What is a BASIX certificate?

History of a BASIX Certificate and Why You Need It?

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 purpose of the BASIX certificate is to provide NSW with increasingly resilient dwellings whilst simultaneously 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:

In addition a BASIX assessment 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 as obtaining a BASIX certificate means your residential building will have passed the government’s environmental targets.

BASIX Targets

The performance targets set by the NSW Government include:

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.