The assessor you select should:

• be accredited by an approved authority to complete NatHERS and BASIX assessments. Our Principal, Victor Lin has dual accreditation with both the Association of Building Sustainability Assessors (ABSA) and with the Building Designers Associates of Victoria (BDAV) to complete assessments using both BERS Pro and Accurate software.
• have adequate experience with at least several years of assessment work over a variety of projects. Knowledge gained from wide project experience means that your project will benefit with the best possible solution both for the design concept and cost savings.
• Not be a part timer as most will find it hard to stay current. You should ask how many assessments the assessor has completed. Ideally, one should completed more than 50 projects per year.
• have worked on similar projects to yours.
• have an engineering or building industry background.
• have adequate professional indemnity insurance ($1 million for small projects; up to $5 million for large projects).
• have details of recent projects and referees available.

Victor Lin established Victor Lin & Associates as an accredited NatHERS assessing business in 1999. He is accredited with both ABSA (20076) and BDAV (12/1454) and currently completes more than 200 assessments annually. The company has completed over 6000 NatHERS assessments and well over 2000 BASIX certifications over a wide variety of projects. (For more info click – About Us, Projects or Testimonials.)

He has had extensive experience prior to 1999 in the construction industry and has a Bachelor of Building (Honours 1), a MSc. Building (UNSW). He was awarded the Australian Institute of Building (NSW Chapter) Medal.

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b)Why do Assessment Fees vary so much?

Generally, BASIX/NatHERS assessment fees will differ depending on the complexity of your project and the number of dwellings involved. BASIX certification will also incur extra fees payable to BASIX for obtaining the certified BASIX report. The amount of these further fees also depends on the number of dwelling involved.

Caution: ABSA accredited assessors are required to obtain a different certificate number for every dwelling in a multi unit / dwelling assessment. If your existing BASIX certification contains identical ABSA certificate numbers over multiple units or dwellings, your BASIX certification could be invalidated.

Note: BASIX certification completed by assessors accredited by BDAV need ONLY ONE (1) BDAV certificate number for each multi dwelling project.

For Section J reports, fees will also differ depending on the complexity and scope of your project. Those with multiple building classes will greatly increase the work required. Section J2 – Glazing is the very important, and the number of glazed windows and doors directly affects the cost of the report.

If you require a JV3 assessment. If you require a JV3 assessment because it is not possible to comply with Section J by the DTS (Deemed to Satisfy) provisions, the costs will generally be about 2-3 times that of the original Section J. The work already completed in the Section J is not wasted, but used in a JV3 assessment as a baseline to the compliance of your project.

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c)How do I get a Fee Proposal?

Just Email the preliminary drawings (PDF format preferred) to info@linassociates.com.au and we will prepare a fixed price fee proposal describing the scope of work, timeframe and cost.

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BASIX is a web-based design tool that ensures each new residential dwelling design meets the NSW Government’s targets of up to 40% reduction in water consumption and a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, compared with the average home. All new dwellings require a BASIX Certificate prior to submission for DA (Development approval). A BASIX assessment considers such criteria as location, size, building construction, windows, landscaping, appliances and much more. Importantly, it also considers “thermal comfort” in order to lessen the amount of energy used by dwellings in order to heat or cool the house to a “comfortable” level.

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b) Am I locked into my BASIX commitments once a construction certificate or complying development certificate has been issued?

Once a construction certificate or complying development certificate has been issued the commitments in the BASIX Certificate submitted with the application are locked in. If an applicant wishes to change their BASIX commitments after obtaining a construction certificate or complying development certificate, they will need to obtain a new BASIX Certificate and then apply for a new construction or complying development certificate.

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c)What is NatHERS?

NatHERS is the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme. It sets national standards for the thermal assessment of dwellings under a 10 Star Rating System. NatHERS also approves the software used by assessors to assess dwellings.
The Building Code of Australia (BCA/NCC) references these “stars” in setting minimum star levels for all houses built in Australia. In NSW, BASIX supersedes the BCA/NCC, however, NatHERS approved software is used to determine the “thermal comfort” scores used in BASIX.
A house energy rating is often referred to as a NatHERS assessment.

