WHat is a baxis report?
A BASIX Report is a draft document of the information which will be reflected on an actual BASIX Certificate. We provide a BASIX Report prior to provision of a formal BASIX Certificate in order to confirm that all details and BASIX specification meet the clients’ preferences and reflects the development design intentions accurately. This approach gives us the ability to change details and requirements to fine tune the BASIX Certificate before its final issue which will be lodged to the council with the rest of necessary documents.
Please note that this BASIX Report is not a certified document and therefore you cannot use it to lodge your development through the council. You can find this indicated in the bottom left hand corner of the report where it states “This is not a valid certificate.” However, this report can be considered an indentical copy of the certificate which will be issued and therefore, you can use the BASIX report to discuss with us anything that you are not willing to be included in your final certificate.
Checking your BASIX Report
When you are entering the requested details into the checklist which we have provided to you for preparation of the draft BASIX Report, you must ensure that you have provided all of the correct general information regarding your new or existing development. You can double check that all information is correct when receiving the draft BASIX Report from us for your preview and confirmation. The most important sections to check are details such as the development’s address, plan type and number, lot number, section number and the local government you are planning to lodge your BASIX Certificate with. If you receive a BASIX Certificate and these are found to be incorrect, you will be rejected by the council as it does not reflect or reference the development correctly. To change these details after a project is certified, we must contact the NSW Department of Planning which is a very lengthy and difficult process and it can cause submission delays so an extra time spent on making sure the details are correct, is always a time well spent.
Another point to remember is that thermal comfort, conditioned and unconditioned floor area, dwelling/unit numbers and number of bedrooms is the information provided by the NatHERS thermal comfort software. As a result, the areas which are used for creating the BASIX Report are not necessarily equal to the areas which are measured on the plans using architectural considerations and in many situations there are noticeable differences.
The Lot number field of the BASIX Report can be up to 6 characters long only and plans numbers can be up to 7 characters long. Where more than one Lot number or Plan number exists for a particular development please select only one as a representative of the project. This will not affect your submission to the council as this is being considered with the rest of documents of the development and it is also a limitation of the tool which is developed by the NSW Department of Planning.
Passing and complying with the BASIX Assessment Tool
The information required for different types of BASIX Reports can be very different. The commitments set out by the BASIX reports regulate how the proposed development is to be carried out. It is a condition of any development consent drafted, or complying development certificate issued, for the development that the BASIX commitments are complied with.
Each BASIX Report is divided up between three sections which you must pass: Water Efficiency, Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency. If the development does not pass the minimum requirements of the BASIX scores, you will be unable to receive a BASIX Certificate. In these commitments “applicant” means the individual carrying out the development. The applicant must ascertain that each dwelling, building and common room are listed in the BASIX Report, on the plans accompanying any development application, and on the plans and specifications accompanying the application for a construction certificate/complying development certificate for the proposed development using the same identifying letter or reference as is given to that dwelling, building or common area. If the proposed development involves the erection of a building for both residential and non-residential purposes, commitments in the BASIX Report which are specified apply to a “common area” of a building or the development, apply only to that part of the building or development to be used for residential purposes. If this BASIX Report lists a central system as a commitment for a dwelling or building, and that system will also service any other dwelling or building within the development, then that system need only be installed once. If a star or other rating is specified in a commitment, this is a minimum rating. All alternative water systems to be installed under these commitments must be installed in accordance with the requirements of all applicable regulatory authorities. Please note that NSW Health does not recommend that stormwater, recycled water or private dam water to be used to irrigate edible plants which are used for raw consumption, or that rainwater be used for human consumption in areas with potable water supply.