The three names are often grouped together because each can influence the design and documentation of a residential development. That does not make them interchangeable. NatHERS is a residential energy-rating framework. BASIX is a New South Wales residential sustainability requirement. BESS is a Victorian planning-stage sustainable design assessment.

The correct starting point is usually the project location, building type and approval pathway. A house in New South Wales may need BASIX together with NatHERS modelling. A Victorian apartment development may need BESS at planning stage and NatHERS as a separate residential energy assessment. A Victorian commercial development may require BESS but would not use NatHERS.

This guide compares the role of each framework without replacing the detailed requirements of the individual pathways. For project-specific guidance, review the relevant council, planning authority and building approval requirements.

Preparing for a BESS assessment involves more than collecting a set of architectural plans. The information entered into BESS must describe the same development shown in the planning documentation, and each claimed credit should be supported by an identifiable drawing reference, schedule, calculation or technical report.

Common problems arise when project areas are entered incorrectly, sustainability measures are nominated before they are documented, or supporting reports relate to an earlier design revision. These inconsistencies may not be apparent from the overall BESS score alone.

This guide focuses on preparing the project information and evidence needed for a credible assessment. For the complete explanation of planning context, assessment scope, scoring and report structure, see the BESS Knowledge Hub.

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.

Preparing a Sustainability Management Plan or Sustainable Design Assessment is not simply a matter of adding an ESD report shortly before a planning application is submitted.

The report sits between the relevant council requirements, the proposed design, the planning drawings and any supporting assessments needed to substantiate the project’s sustainability commitments.

The exact pathway varies between councils and projects. The important question is not simply whether the application needs an SMP or SDA, but when the pathway should be confirmed, what evidence is required and how the report should be coordinated with the wider planning submission.

In Brief

Where an SMP or SDA Fits in the Process

For a broader explanation of the two report types, their usual scope and the distinction between them, visit the SMP and SDA Knowledge Hub.

Step One

Confirm the Council Pathway Before Finalising the Design

The first step is to identify the planning and sustainability requirements applying to the property. This may involve reviewing the relevant planning scheme, local ESD policy, council application requirements and any correspondence already received from the responsible authority.

Development type, proposed uses, site conditions and project scale may all influence the required pathway. It is therefore important not to rely on one general dwelling or floor-area threshold across every Victorian municipality.

Early confirmation gives the project team time to identify the required report, supporting assessments and drawing commitments before the design becomes difficult to adjust.

Early Review

What Should Be Confirmed at the Beginning?

Leaving these questions until the planning set is substantially complete can make otherwise practical sustainability measures harder to incorporate.

Step Two

Determine the Required Reporting Pathway

Some projects may require BESS or other supporting evidence without a separate SMP or SDA. Others may require assessment results to be incorporated into the written report. The correct combination should be established from the council pathway rather than assumed from a general project threshold.

Step Three

Identify the Evidence Needed to Support the Report

Scope Boundary

An SMP or SDA Does Not Replace Specialist Assessment

The written report may reference assessment results, calculations or technical documentation where these are needed to substantiate a commitment.

Detailed energy, stormwater, drainage, daylight, thermal, acoustic, transport, waste or landscape work retains its own technical purpose. The SMP or SDA brings the relevant results into the coordinated planning response without replacing those specialist services.

Step Four

Coordinate the Report with the Planning Drawings

A sustainability commitment becomes difficult to rely upon when it cannot be found in the drawings, schedules or supporting documents. The written report and planning set should therefore be reviewed together.

Step Five

Review the Submission as One Coordinated Package

Step Six

Submit the Report with the Planning Application

The completed SMP or SDA forms part of the wider planning application documentation. It should be submitted with the relevant drawings, assessment reports and supporting evidence required by the council pathway.

Where BESS is used, the submitted report should reflect the version of the development shown in the current planning set. Referenced documents and plan revisions should also remain aligned.

An SMP or SDA supports council assessment by documenting the project’s sustainability response. It does not guarantee that a planning permit will be granted, as the application will also be assessed against other relevant planning considerations.

Step Seven

Respond to Council Questions and Design Changes

The responsible authority may request clarification, further evidence or changes to the proposed sustainability response after submission.

A request for further information may identify a commitment that is missing from the drawings, an incomplete assessment, inconsistent project information or an ESD requirement that needs a clearer response.

Where the design changes, the SMP, SDA and supporting assessments should be reviewed together. Updating one document without checking the others can create new inconsistencies.

Step Eight

Carry the Commitments into Later Documentation

The SMP or SDA does not replace later compliance or detailed design work. It provides an early record of the sustainability measures included in the planning response and helps identify which commitments need to remain visible as the project progresses.

Application Review

An SMP and SDA Planning Checklist

Frequently Asked Questions

SMP and SDA Planning Process FAQs

Related Guidance

Continue Exploring the Planning Pathway

SMP & SDA Project Review

Clarify the Planning-Stage Sustainability Pathway

Certified Energy can review the available plans, council requirements and project information to help identify the likely SMP, SDA, BESS and supporting documentation pathway.

Indoor Environment Quality, commonly shortened to IEQ, is one of the categories assessed within BESS Buildings. The category does not provide a general rating of whether a building is healthy or comfortable. Instead, it applies defined credits to particular development types and requires project information or evidence to support the responses entered into the assessment.

The applicable IEQ credits change according to the project profile. An apartment development may be assessed for daylight access, natural ventilation, cross-flow ventilation and particular thermal-comfort measures. A non-residential development may instead require daylight, ventilation, shading, ceiling-fan or air-quality evidence relevant to its regular-use areas.

This guide explains how IEQ operates within BESS and what information may be required to substantiate the assessment. For the complete planning, scoring and report pathway, see the BESS Knowledge Hub.