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PROPOSAL TO REVISE ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS OF THE BUILDING CODE OF AUSTRALIA FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS 61
additional up-skilling for builders and certifiers. Additionally, the new
provisions may mean that the industry will require capital investment to
increase production or redesign some products to meet the new thermal
performance requirements under the BCA.
The Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS) acknowledges the
possibility of the need for additional up-skilling, but suggests that most of
the costs associated with changes in the regulation would be absorbed
within the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) costs. The AIBS
also notes that some other costs would vary from company to company
and State to State, but these costs are believed to be minor. Major
changes that require additional assessment work by the surveyor/certifier,
such as assessing energy requirements over and above a building
assessment would be charged to the consumer and not borne by industry.
While there is no specific information about the magnitude of these costs,
they are likely to be small. Therefore, they are excluded from the cost–
benefit analysis. 22
In terms of additional capital investment to increase production or redesign
some products, the biggest concern has been the capacity and capability
of the windows and glass industries to respond to the BCA 2010 thermal
performance requirements (to meet demand). A report produced by the
Australian Window Association (AWA) in response to these concerns
shows that high performance products are available and accessible, and
that the industry has the capacity and capability to meet a significantly
increased demand for these products. However, doing so will impose extra
costs on fabricators and system suppliers which in turn will impact the cost
of the products.
The AWA report indicates that some of their members would be investing
up to $20 million to increase production of double glazed windows and
doors; this could mean investment for the whole industry (affecting both
commercial and residential buildings) of around $50 million. The ABCB
estimates that approximately 30 per cent, or some $15 million, would be
attributable to BCA amendments impacting on commercial buildings.
These $15 million have been included in the modelling of the impacts of
the BCA changes. Additional details about the AWA report and the
windows industry capacity and capability to respond to the BCA changes
are provided later in this report.
22 Energy efficiency compliance costs were initiated when the measures were first
introduced in 2006. Additional compliance costs as a result of these changes should
be minimal.
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