Commercial Property Campaign Guide
Before commercial office space is listed, the agent, owner and assessor should confirm that the correct BEEC is registered and the current NABERS Energy rating appears consistently across every advertising format.
Commercial property campaigns often move quickly. Photography, listing copy, brochures, building banners and expressions of interest may all be prepared while legal, leasing and technical information is still being assembled.
For disclosure-affected office space, however, the Building Energy Efficiency Certificate should not be treated as an item that can be added after the campaign has launched. A current BEEC must be registered before the office space is advertised or offered to the market, and its NABERS Energy for Offices rating must be included in the advertising.
This guide focuses specifically on the checks commercial property agents, owners and asset managers should complete before publication. For the wider explanation of BEECs, Tenancy Lighting Assessments, NABERS and the Commercial Building Disclosure framework, visit the TLA and BEEC Knowledge Hub.
In Brief
What Must Be Checked Before an Office Campaign Goes Live?
Registered Certificate
Confirm that a current BEEC has been registered before any advertising, offers or expressions of interest begin.
Correct Coverage
Check that the certificate covers the precise building or office area being offered through the campaign.
Advertising Wording
Copy the current NABERS Energy rating into every applicable advertisement using the required wording and prominence.
A submitted application, an assessment still in progress or a certificate that has expired is not the same as a current registered BEEC. The campaign should remain on hold until the status, coverage and advertising information have been confirmed.
Campaign Responsibility
Why BEEC Should Be Part of the Advertising Workflow
A BEEC is often commissioned by the building owner or asset manager, while the advertising is prepared and published by an external commercial property agency. This separation can create a practical gap between technical certification and campaign delivery.
The owner may know that an assessor has been engaged but not realise that the certificate has not yet been registered. The agent may receive an older NABERS rating from a previous campaign without knowing that it has expired. A designer may omit the rating from a building banner because it appears elsewhere in the information memorandum.
A separate pre-publication check helps prevent these handover issues. It gives the owner, assessor, agent and campaign team one controlled point at which the certificate, coverage and rating information are confirmed before anything reaches the market.
The Pre-Publication Rule
No Registered BEEC, No Advertising
Where the office building or area is disclosure affected, advertising should not begin until the BEEC is registered. This applies even where the assessment has been completed, the application has been submitted or registration is expected shortly.
The obligation begins when the property approaches the market. It can therefore extend beyond a conventional online listing to invitations for expressions of interest, direct offers, property banners and other material used to present the space to prospective buyers or tenants.
The safest internal control is simple: the campaign receives final publication approval only after the registered certificate has been checked and the NABERS advertising line has been supplied to the agent in writing.
Pre-Launch Controls
The Commercial Property BEEC Advertising Checklist
Check 01
Confirm the Campaign Scope
Record whether the campaign concerns the whole building, one tenancy, several floors or another defined office area.
Check 02
Verify Registration
Confirm that the certificate appears as current on the Building Energy Efficiency Register rather than relying only on an application email or draft document.
Check 03
Match the Area
Check that the NABERS rating and TLA coverage correspond with all office areas included in the sale, lease or sublease campaign.
Check 04
Copy the Current Rating
Take the NABERS Energy rating from the current registered BEEC rather than an old brochure, website listing or previous campaign file.
Check 05
Use the Required Wording
Express the rating as a whole or half number followed by the words “-star NABERS Energy rating”.
Check 06
Review Every Format
Check listings, brochures, email campaigns, information memoranda, social advertisements, signage and building banners separately.
Certificate Verification
How Should the Registered BEEC Be Checked?
The Building Energy Efficiency Register contains current and historical certificates. The presence of a building address in the register does not by itself establish that a usable certificate is currently in place.
Search the current register. Use the building name or address and distinguish between current and expired entries.
Open the applicable certificate. Confirm the building identity, certificate period and NABERS Energy rating rather than relying on the search-result summary alone.
Review the covered functional spaces. Check that the TLA component corresponds with the tenancy areas being marketed.
Confirm the campaign dates. The certificate should remain current at the relevant transaction point, including commencement of a lease or sublease or exchange of a sale contract.
Assessment Boundaries
Does the BEEC Cover the Space Being Advertised?
A current certificate for the correct street address may still be unsuitable where its assessment boundary does not match the campaign.
An owner may previously have obtained a BEEC to lease one part of a building and later decide to sell the entire property. Alternatively, a certificate may cover the whole building while the current campaign concerns only selected floors or tenancies. These scenarios require the assessor to confirm that the NABERS and TLA components remain appropriate for the space being offered.
The campaign team should provide the assessor with:
- the exact floors, suites or tenancy areas being marketed;
- whether the transaction concerns the whole building or only part of it;
- the proposed use of shared, vacant or fitted areas;
- any recent changes to tenancy boundaries; and
- any lighting alterations completed since the previous TLA.
This confirmation should occur before the rating is inserted into campaign material. The advertising line should relate to the current registered certificate for the relevant offering, not simply the most recent rating associated with the address.
Advertising Wording
How Should the NABERS Energy Rating Be Written?
The rating should be expressed as a whole number or half of a whole number between zero and six, followed by the prescribed description.
Correct Example
4.5-star NABERS Energy rating
Avoid
“4.5 star NABERS”, “NABERS 4½”, “targeting 4.5 stars” or another shortened or promotional variation.
The rating should also be prominent. It should not be reduced to fine print or presented at a size smaller than the majority of the other text in the advertisement.
A NABERS Commitment Agreement, target rating or planned future improvement may be discussed separately where appropriate, but it should not be substituted for the current NABERS Energy for Offices rating required for the campaign.
