WELL Rating
WELL Rating and NABERS both relate to commercial building performance, but they assess different layers of how a building works, operates and is experienced.
Quick Answer
WELL Rating focuses on the relationship between buildings, indoor environmental quality and the people who occupy them. It considers factors such as air quality, water, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind and community.
NABERS is used to measure and compare the operational performance of buildings. Depending on the rating type, NABERS may assess energy, water, waste or indoor environment performance. In simple terms, WELL is more occupant-experience focused, while NABERS is more operational-performance focused.
Commercial building performance is no longer a single conversation. A building may need to demonstrate energy efficiency, lower emissions, strong operational performance, good indoor environmental quality, occupant comfort and broader sustainability value.
WELL and NABERS both sit within this wider performance landscape, but they do not answer the same question. WELL asks how the building environment relates to the people inside it. NABERS asks how the building performs in operation against recognised benchmarks.
Understanding the difference helps project teams avoid using one framework to answer the wrong question. It also helps owners, tenants and consultants decide which rating pathway supports the project’s real objective.
WELL Rating is based on the WELL Building Standard. It focuses on features of the built environment that can influence health, wellbeing, comfort and the daily experience of occupants.
In a commercial building, WELL may relate to air quality, ventilation, water, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mental restoration, workplace policies and community-related conditions. These areas are not only design ideas. They are shaped by building systems, fitout decisions, operational practices and the way spaces are used.
This makes WELL particularly relevant where the quality of the occupied environment is important, such as commercial offices, workplace fitouts, institutional buildings, premium tenancy spaces and assets seeking a stronger occupant-environment narrative.
NABERS is an Australian rating system used to measure and compare the environmental performance of buildings in operation. Different NABERS rating types may address different performance areas, including energy, water, waste and indoor environment.
NABERS is strongly associated with operational data. It helps building owners, tenants and asset managers understand how a building is performing in use, not only how it was intended to perform during design.
This makes NABERS especially important for existing commercial buildings, operational performance reporting, asset benchmarking, tenant communication and sustainability strategy.
WELL Rating
WELL is concerned with how internal environmental conditions, design decisions and operational practices affect the people who occupy the building.
NABERS
NABERS is used to assess and compare how buildings perform in operation, including areas such as energy, water, waste and indoor environment depending on the rating type.
There can be overlap between WELL and NABERS Indoor Environment because both are concerned with internal environmental conditions. Areas such as indoor air quality, lighting quality, temperature, thermal comfort and acoustic quality can be relevant to both conversations.
The difference is the framing. WELL places these conditions within a broader occupant health, wellbeing and experience framework. NABERS Indoor Environment measures indoor environment performance against a recognised rating method for buildings or tenancies.
For project teams, this means WELL and NABERS Indoor Environment can be complementary. One may help structure the occupant-experience strategy, while the other may help benchmark or communicate indoor environment performance.
Green Star is another important framework in the Australian built environment. It is broader than WELL and can apply to buildings, fitouts and communities depending on the rating tool and project scope.
While WELL is primarily concerned with people and the indoor environment, and NABERS is strongly associated with measured operational performance, Green Star generally addresses broader sustainability outcomes across the built environment.
In a mature commercial sustainability strategy, these frameworks do not need to compete. They can each describe a different layer of performance.
WELL may be relevant where a client, tenant, owner or workplace team wants to understand air quality, comfort, light, sound, materials, amenity, wellbeing strategy or occupant environmental quality.
NABERS may be relevant where a building owner, tenant or asset manager needs to measure, benchmark, report or communicate how the building performs in use.
Green Star may be relevant where the project is seeking a holistic sustainability rating across design, construction, fitout, operations or community-scale outcomes.
Yes. WELL and NABERS can sit together within a broader commercial building performance strategy. A building may use NABERS to demonstrate operational performance and WELL to address occupant environmental quality, workplace conditions and the experience of people inside the building.
The two frameworks may also support different stakeholders. Asset owners may be focused on operational benchmarks, sustainability reporting and leasing performance. Tenants may be focused on workplace quality, comfort and indoor environmental conditions. Consultants may need to coordinate both sets of objectives.
The important step is to define what the project is trying to prove, improve or communicate. Once the objective is clear, the right combination of rating systems and technical analysis becomes easier to identify.
Within the Certified Energy ecosystem, WELL sits in the occupant-environment layer of commercial performance. NABERS sits more strongly in the operational performance and benchmarking layer. Green Star sits within the broader sustainability certification layer.
These layers are connected. A building’s operational energy performance can affect comfort. Ventilation can influence both indoor air quality and energy use. Façade design can influence daylight, glare, thermal comfort and mechanical load. Acoustic quality, lighting and materials can shape the way a workplace is experienced.
This is why WELL should not be treated as a standalone wellness label. It is part of a larger building performance conversation that includes comfort, daylight, airflow, operational energy, indoor environmental quality and long-term commercial asset performance.
Related Knowledge Hub
For a broader overview of WELL Rating, WELL Certification, indoor environmental quality and commercial building performance, visit the Certified Energy WELL Rating Knowledge Hub.
Read the WELL Rating Knowledge Hub