Expanding NatHERS assessments

Ratings for existing homes

In April 2023, the Australian Government announced funding to support NatHERS to expand to include existing homes. Currently the scheme offers ratings for new homes and major renovations.

The new energy ratings for existing homes will help Australian 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 ratings will also give banks the confidence to loan more capital to Australians to upgrade the energy performance of their homes, and will help verify the loans as green investments.

NatHERS ratings for existing homes will be available from mid-2025. Trials are planned in the second half of 2023 and in 2024 with the finance sector, property valuers and energy assessors.

Currently, the Residential Efficiency Scorecard can be used to assess existing homes. Backed by all Australian governments, accredited Scorecard assessors use the Scorecard software to rate your home’s energy use and comfort and provide targeted recommendations for improvements. The Scorecard does not provide a NatHERS rating or certificate but has been endorsed by NatHERS.

In addition, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has announced a pilot of RapidRate — an artificial intelligence tool that estimates the NatHERS rating of an existing home. RapidRate is not NatHERS accredited and does not provide a full NatHERS assessment or rating. RapidRate will provide a quick and simple way to get a snapshot of the energy performance of a home, before seeking a full NatHERS or Scorecard assessment where required.

Find out more about assessments for existing homes, including the Scorecard and RapidRate.

Whole of home ratings

NatHERS now offers ratings for new homes and major renovations that include all major energy use and generation within the home.

The new ‘whole of home’ performance rating assesses the energy requirements of your home, including:

hot water, heating and cooling systems
pool and spa equipment
lighting and plug in appliances
solar energy generated onsite and battery storage.

NatHERS assessments will continue to provide a thermal star rating out of 10 alongside the whole of home performance rating out of 100.

These changes will benefit households, helping them save energy and money while improving the comfort of their home.

The updates will elevate the importance of energy efficiency in new builds and renovations and help drive demand within industry for the skills needed to focus on energy efficiency.

Watch this video to learn more about Whole of Home ratings.

Video Transcript

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Jan and Sam are building their first home.

They want it to be comfortable to live in and cheaper to run.

There is a minimum energy star rating for all new homes but Jan and Sam are aiming higher.

They consult an accredited energy assessor who uses software to estimate the energy use of their planned home.

Working with a builder they make design changes.

They face the main living areas of the house north for winter sun, add extra insulation and solar panels, swap to double glazed windows and change the roof colour.

The assessor also suggests suitable energy efficient heating, cooling and hot water systems for their local climate and home size.

Making these improvements in the planning stages before they build means Jan and Sam will now have a more comfortable home with a high energy efficiency rating.

Their home design uses less energy and their bills are cheaper than they would have been without this upfront thinking.

Learn about home energy assessments at nathers dot gov dot au

Explore ways to improve your homes energy efficiency at your home dot gov dot au