Software updates
The National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 energy efficiency changes have been adopted from 1 October 2023. This helpful table highlights when states and territories are transitioning to NCC 2022.
Changes include an increase to a 7-star minimum thermal rating and the inclusion of a new Whole of Home energy budget, including major fixed appliances and on-site energy generation and storage.
Technical updates for all NatHERS tools are now complete. Hero, FirstRate5, BERS Pro and AccuRate Home are all fully accredited including certificates.
The NatHERS administrator is working with jurisdictions who have an extended transition to NCC 2022 to support access to older versions of NatHERS if required.
See the NCC 2022 Software Transitional Arrangements page for more detailed information.
NCC 2022 updates
NatHERS can be used to demonstrate compliance with NCC 2022 including Thermal (building shell) and Whole of Home regulatory requirements.
The following table lists NatHERS accredited software tools. It also lists legacy tools available which may still be used to demonstrate compliance with NCC 2019.
Software tools meeting the provisions of NCC 2022 incorporate:
- New climate files and associated starbands
- New heating and cooling load limits
- Thermal bridging modelling for steel-framed structures
- New format thermal and Whole of Home certificates, stamps and reports
- Whole of Home appliance modules including heating and cooling, hot water systems, pool/spa pumps, lighting, on-site energy generation and storage (solar panels and batteries) and cooking and plug-in appliances.
Summary of accreditation status and use of NCC software (unless stated differently by your jurisdiction):
| Tool | NCC 2019* | NCC 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| AccuRate Home | AccuRate Sustainability 2.4.3.21 SP1 (Using Chenath v3.21) |
Version v1.3.3.24 (using Chenath v3.24) Includes:
|
| BERS Pro | Version 4.4.1.5 (Using Chenath v3.21) |
Version 5.2.4 (using Chenath v3.23) Includes:
|
| FirstRate5 | Version 5.3.2b for Thermal Assessments (Using Chenath v3.21) |
Version v5.5.5a (using Chenath 3.22) Includes
Excludes:
Whole-of-Home (Version 1.0.1) Includes
Excludes:
|
| Hero |
Version 3.0.1 up to the current accredited version - users should switch to NatHERS NCC 2019 profile (using Chenath v3.21). |
Version 4.1 (NCC 2022 profile using Chenath v3.23) Includes:
Excludes:
|
*NCC 2019 will not be updated to include: new climate files or starbands, new heating and cooling loads, Whole of Home, thermal bridging, or WERSLink (new windows library).
Contact the FirstRate5 team, the BERS Pro team or the Hero team for more information on specific software and release dates.
Complying with various software
NCC 2019 (from 1 October 2023)
If you are complying with NCC 2019 you must use (unless stated differently in your jurisdiction):
- accredited software based on Chenath Engine v3.21
- thermal only NatHERS Certificates
- NatHERS Technical Note Version June 2019
- heating and cooling load limits of ABCB Standard 2019.1
- additional requirements for apartments detailed in clause J0.2 of the NCC 2019 Volume One
- additional requirements for houses detailed in subclause 3.12.0(a)(i) of the NCC 2019 Volume Two.
NCC 2022 (from 1 October 2023)
If you are complying with NCC 2022 you must use (unless stated differently in your jurisdiction):
- accredited software based on Chenath Engine v3.22 or v3.23
- the new NatHERS Certificate which includes the Whole of Home rating feature
- NatHERS Technical Note Version 23 October 2024
- heating and cooling load limits of ABCB Standard 2022
- additional thermal and Whole of Home requirements for apartments detailed in Section J2D2 of NCC 2022 Volume One
- additional thermal requirements and Whole of Home requirements for houses detailed in Specification 42 of the NCC 2022 Volume Two.