Roll out of existing home ratings begins
Today, Stage 1 of the expansion of the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) to include existing home ratings has commenced!
Expanding NatHERS to existing homes will help households:
- better understand their home’s energy performance
- identify cost-effective upgrades to improve the comfort of their home, and
- reduce their energy bills.
The stage 1 release includes:
- a first generation tool and assessment method
- publishing of policies, procedures and governance documents
- the commencement of accreditation for a limited pool of trained assessors.
Find out more on the expansion updates and existing homes ratings.
What’s next?
Working with industry, assessors and delivery partners over the next 12 months, we will continue to refine and begin to scale up NatHERS for existing homes to ensure ratings are reliable, consistent, and comparable.
We will learn from a Home Energy Ratings Disclosure Framework pilot in NSW and the ongoing NatHERS trial, and make training and accreditation services progressively available to target groups.
During the scale up period, NatHERS for existing homes will only be available to a small number of households. Assessments will become more accessible during the Stage 2 release, which is expected in mid 2026.
Visit expansion updates and existing homes on the NatHERS website to learn more and keep up to date.
Opportunity for software user interface developers
As anticipated demand for existing home ratings grows over time, this will create opportunities for software innovation. The User Interface Protocol outlines how software developers can get involved with NatHERS for existing homes to help streamline the assessment process and improve user experience.
Find out about the expression of interest process for developing, and seeking accreditation of, a software user interface.
NatHERS trial continues
The NatHERS for existing homes trial is ongoing with over 430 assessments completed to date. This has included a variety of dwellings, from small apartments to large architecturally designed homes, demonstrating the broad applicability of NatHERS assessments.
Learn more about the trial.
Update for assessors
Accreditation services for NatHERS for existing homes assessors are being delivered by the NatHERS Administrator, ahead of the commencement of a third-party assessor accreditation service provider.
Currently, accreditation is focused on assessors who are participating in the NatHERS for existing homes trial or preparing for the NSW Home Energy Ratings Disclosure Framework pilot.
Training and accreditation for other assessors will be rolled out progressively to different industry cohorts from early 2026.
For more information, please see the training and accreditation sections for existing homes in the updated NatHERS Assessor Toolkit.
Stay informed
We will be keeping you informed via this newsletter and the expansion updates page on the website. Keep an eye out for all the latest news on training and accreditation, first and second generation tool releases, and the roll out of assessments.