As most of you are now aware, it has been announced that the Western Australian exemption from 6 star energy efficiency requirements for residential buildings in the BCA will be removed as from May1st 2011.
- Assessing 6 Star Compliance
There has been some animated discussions as to what this will mean for the building and design industries with some councils confirming they will be enforcing the 2011 BCA from May 1st this year. Unfortunately some energy assessors have muddied the waters even further by suggesting all assessments need to be 6 stars immediately.
Thankfully the Minister for Commerce has moved quickly to clarify the issue for all concerned.
On Friday the minister announced he will be making moves to ensure ALL councils allowed for a 12 month transition period. The minister followed through on Tuesday by instructing the Building Commission of Western Australia to amend the Building Regulations of 1989 to remove the councils ability to use their discretion on the issue.
So, in summary, the residential 6 star energy efficiency requirements of the BCA will not be enforced by any council until May 1st 2012.
What does that mean for the building and design industry?
It leaves 2 options:
Option 1: Forget about it until May 1 2012 and then scramble to try and get compliance sorted.
Option 2: Start setting processes in place now, consult with an energy efficiency consultant and ensure come May 1 2012, the transition will be a smooth one.
Sustainability WA can help you with your transition process. We offer fixed price energy ratings with competitive packages available to analyse your existing designs and ensure compliance with the future 6 star requirements.
If you have any questions about this, or any other energy efficiency issue please contact the helpful team at Sustainability WA. We would be happy to assist.
Click to see full Media Release Here
Cick to see the Building Commision Advisory note follow this link
About Nathan Peart
This is incorrect the Council still have the ability to state when they want the 6 Star requirements to start. If they decided the 1st May 2011 then that is when it will be for that Council. Government at the moment do not have the authority to tell the Local Governments what to do. They have written to them suggesting but the Government can not enforce until they make a change in the Regulations.
I say bring it on on the 1st May 2011 every builder in WA has known about it and I can bet you if you ask some of the bigger builders they will say bring it on, all they want it certainty which they don’t seem to be getting from a Government run by only a small minority of builders but have the Government ear.
Thanks for your comments Nikky,
As my article stated, the government minister has asked for the Building Regulations to be amended to take away the councils discretion on this matter. There were councils, such as City of Bayswater, that were planning to bring in the full changes on May 1st 2011, however with these changes to the Building Regulations they will not be able to.
As for the “bigger builders” saying”bring it on” I have not spoken to one builder who would agree with that. Builders have a long lead-in time between signing an initial agreement, through to the contract and pre-start stage. To try and change aspects of the house in the middle of that would add alot of problems for the builder and perhaps annoyance to the owners.
Although 6 stars has been in the pipeline for a while, the official announcement to let the builders know when it will come into effect in Western Australia has not been made to allow enough time for builders to react.
Regards
Nathan
Hello Nathan,
I don’t see why it isn’t possible for all new contracts signed on or after May 1st 2011 to have the new 6 stars apply, I agree with what you said about builders having such long lead times but don’t understand why new contracts signed should not be accountable?
Another issue I would like to ask you is “why is it acceptable for building companies to employ staff to do the – ENERGY EFFICIENCY REPORT in house”, this seems very open to abuse, for example: does somebody check that these Energy Efficiency Reports actually comply?
A possible solution to the above could be that an Energy Efficiency Report be undertaken AFTER the house is completed by an outside contractor not related to the builder, and if found not to comply then it would be fair that the builder who built the home would make good at their cost?
Hi Fernando,
Good to hear from you. The answer, as Nikky said above, is enough of the big builders have stood up and said they can’t do it and the State Government has listened. The problem they have hilighted is the current stock of display homes are not upto six star standard. This means someone can walk off the street and sign up for a house that will not be compliant with building regs in 2 weeks. Smart builders are getting organised now for the new regulations, but I bet there are still some with their heads in the sand ignoring it until April 30th 2012.
Your second point is very valid. Although any assesor – in house or not- needs to be certified by ABSA, which carries regular audits and quality assurance, it is still open for abuse. There are many benefits of getting an external assessor. Apart from the impartiality aspect an independant assesor has exposure to a wider range of problems and solutions, lower start up costs and greater experience.
There is talk of “Mandatory Disclosure” coming in the future. This is the need to prove the energy efficiency of your house when you sell or lease it. It was flagged for 2011 but has been postponed. When this does come in and you have an assessment done to show the energy efficiency of you house, there is the real possibility that builders who have not done the right thing will be caught out. If the client has paid for a six star house but the new assesment shows it is only 4 stars they would have every right to take that up with the builder. Of course anybody can commision there own energy rating on a built house to check a rating is correct.
Regards
Nathan