Reading RoomOn 18 May 2011, the Auditor-General published the Australian National Audit Office's (ANAO) report on The Establishment, Implementation and Administration of the Council Allocation Component of the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program. This report highlighted the fact that there have been delays in Councils delivering infrastructure projects …
As part of the Gillard Government 2010 election commitment, the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (DCCEE) has released a consultation paper titled "Tax Breaks for Green Buildings". The consultation paper details proposed tax incentives for improving the energy efficiency of certain existing buildings (the Tax Breaks program).
With the change of government, we thought it worthwhile to provide a brief summary of the incoming Government’s Planning Policies. As is always the case in these circumstances, the devil will, of course, be in the detail, but what follows is a brief run-down of key policy initiatives likely to be implemented.
To view the full update please download the PDF.
Building owners, operators and users are coming under increasing pressure to prepare their buildings for climate change. What are the legal obligations? Are there any regulatory constraints? What practical options are available to combat climate change?
As part of COAG's commitment to introducing a comprehensive National Strategy for Energy Efficiency, the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Bill 2010 (Bill) was introduced into parliament on 18 March 2010.
The Bill provides for the establishment of a new national scheme for the mandatory disclosure of commercial office building efficiency.
In …
On 26 February 2010, the Coastal Climate Change Advisory Committee (Committee) released its ‘Issues and Options Paper’. In that paper, the Committee considers how coastal planning currently operates in Victoria and whether the system is equipped to meet future needs in light of the effects of climate change, which appear to be growing in frequency and intensity with …
On 26 October 2009, the bipartisan House Standing Committee on Climate Change, Water, Environment and the Arts (Committee) presented its report on the inquiry into climate change and environmental impacts on coastal communities –"Managing our Coastal Zone in a Changing Climate: the Time to Act is Now". There are a number of findings …
Energy efficiency measures provide an affordable and effective way to reduce Australia’s greenhouse emissions in the short term. In fact, McKinsey & Company estimates that 25% of the total potential for abatement of greenhouse gases are energy efficiency measures that will not only save energy users money, but will also yield a positive return (‘An Australian Cost Curve for Greenhouse …
Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research. This article was first published in Getting the Deal Through -Construction 2010 (published in August 2009; contributing editors Robert S Peckar, Peckar & Abramson PC). For further information please visit www.GettingTheDealThrough.com
As the push for greater emphasis on the environmental impact of buildings gathers further momentum, the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has responded by expanding the scope of its suite of green building rating tools. The GBCA has recently released Green Star rating tools for multi unit residential facilities (Green Star –Multi Unit Residential v1) and healthcare …
