RECENT BASIX CERTIFICATE CHANGES IN NSW

BASIX Certificate FAQ's

• What are BASIX Requirements?

  BASIX Benchmarks:
  To determine water and energy targets, the average benchmark for per person consumption of potable water and greenhouse gas emissions within the NSW residential sector is calculated.

  • Water – the NSW benchmark per person is 90,340 litres per year.
  • Energy – the NSW benchmark per person is 3,292 kg of CO2-e per year.

  BASIX Targets:
  

  The performance targets set by the NSW Government include:

  • up to a 40% reduction in potable water consumption
  • up to a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and
  • minimum performance levels of thermal comfort.

  The BASIX certificate benchmarks of water and energy are both measured on a per capita basis, including:

  • Water – the average NSW consumption of potable water from the residential sector.
  • Energy – the annual average NSW greenhouse emissions from the residential sector.

   

• What is a BASIX Certificate?

  BASIX (The Building Sustainability Index) was introduced as part of the NSW Government’s 2004 initiative to ‘encourage sustainable residential development’ and is in effect part of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. The BASIX certificate aims to accommodate NSW with more resilient dwellings together with reducing greenhouse gases and water consumption.

  BASIX was established to meet targets of up to 40% reductions in water consumption as well as greenhouse gas reductions by up to 25%. As a result, this delivers financial savings for the home owner.

  BASIX Assessment

  A BASIX certificate assessment is required for the development application process in NSW and considers various criteria, such as:

  • location of the building
  • orientation size of the building
  • construction type of the building
  • window size and type of the building
  • landscaping of the building
  • appliances used within the building.

  Additionally, it also considers thermal comfort levels which lessens the amount of energy used by dwellings in order to heat or cool the house to a comfortable level.

  As well as contributing to a sustainable future of urban planning, you as the homeowner will also financially benefit through reduced water and energy bills. Your BASIX certificate will confirm that your proposed project will abide by the NSW Government’s sustainability targets since obtaining a BASIX certificate means your residential building will have passed the government’s environmental targets.

  

   

  For more information on BASIX click here

• How do you assess Your BASIX?

  To assess the BASIX certificate, you can use the online Assessment Tool which will determine the sustainability of your development application. The assessment tool analyses data of the proposed dwelling’s design against the NSW Government’s water and energy targets. A BASIX certificate is issued upon meeting the BASIX target requirements and paying a fee.

• How much does a BASIX Assessment cost?

  For BASIX pricing, click here

• Do I need a BASIX Certificate?

  The development application stage of every new residential dwelling built in NSW of $50,000 or more require a BASIX certificate. Residential dwellings include:

  • Single dwellings
  • Dual-occupancy dwellings
  • Townhouses
  • Villas
  • Low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise multi unit developments
  • Boarding houses
  • Guest houses
  • Hostels
  • Lodging houses
  • Backpacker accommodation
  • Multi-unit developments
  • Swimming pools and/or outdoor spa with water capacity greater than or equal to 40,000 litres or 40 kilolitres.

  Additionally, alterations and add-ons to existing dwellings which cost greater than $50,000 also require a BASIX certificate.

   

• What are BASIX limitations?

  There are various circumstances where BASIX fails to meet the thermal modelling capabilities of NatHERS. BASIX specifies each component of a house individually, whereas NatHERS does not. This makes using BASIX alone difficult as the ‘rapid method’ of assessment jumps to solutions such as expensive windows or shading devices, impacting costs and aesthetics. For example, BASIX may specify higher performance glazing such as double glazing, however, NatHERS has the ability to compensate elsewhere, for example increasing the insulation to avoid the expense of high performing windows. This makes the use of both BASIX and NatHERS much more cost effective in terms of construction as well as continual energy expenses.

   

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