When 'all Australia' does not include New South Wales
Do you remember all the hype when it was announced that the 2022 National Construction Code will require "all" new Australian houses and apartments to meet a minimum energy efficiency rating of seven stars under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS).
It appears that in the context of the above statement the words "all", "Australia" and "Nationwide" should be followed by the addendum "except for NSW".
NSW has its own system of measurement that includes a "thermal comfort index" which apparently is "equivalent" to NatHERS.
It's called Basix (Building Sustainability Index).
It was an initiative of the NSW Government back in 2004 and it's still alive and kicking.
So much so that you must have a Basix certificate for a new house in NSW.
You don't need a NatHERS certificate although you can obtain one if you want to.
NatHERS is administered by the Australian Government and according the official website it "provides a streamlined pathway to meet or beat the new National Construction Code 2022 energy efficiency requirements".
It also declares that "currently around 90 per cent of new home designs are assessed using the scheme."
So could somebody please tell me why, if NatHERS is good enough for the rest of Australia, we need the NSW Government to be running their own separate scheme?
Knowing the way governments work, I bet it's not cheap.
Is it a pride thing?
Are they using taxpayers money to pay for their "hissy fit"?
SOURCE:
Email, 19 Mar 2023
Francis Wiffen, Woy Woy