Expanding NatHERS assessments

The Australian Government is expanding the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) to include assessments for existing homes. Currently the scheme only offers ratings for new homes and major renovations.  

The new ratings will help householders better understand their home’s energy performance, identify cost-effective upgrades to improve the comfort of their home, and reduce their energy bills. 

Banks and financial institutions will also use the ratings to help verify green loans, giving them more confidence to loan money for home upgrades. 

The ratings play a key role in Australia’s path towards a low-carbon future, supporting broader energy transition goals.

Trials will run in late 2024 with the finance sector, property valuers and energy assessors. NatHERS ratings for existing homes will be available from mid-2025. 

Prior to the new NatHERS ratings coming online, homeowners can access the Residential Efficiency Scorecard to request an existing homes assessment. See our Frequently Asked Questions for more information. 

Technical Working Group - Expression of Interest

NatHERS has launched an Expression of Interest (EOI) for qualified technical experts to join a working group. The group will shape the development of the user interface protocol (UIP) for NatHERS tools for existing homes.

The UIP will set requirements for third-party UIs to undertake home energy ratings for existing homes using AccuRate Enterprise.

Visit the EOI publication for further details on the EOI and how to submit interest by 14 October 2024

The first working group will be held on 24 October 2024.

If you have questions email: admin@nathers.gov.au

Existing homes consultation

A targeted consultation on the expansion of NatHERS to existing homes ran throughout August 2024.  

The consultation paper is still available on the DCCEEW consultation hub and submissions will be published in the coming weeks on this portal. In addition a summary of submissions will be published in coming weeks. 

If you had issues submitting your feedback, or have missed the cut off, please contact admin@nathers.gov.au.

You can still access the webinar recordings and transcripts of the consultation sessions using the links below: