What Energy Efficiency Rating Records Do Australian Capital Territory Home Sellers Need in 2026?

This guide is about Australian Capital Territory, Australia sale disclosure. It does not create an Australia-wide seller rule, and it does not describe Australian Taxation Office tax treatment.

The Direct Answer: What Must an Australian Capital Territory Seller Keep?

The Australian Capital Territory Government’s energy efficiency guidance says an EER statement is required for the sale of an existing home in the Australian Capital Territory. For a sale, the government’s current facts are:

• the home’s star rating, out of six, must be in every sale advertisement
• a copy of the EER statement must be provided with the sale contract
• a licensed building assessor must prepare the EER statement.

The seller’s practical file should preserve the source statement and the disclosure steps built from it. A screenshot of an advertisement without the underlying statement is not a complete sale disclosure file.

What the Rating Does, and Does Not, Say

For most established homes, the Australian Capital Territory Government says the rating is calculated using FirstRate 4. It assesses the thermal performance of the building envelope, such as walls, roofs, and windows. The government also says this existing-home method does not apply to appliances or solar systems.

That is the fact. The careful interpretation is that an EER gives a defined thermal performance disclosure, not a complete prediction of a buyer’s household energy bills, appliance running costs, or solar output. Keep any other inspection, appliance, solar, and renovation records as their own sources rather than treating the EER as proof of all property performance.

The Core Sale-Disclosure Record Chain

The first three rows are the Australian Capital Territory Government’s stated disclosure steps. The last two are practical evidence management: they make it possible to identify what was disclosed, when, and from which assessor record.

An Energy Efficiency Rating is one sale-disclosure source. It does not replace the current lease, title, plan, or registered-interest review explained in Proppi’s Australian Capital Territory Crown-lease buyer guide.

Use a Licensed Assessor and Keep the Statement Details

Access Canberra says a seller needs an accredited energy assessor to provide an EER statement. After assessment, the assessor submits a copy of the rating and the methodology to Access Canberra. The planning directorate says assessors must be licensed to perform energy efficiency rating statements in the Australian Capital Territory.

The directorate also says that a mandatory-disclosure statement needs, on its first page:

• the assessor’s stamp showing the dwelling’s points and stars
• the assessment completion date
• the assessor’s printed name, signature, and registration number.

It says the statement should have a rating summary sheet and detailed house data table. For an occupied property being sold, the government also describes an “Improving your rating” sheet. Keep the issued document rather than an isolated star rating copied into an email or listing form.

Existing Homes and New Homes Follow Different Paths

An existing home usually needs the current EER sale process described above. The Australian Capital Territory Government says there are limited situations where energy-efficiency information already used to demonstrate National Construction Code compliance can be reused for sale disclosure instead of obtaining a separate rating.

The government identifies three situations:

1. a building sold off the plan
2. a newly completed building that has not been occupied
3. a newly renovated building where energy-efficiency compliance was required.

The Building Energy Efficiency Assessment Sale and Lease of Residential Premises Code of Practice 2024 is in force. Do not infer that every NatHERS document automatically replaces a sale EER statement. Check the building’s status, the age and scope of the energy information, and the Code’s applicable pathway before relying on reuse.

The Australian Capital Territory Government also says that, at the time it published its current guidance, a NatHERS for Existing Homes assessment could not be used for the Australian Capital Territory EER Disclosure Scheme. Record the specific assessment product and the rule that supports its use, rather than using “NatHERS” as a catch-all label.

Keep the Sale File Separate From Rental and Tax Files

Australian Capital Territory rental advertisements have their own EER rules where a property already has an EER statement, plus separate ceiling-insulation requirements. Those are tenancy rules, not the same question as a seller’s sale contract. See Australian Capital Territory Rental Law Changes 2026 for the rental-side evidence.

Australian Taxation Office records are different again: they concern federal tax. The EER statement may be a useful property document, but it does not decide a capital-gains-tax or deduction outcome. For comparable state and territory differences, use the Australia State-by-State Rental Compliance Comparison only for rental compliance; obtain state-specific sale advice for a different property location.

A Practical Australian Capital Territory EER Sale Folder

For an Australian Capital Territory home sale, organise the records in this order:

1. property address, legal description, and sale preparation date
2. instruction to a licensed building assessor
3. complete EER statement, methodology, rating summary, and data table
4. assessor registration and contact details
5. any “Improving your rating” material supplied with the statement
6. listing drafts and final advertisements showing the star rating
7. sale contract version with the EER statement attached or supplied
8. buyer or conveyancer correspondence about the statement
9. building approval, certificate-of-occupancy, and energy records supporting a claimed new-home reuse pathway
10. a dated note of any later building change that could affect the statement’s relevance.

This sequence is a practical implication of the government disclosure steps. It makes the rating traceable from assessment to advertisement to contract, while leaving other due-diligence documents in their own category.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in 2026

• publishing a sale listing that omits the EER star rating
• supplying only a rating number instead of retaining the complete assessor statement
• confusing the EER’s thermal-envelope scope with appliance, solar, or household-bill performance
• using a rental disclosure process as if it satisfied a sale-contract requirement
• assuming an existing-home NatHERS assessment is accepted for Australian Capital Territory EER disclosure without checking current government guidance
• treating a new-home reuse pathway as automatic rather than checking the property type and evidence
• applying Australian Capital Territory sale disclosure rules to New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, or the Northern Territory.

The Short Version

1. Existing-home sellers in the Australian Capital Territory need an EER for sale disclosure.
2. The home’s star rating, out of six, belongs in sale advertising, and the EER statement belongs with the sale contract.
3. A licensed assessor’s complete statement is stronger evidence than a copied rating alone.
4. EER describes the thermal building envelope; it is not an appliance, solar, or tax report.
5. New-home reuse can be available in limited cases, but the relevant Code and evidence must support it.

Last reviewed: 22 August 2026. This article reflects Australian Capital Territory Government and Australian Capital Territory Legislation Register material checked on that date. It is general information, not legal, conveyancing, or tax advice; confirm the current requirements with an Australian Capital Territory licensed assessor, conveyancer, or qualified adviser for a particular sale.