERS rating period will start when the Certificate of Occupancy is 2 years old. On the same day, the building becomes disclosure affected.
The building is not immediately eligible for a NABERS rating because 12 months of eligible data is not available. An exemption is obtained for the maximum duration of 12 months, on the grounds that the building is non-assessable. The building owner then obtains a second 4-month exemption to cover the period allowed by NABERS to complete the rating. At the end of the second exemption, a NABERS rating is certified and the BEEC is issued.
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Check whether an exemption may apply.