Amendments to the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Amendment Bill 2014 were tabled in Parliament last week as part of a package of amendments to the original BEED legislation – Act, Regulations and Determinations.
A statement from the federal government said CBD amendments had been generated “in response to requests from industry stakeholders since the inception of the CBD program” that would “streamline the administration and reduce the regulatory burden on business”.
Key changes are:
- Providing exemptions to building owners who receive unsolicited offers for the sale of their office space. This will lead to $300,000 estimated reduction of regulatory burden on businesses
- Allowing transactions between wholly-owned subsidiaries to be excluded from disclosure obligations, leading to another $300,000 reduction of regulatory burden on businesses
- Introducing the ability to determine a commencement date for a Building Energy Efficiency Certificate – known as a BEEC – which is later than the date of issue. This will provide greater flexibility for businesses wishing to proactively maintain current BEECs for their property portfolios
- Removing the need for new owners and lessors to reapply or pay the application fee for fresh exemptions if there is a valid one in place for a building
- Removing the requirement for 6 pages of standard energy efficiency guidance text on the BEEC. Instead, live and interactive online information about improving energy efficiency for office buildings will be put in place.