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The energy efficiency requirements for a Class 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9 building (commercial) is defined by Section J of Volume One of the National Construction Code (NCC) or Building Code of Australia (BCA). In most jurisdictions, a report describing compliance with Section J is required before a construction certificate is issued.
Victor Lin & Associates prepares Section J Compliance Reports using both deemed-to-satisfy (DTS) and verification using a reference building (JV3) methodologies.

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b)What is a JV3 Assessment?

When a project cannot comply with Section J of the BCA/NCC, the option is to complete a JV3 verification. Commonly, this occurs when the glazing under the DTS (deemed to satisfy) provisions is not practicable to use. In this case, a JV3 assessment allows the project to use more practical glazing (generally of lesser specification) and to make up for this by being more efficient on the other exterior elements of the design. In this case, the original Section J report becomes the baseline for the JV3 verification.

 
c)How much will it cost?

For Section J reports, fees will also differ depending on the complexity and scope of your project. Those with multiple building classes will greatly increase the work required. Section J2 – Glazing is the very important, and the number of glazed windows and doors directly affects the cost of the report. For a small project fees may be as low as $500.

If you require a JV3 assessment. If you require a JV3 assessment because it is not possible to comply with Section J by the DTS (Deemed to Satisfy) provisions, the costs will generally be about 2-3 times that of the original Section J. The work already completed in the Section J is not wasted, but used in a JV3 assessment as a baseline to the compliance of your project.

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Normally, assessors provide thermal performance figures to you in order to comply with statutory compliance matters in BASIX or the BCA/NCC. However, for a small additional fee, Victor Lin & Associates can optimise the use of energy saving measures and insulation placement so that they are most effective in the most used or important areas of the dwelling while still complying with regulatory requirements. With the rising cost of energy, this can mean many years of cost saving to your client for a small additional assessment fee. Your client will appreciate greater thermal comfort and your business will benefit when those clients “spread the word”. Contact Victor Lin on 0412988088 to discuss how this can apply to your future projects.

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b)What is Uw & SHGCw?

Uw is the measure of the thermal conductivity of a “whole” window element and includes the glazing and the frame. The lower the Uw value the better the window is at reducing the conduction of heat or cold through the window space.

SHGCw is the measure of the shading efficiency of a “whole” window element and includes the glazing and the frame. The lower the SHGCw, the moiré the window excludes the direct rays of the sun.

For example, a low Uw would logically be used to best effect on the S orientation of a building. A low SHGCw would be effective of the n orientation of a building.

Depending on your project, various combinations of Uw & SHGCw (low/low, low/high, high/low, high/high), could be effective on any particular design. Being assessors since 1999, Victor Lin & Associates can find you the best combination for your project in terms of cost efficiency and preservation of design concepts.

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BASIX requires that certain information is included on your drawings. These are listed in the BASIX certification as shown in the table on the right side of each page of the certification. Your assessor should provide you with a draft BASIX report prior to final certification. At this time, the required data should ideally be added to your drawings prior to final certification prior to submission for DA. (Note that there is a second list for details required on CC/CDC drawings). Clients of Victor Lin & Associates generally provide a table near the front of the DA drawings for the “Thermal Comfort” specification sheet and required BASIX data.

Section J does not regulate the level of drawing detail, but the Section J report MUST be complied with by the builder and the relevant subcontractors.

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b)What will the certifier check?

BASIX requires the certifier check that the requirements of the BASIX certification are constructed as required. A checklist for certifiers is included in the BASIX certification and listed as shown in the table on the right side of each page of the certification.

Section J. Normally the certifier will require that all the element of the structure have been constructed and complies with the BCA/NCC and the Section J report. This is normally achieved when the builder and the relevant subcontractors (eg A/C, Electrical etc) provides a statement/validation that all work that they have completed comply.

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