Course Content
★★★★★
This is a 60-minute accredited CPD course designed for architects, building designers and energy assessors working with existing residential buildings in Australia. The course teaches practitioners how to read and interpret NatHERS assessment reports beyond the headline star rating, using load profiles, elemental tables and zone data to identify specific renovation opportunities. It covers how to translate that thermal performance data into evidence-based design advice across orientation response, envelope upgrades, glazing specification and zoning strategies. Participants also learn how to evaluate the constraints that older buildings impose on retrofit feasibility, including construction type, heritage overlays and physical access limitations, and how to develop sequenced retrofit strategies that satisfy both the NCC 2022 star rating requirements and the separate heating and cooling load limits. The course concludes with two realistic Australian case studies and a ten-question multiple choice assessment, with a passing score of 50 percent required to receive the CPD certificate.
This CPD provides general guidance on professional responsibilities and documentation practices. It does not constitute legal advice or replace project-specific contractual or statutory obligations.
This session is designed for
Architects
Building Designers
Energy Assessors
Building Surveyors
Residential Builders
By the end of the course, participants will be able to analyse NatHERS outputs to identify renovation opportunities, reading beyond the star rating to interpret load profiles, elemental performance tables and zone-level data as diagnostic tools for decision-making.
They will be able to translate thermal performance data into evidence-based design advice, connecting specific modelling findings to constructible interventions across orientation response, envelope improvement, glazing specification and zoning management. Participants will also be able to evaluate existing building limitations that affect thermal upgrade feasibility, including construction constraints in pre-2000 dwellings, heritage and structural restrictions, access limitations, and the reliability of modelling assumptions where documentation is incomplete. Finally, they will be able to develop retrofit strategies informed by NatHERS modelling and aligned with NCC 2022 compliance requirements, including the fabric-first sequencing principle, Whole-of-Home service integration, condensation risk management, and staged upgrade planning where full improvement is not immediately achievable.
This ensures that CPD efforts align with professional regulatory requirements.
What’s Included
This course examines how NatHERS assessment reports should be read and applied in residential renovation projects, where existing building constraints and older construction methods make compliance more demanding than in new construction. It examines the full content of the NatHERS certificate and how each section, from load profiles to elemental tables and assessor assumptions, informs design decision-making under NCC 2022. The course also examines how thermal performance findings translate into specific design advice across orientation, envelope, glazing and zoning, and how the NCC 2022 star rating and load limit requirements apply independently to alterations and additions. Finally, it examines how retrofit strategies should be sequenced within the constraints of pre-2000 dwellings, how the Whole-of-Home pathway integrates fabric and service performance, and how condensation risk must be managed when thermal performance is improved in existing buildings.
Why Take This CPD Session?
Build the ability to interpret NatHERS data and turn it into clear, evidence-based renovation design decisions.
Stay compliant and future-ready with NCC 2022 requirements and upcoming NCC 2025 performance changes.
Learn how to develop practical retrofit strategies that work within real-world building constraints.
Professional development is an investment in career growth and regulatory compliance. Take the next step today.