Campaign Coverage
Which Advertising Formats Need to Be Reviewed?
Property Portals
Check the full desktop listing, mobile view, short-form search result and any syndication to secondary platforms.
Campaign Brochures
Review downloadable brochures, leasing flyers, information memoranda and printed handouts individually.
Email and Social Media
Include the rating in email campaigns, promoted posts and other advertising that offers the property to prospective buyers or tenants.
Agency Website
Check the agency’s own listing page rather than assuming content imported from another platform remains complete.
Signage and Banners
Building banners, façade signs and on-site campaign boards should include the rating from the outset.
Direct Market Approach
Expressions of interest, direct offers and off-market approaches should be coordinated with the same certificate requirements.
Common Campaign Errors
What Should Not Be Treated as Campaign Approval?
An assessor has been engaged. Engagement begins the assessment process but does not mean that a BEEC has been registered.
The application has been submitted. Advertising should remain on hold until the certificate itself appears as registered.
The building has had a BEEC before. A historical or expired certificate cannot be relied upon for a new campaign.
The rating appears in one document. Including it in the information memorandum does not remove the need to include it in other applicable advertisements.
The building is targeting a future rating. A target or commitment rating does not replace the current rating associated with the registered BEEC.
Owner-to-Agent Handover
What Should the Agent Request Before Creative Production Begins?
The agent should not need to interpret the technical assessment independently. The owner or assessor should provide a clear campaign handover that identifies the certificate and exact rating line to be used.
A practical handover pack may include:
- a copy of the current registered BEEC;
- confirmation of the BEEC registration and expiry dates;
- the exact NABERS Energy advertising wording;
- confirmation of the building, floors or office areas covered;
- the expected campaign and transaction dates;
- the assessor’s contact details for scope questions; and
- written confirmation of any exemption being relied upon.
This information can then be incorporated into the campaign brief provided to copywriters, designers, portal administrators, sign writers and media partners.
Clear Responsibility
Who Should Confirm Each Part of the Campaign?
Owner or Asset Manager
Property and Transaction Scope
Confirms what is being sold or leased, the intended campaign dates and any changes to the building or tenancy areas.
CBD Accredited Assessor
Certificate and Coverage
Confirms whether the BEEC is current, applicable to the offered area and suitable for the proposed transaction.
Commercial Property Agent
Advertising Delivery
Ensures the correct rating appears prominently and consistently in every applicable campaign format.
Campaign Changes
When Should the BEEC Position Be Rechecked?
A campaign can change after launch. Additional floors may be added, a partial lease may become a whole-building sale or the expected transaction date may move beyond the certificate period.
The agent should return the campaign to the owner and assessor where:
- the offered office area changes;
- the transaction changes from lease to sale or vice versa;
- the campaign extends towards or beyond the certificate expiry date;
- new lighting works or tenancy alterations are completed;
- the original transaction is terminated and the property returns to market; or
- the campaign begins using a different building identity, address or tenancy description.
Rechecking the certificate before revising the advertising is usually more reliable than assuming that the original campaign approval continues to apply.
Final Publication Review
The Last Check Before Pressing Publish
The property or office area has been reviewed for Commercial Building Disclosure applicability.
A current BEEC is visible on the Building Energy Efficiency Register.
The certificate covers every office area being offered through the campaign.
The current NABERS Energy rating has been copied directly from the applicable BEEC.
The rating is written in the required form and is not smaller than the majority of the advertising text.
Every portal, brochure, email, social advertisement, sign and banner has been reviewed separately.
The owner and agent have a process for rechecking the certificate if the campaign scope or timetable changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
BEEC Advertising FAQs for Property Agents
Can an agent advertise while the BEEC application is being processed?
Not where a current registered BEEC is required. Submission of an application does not itself create a registered certificate. Advertising should remain on hold until registration has been confirmed.
Can an expired rating from a previous campaign be reused?
No. Historical register entries may be useful as background information, but an expired BEEC or NABERS rating cannot satisfy the current disclosure obligation.
Does the rating need to appear in every advertisement?
The current NABERS Energy for Offices rating should be included in all applicable advertising material used to offer the disclosure-affected office space for sale, lease or sublease.
Is it enough to show the rating in the information memorandum?
No. Other applicable campaign formats should also include the rating. Each portal listing, brochure, banner and advertisement should be checked rather than relying on one central document.
Can the NABERS rating be placed in fine print?
The rating should be prominent and should not be smaller than the majority of the other text in the advertisement.
Can the advertisement say “targeting a 5-star NABERS rating” instead?
A target or commitment rating should not replace the current NABERS Energy for Offices rating required by the Commercial Building Disclosure framework.
What if the campaign expands to include additional floors?
The owner and assessor should confirm whether the current BEEC covers the additional areas. Campaign scope should not be expanded on the assumption that a certificate for one area automatically applies to another.
Does the agent need to determine whether the property is disclosure affected?
The applicability and assessment scope should be confirmed with the owner and an appropriately qualified CBD Accredited Assessor. The agent should nevertheless obtain that confirmation before publishing the campaign.
When should the agent begin asking about the BEEC?
Ideally, the BEEC position should be reviewed when the agency appointment and campaign timetable are first discussed. Waiting until the creative material is ready can create unnecessary delay if assessment or registration work is still required.
Related Guidance
Explore the Connected Disclosure Pathways
Pre-Market BEEC Review
Is the Office Campaign Ready to Go Live?
Send the property address, office areas being offered, transaction type, proposed advertising date and any existing BEEC, NABERS or TLA records.
Certified Energy can review the available information and help confirm the appropriate assessment and disclosure pathway before the campaign enters the market.
Send Your Property Information
