When a challenge becomes an opportunity

Challenges often become our greatest opportunities for growth.

I know what you are thinking, here lies another opinion piece opening with a glaringly obvious cliché.

But clichés become clichés for a reason.

Everywhere we look in the built environment, we see challenges. The transition to net zero and beyond. Responding to the impacts of a changing climate in ways that are fair, affordable and fast enough. Costs of living and doing business that only seem to go up, while productivity goes down. Ecosystem degradation and rapid nature loss. The data centres boom, and the need for better homes for Australians – now.

And yet, every positive step we’ve ever taken in the built environment has started as a challenge.

Take meeting our emissions targets for example. It’s a big challenge, but the benefits of investing in decarbonising the built environment are significant and varied.

Just last month, the Net Zero Commission released its 2026 report on NSW’s progress against its emissions reduction targets noting that even though there is progress, greater and faster action is needed.

GBCA provided a submission to the Net Zero Commission’s call for evidence to support the development of decarbonisation pathways for NSW. And the evidence is clear, even though the challenge is great, the opportunities are greater.

The first challenge? Australia's buildings consume more than half of the nation's electricity and are responsible for around one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions. The opportunity however is that they also provide a unique, no-regrets opportunity to decarbonise rapidly and contribute to meeting 2030 and 2035 targets, while buying time for harder to abate sectors.

Decarbonising the built environment at speed and scale will require policies and initiatives to overcome a range of challenges, but if we get moving on these, a raft of benefits will be delivered.

Below are some of the priority areas for action with examples we need to see more of.

• Energy efficiency upgrades for existing homes and buildings: Make homes and buildings healthier, more resilient to extreme temperatures and cheaper to run. We can also reduce energy demand and contribute to greater electricity grid resilience. Home Energy Saver in NSW and the Victorian Energy Upgrades insulation discounts are a good start.
• Electrification upgrades for existing homes and buildings and all-electric new homes and buildings: Getting homes and buildings off gas rapidly could contribute around a quarter of the emissions reductions needed from energy-using sectors to achieve the 2035 70% emissions reduction target. It also means fossil fuels can be diverted to harder to abate sectors, contributing to energy security while protecting households and buildings from rising gas prices.
• Energy performance ratings and disclosure: Game-changing Home Energy Ratings for Australian households were launched in July.
• Future-ready building standards and planning systems: Changes to building standards and planning systems are complex and challenging, but we have so much to gain from working together to making them better. For example, we don’t need to go backwards on the National Construction Code. We can continue to develop the standards we need for future-proofed homes and buildings while finding ways to make the regulations easier to access and understand.
• Demand-side energy management opportunities and the electricity sector transition: This month, the Victorian Parliament published the report for the Inquiry into renewable and affordable energy for apartments, recommending changes that will make it much easier for those in apartments to access renewable energy opportunities.
• Embodied carbon reduction: Without action, the share of carbon emissions from embodied carbon in the built environment will go from 16% in 2019 to 85% by 2050. Reducing embodied carbon is a big challenge, but progress is steadily growing. In July, the Australian Building Codes Board released a handbook to help practitioners understand and voluntarily report on embodied carbon.

Data centres are another example of a significant challenge, or rather, a set of challenges facing our country, such as planning concerns, energy and water use and impacts on communities. This month, the NSW Government released its Data Centre Guidelines and Policy Framework which seek to apply world-class environmental and efficiency standards while delivering broader community and economic benefits. Meanwhile, the Australian Government continues to clarify its expectations for data centres and AI development and investment. We must get data centres right, because in doing so, we can deliver investment not just into our economy, but into renewable energy generation and storage, water infrastructure, jobs and skills and a range of digital industries. I will be the first to admit this is a mammoth challenge, and one that is a prickly issue for some. But it's not one we can ignore, and it's certainly not a challenge we can fail to meet.

Cliché or not, history shows us that challenges are an opportunity for the industry to do better for people and the planet - and isn’t that something we are all aiming for?

 

Policy headlines

Data centre development in NSW gets clear guidance

The NSW Government has released its Data Centre Guidelines and Policy Framework. This is an important step towards supporting sustainable investment in one of the state's fastest-growing industries and sets an important ambition for what world-class data centre investment should look like in Australia.

Find out more here

Housing reform must look forward, not back

The Senate Select Committee on Productivity released its interim report on housing with a range of recommendations. GBCA welcomes some elements but has concerns about others.

Why we must not go backwards

Read the interim report here - Interim report: Housing

Home Energy Ratings now available for Australian households

The Home Energy Rating website launched on 1 July, with a range of information and resources to help households, industry and governments create energy efficient and resilient homes. This is the expansion of Australia’s well-known NatHERS rating tool for use on existing homes - now households all over Australia can seek an energy performance assessment and rating.

Learn more about Home Energy Rating here

Retrofit Melbourne Financial Incentive Scheme applications now open 

The City of Melbourne has launched the Retrofit Melbourne Financial Incentive Scheme, supporting owners and managers of mid-tier commercial office buildings to improve energy performance, reduce emissions and prepare for a low-carbon future. 

The Scheme provides co-contribution funding for activities that help identify, plan and deliver building upgrades, including: 

• Activity A: Energy performance benchmarking 

• Activity B: Energy improvement and electrification planning 

• Activity C: Implementation of energy efficiency upgrades (opening in 2027) 

Designed to accelerate the transition to more efficient, low-carbon buildings, the Scheme helps building owners understand their building's performance, develop a clear retrofit pathway, and position projects for future investment, funding and financing opportunities. 

Expressions of Interest are now open for Activities A and B. 

To learn more about available funding, eligibility requirements and the application process, or to access the Scheme Guidelines, click here

For enquiries or to stay informed about future Scheme opportunities, contact the City of Melbourne's Zero Carbon Buildings team at  zerocarbonbuildings@melbourne.vic.gov.au. 

Renewable and affordable apartments

A final report on the Victorian inquiry into renewable and affordable energy for apartments has been released. Recommendations included governance changes to reduce barriers to strata decisions on upgrades, assistance and financial incentives for upgrades, investigation of technical standards to allow plug-in solar and batteries, and steps towards mandatory ratings disclosure. GBCA advocated these positions through the submissions process and an appearance in front of the Parliamentary Committee.

See the report here

National Environmental Standard on matters of national environmental significance

Four new National Environmental Standards were made by Government in August including the National Environmental Standard (Matters of National Environmental Significance). This sets nationally consistent environmental requirements for protecting matters of national environmental significance under the EPBC Act, including objectives, outcomes, and decision-making principles.

GBCA is pleased to see positions in our submission reflected in the Standard with inclusion of a mitigation hierarchy and a principle that residual significant impacts must be compensated.

Learn about the updated standards

Other updates from around Australia

National  

Take the Australian Building Codes Board NCC User 5 min survey

ABCB seeks input on National Voluntary Certification Scheme for Manufacturers of Prefabricated Construction

Understanding embodied carbon: New handbook for practitioners | ABCB

State  

NSW Government releases The Sydney Plan

Vic Minister Lily D’Ambrosio retires

New ACT Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan released

GBCA’s state and territory budget wrap up

Local   

Help shape City of Melbourne’s policy position on data centres and AI infrastructure in the city

Library+ Caloundra up for major global award

City of Sydney grants for green buildings, resilience, circularity and more open until 1 Sepp