Green Star Technical Clarification Rulings
Technical Clarifications for Green Star represent our answers to Technical Questions submitted by projects, and provide further guidance and reference to others. The list is regularly updated.
There are two types of Technical Clarifications listed in the table below:
General Clarifications
These are extensions to the guidance provided in the Submission Guidelines. They clarify and sometimes supersede the original Credit Criteria or
Compliance Requirements. General Clarifications set precedent for future project teams to follow. Should a project team wish to apply a general clarification to its project, there is no requirement for further Technical Questions to be submitted. NZGBC Assessors will also use them as precedents to assess submissions.
Project Specific Clarifications
These are published as references for other projects but, unlike General Clarifications, they do not set precedent. They often relate to special
situations where multiple prerequisites exist for a particular project and are less likely to reoccur to another project. Therefore, rulings set for Project Specific Clarifications are often conditional and will likely vary for other projects. Each project still needs to submit its own Technical Questions and provides evidence relating to its own building in order to have a similar ruling approved for that specific building.
Should you wish to apply any Technical Clarification for legacy rating tools to your projects, please submit a Technical Question to the NZGBC to
explain why and how it applies. You can download the Technical Question form here
| Clarification Type | Tool Version | Month Released | Credit Name | Sub-credit Name | Tool Category | Amendment/Approved Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 1/8/2022 | 11 - Lighting Comfort | Minimum Lighting Comfort |
The Healthcare Guidance does not explicitly allow for specialist medical light fittings to be excluded from this credit. However, the guidance does say that “where a space has a clinical functional requirement, which contradicts the requirements listed in either the Submission Guidelines or the Healthcare Guidance documents, the clinical requirement shall always take precedence. Clinical spaces are considered Not Applicable within most of the Indoor Environment Quality category”. Specialist medical light fittings are part of the clinical requirements, therefore can be excluded from assessment for this credit. |
|
| General | INTv1, DABv1.1 | 5/5/2025 | 17 - Sustainable Transport | Active Transport Facilities | TRA |
Points for credit 17B.4 can be awarded independantly of each other. There is not a requirement to achieve the point for providing cycling facilities to the building’s regular occupants as a prerequisite for the the point to be awarded for providing cycling facilities to the building’s visitors. |
| DABv1.1 | 6/5/2025 | 26 - Light Pollution | Light Pollution to Night Sky | EMI |
The second bullet point of specified reduction option ‘26.2B Control of Direct Illuminance’ is amended to read the following:
“0.1Lux to 4.5 metres beyond the site into the night sky…”
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| DABv1.1 | 6/5/2025 | 17 - Sustainable Transport | Sustainable Transport Prescriptive Pathway | TRA |
The NZGBC recognises that Policy 11 of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020 has eliminated minimum car parking requirements to be set by all local authorities.
With a zero car parking space minimum now being possible, a further reduction in car parking spaces from this new baseline standard would therefore no longer be achievable. Note: this zero park minimum excludes any accessible car parking requirements for a building. Credit 17B.2’s standard has been exceeded and is therefore ‘Not Applicable’ to all submissions.
This TC also retroactively applies to all submissions made after the NPS UD came into effect on 20 August 2020.
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