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 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

How to most efficiently use this page:

  1. Filter for the relevant tool version
  2. If known, use the credit name field to search for credit keywords or corresponding credit number - please note, this field will ONLY search the "Credit Name" field
  3. Use your CTRL+F to search keywords on the page
Technical Question Title Clarification Type Tool Version Month Released Credit Name Sub-credit Name Amendment/Approved Ruling
IEQ and Nominated Systems Technical Clarification DABv1.1 July 2024 2 - Commissioning and Tuning Commissioning and Tuning, Conditional Requirement For energy and water it is sufficient to set targets only for metered systems as per the requirements of Credit 6. IEQ includes thermal comfort, air quality, lighting and acoustics. It is not a requirement for all these metrics to be monitored using physical sensors. IEQ monitoring can be via occupant comfort survey targets, HVAC system maintenance targets, quarterly reporting of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, or lighting comfort performance measurements
18B.5 Fire Protection System General DABv1, DABv1.1 October 2024 18 - Potable Water Fire System Test Water Fire protection system test water is not limited to sprinklers only. Projects targeting Credit 18B.5 Fire Protection System Test Water from Green Star - Design & As Built should include water consumption calculations for each relevant system used during fire protection testing, such as sprinkler, hose reel and hydrant systems. The intent of the credit is to recognise reduced potable water consumption in major water uses in the building therefore the scope of the credit covers any system that uses water during fire protection testing.
Stormwater Pollutants General DABv1, DABv1.1 October 2024 25 - Stormwater Stormwater Pollution Targets Projects that capture Stormwater onsite may not infiltrate untreated water without the removal of pollutants in line with the pollution reduction targets outlined within the Credit 26 Stormwater for Green Star Design & As Built. In the case where it can be demonstrated that the pollutants will be reduced to the targets outlined in the Submission Guidelines without treatment when it enters any underground aquifers projects teams may target the requirement. For stormwater that is captured, used on site, and not discharged to the stormwater system, there remains a requirement to treat the pollutants in that stormwater beyond those required under the relevant legislation. NZGBC clarifies that the credit intent is to reduce pollutants entering the public stormwater infrastructure and other waterbodies.
Submission guidelines General DABv1 October 2019 0 - General General All supported documentation listed for each credit in the Submission Guidelines are suggestions only, unless specified otherwise. Alternate documentation to those listed can be used by project teams to demonstrate credit compliance if it adequately supports the claims made within the Submission Templates.
Built streamlining General DABv1 November 2020 0 - General General If a project has been awarded points under a Green Star NZ Design review rating, the project team may demonstrate Built compliance by confirming that the building has been constructed as per the information submitted and certified under the Design review rating in the place of full documentation. Should a project wish to do built-streamlining, a TQ needs to be submitted to the NZGBC in order to propose and confirm credits and points that are eligible for built streamlining. A signed statement confirming the project has been constructed with no significant changes that would affect compliance with the credit criteria. Note that where the submission guidelines recommend evidence to demonstrate that systems have been commissioned and installed as intended, a commissioning report (or similar) would still be required as part of the Built submission or TQ. The purpose of the signed statements is NOT to remove the requirement for project teams to produce documentation, but rather to stop project teams having to spend additional time and resources on the collation of the as-built documentation into a Green Star submission. Note: should there be any changes in design or material that would impact the results of the original assessment, full built documentation must be provided. If the project team would like to target additional points which were not achieved at Design stage, full built documentation must be provided for the additional points. The NZGBC Assessors reserve the right to request built documentation where they deem the difference between Design and Built stage to be substantive.
Submitting for Design Review DABv1 November 2020 0 - General General

Should a project target a design review rating using the new Design and As Built tool, please review and follow the Guidance on Submitting for Design Review. Please note that while the Design Review process is a valuable tool to ensure the project is on track for achieving certification, it does not guarantee an As Built rating. The As Built submission assesses what has been completed and delivered on site, not the commitments. Built streamlining can be offered to projects that have been certified with design review ratings. But a list of eligible credits should be approved through a Technical Question submission to the NZGBC. Guidance for built streamlining is provided in a separate Technical Question ruling.

For projects in New Zealand that are eligible for Green Star – Design & As-Built and Interiors ratings, a comparison between the Australian NCC Building Classifications and the New Zealand Building Code Clause A1 Classified uses is summarised below to help on the determination of projects’ eligibility. * Homestar is the preferred pathway
'For Construction' drawings General DABv1 October 2019 0 - General General

'For Construction' drawings may be submitted in the As Built submission. The NZGBC requires evidence that the drawings supplied are as constructed, whether they have an ‘As Built’ stamp or not. 'For Construction' drawings are acceptable provided they are accompanied by formal confirmation from the head contractor or other relevant professional(s) that the 'For Construction' drawings depict the site as-built conditions.
Fan energy Technical Clarification DABv1 March 2025 15 - Greenhouse Gas Emissions Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The NZGBC is releasing the following guidance on how fan energy should be applied to your energy model:
- Fans delivering heating/cooling use the W/m² with m2 the conditioned space area, not total area.
- Supplementary ventilation fans refer to fans which serve spaces outside of the conditioned space and use the W/l/s (based on the sum of all flow rates)
New Peer Review Pathway for Energy Credits DABv1, DABv1.1 March 2025 14 - Thermal Comfort, 15 - Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 16 - Peak Electricity Demand Reduction Reference Building Pathway, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Thermal Comfort, Modelled Performance Pathway: Reference Building, Peak Electricity Demand Reduction, Prescriptive Pathway: On-site Energy Generation, Advanced Thermal Comfort

The NZGBC is introducing a new pathway to achieve credits 14, 15, and 16.

Previously, projects had to either submit a producer statement from an Accredited Energy Modeller (AEM) or a full energy model report, which would then be assessed by NZGBC’s Model Assessment Panel (MAP).

Now, projects can opt for an independent peer review of their energy model by a qualified AEM ahead of submission with the following conditions:

  • The peer reviewer must not be from the same organization as the modeller.
  • The peer reviewer determines the evidence needed to complete the checklist and gain confidence in the model’s quality before signing the peer review statement.
  • The completed checklist and signed statement must be submitted to NZGBC as part of the project’s submission.

Please note that the project is responsible for all costs associated with the peer review. The peer review will be assessed only by the project’s Green Star Assessor, not by a MAP. Additionally, once a peer reviewer is selected, they cannot be replaced unless they withdraw from the process. If they do, a qualified replacement must be appointed, and the change must be documented in the peer review statement.

To access the peer review statement, visit the NZGBC website and go to the Technical Resources page. To find a qualified AEM, use the Find a Professional search function.

If you have any questions about the new process, please reach out to the Green Star team at greenstarnz@nzgbc.org.nz
Blinds as part of Glare Reduction General DABv1, DABv1.1 May 2024 12 - Visual Comfort Glare reduction

Where blinds are used to meet compliance requirements, for Cold Shell spaces they are required to be wholly or partly contributed by the base building owner as part of the leasing agreements.