NatHERS and Whole of Home are sometimes described as competing assessment methods. This is no longer an accurate way to understand their relationship.

NatHERS is the wider residential energy-rating framework. Within that framework, a proposed home can receive a thermal star rating out of 10 and a separate Whole of Home rating out of 100. The two results answer different questions about the same dwelling.

The thermal star rating asks how much heating and cooling the home is likely to need because of its design and construction. The Whole of Home rating builds on those thermal loads and considers the energy performance of household systems, solar generation and battery storage.

A stormwater treatment assessment considers how runoff from roofs, driveways, paving and other impervious areas is managed by the treatment measures connected to them. The presence of a tank, raingarden or permeable surface does not by itself establish that the required treatment outcome will be achieved.

Performance depends on the relationship between catchment area, treatment capacity, rainwater reuse, physical connections and any impervious surfaces that remain untreated. A measure that is appropriately sized and connected can contribute strongly to the assessment. The same measure may contribute much less where it receives only a small catchment or cannot operate as represented in the model.

This guide focuses specifically on how common WSUD measures can support quantitative stormwater treatment performance. For the wider difference between site strategy and modelling, see STORM vs WSUD.

BASIX and NatHERS are often discussed together on NSW residential projects, but they are not interchangeable systems. BASIX is the state-based assessment and submission framework. NatHERS is a national residential energy-rating framework that can be used within one of the BASIX thermal-performance methods.

Under the Simulation method, an accredited assessor models the proposed dwelling using approved NatHERS software. The resulting star rating and heating and cooling loads are then used to support completion of the BASIX thermal-performance section.

This guide focuses specifically on how the BASIX thermal pathway and the 7 Star NatHERS benchmark relate. For the complete NSW submission process, certificate requirements and wider water, energy and materials commitments, see the BASIX submission guide.

The Residential Efficiency Scorecard was a separate government-supported assessment program for existing homes. It operated under its own methodology, assessor requirements and reporting arrangements before closing on 23 June 2026.

Home Energy Rating is Certified Energy’s current service name for assessments delivered through NatHERS for existing homes. It is now the relevant pathway where a new assessment of an established dwelling is required.

The comparison is therefore no longer about choosing between two available schemes. It is about distinguishing the current assessment pathway from a former program and understanding what an older Scorecard report still represents.

NatHERS is Australia’s national home energy-rating framework. Its thermal assessment models the predicted heating and cooling needs of a dwelling and expresses the result as a star rating between zero and ten. NatHERS assessments are commonly used to help demonstrate residential energy-efficiency requirements under the National Construction Code, subject to the pathway adopted in the relevant state or territory.

Passive House is a separate voluntary building standard. It combines energy balancing through the Passive House Planning Package, known as PHPP, with defined requirements relating to the building envelope, airtightness, windows, thermal bridges, controlled ventilation and construction verification.

This comparison focuses on where the systems overlap and where their boundaries differ. For a complete explanation of each framework, see the NatHERS Knowledge Hub and the Passive House in Australia guide.