Skip to content

 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 access the online Technical Question form here

Technical Question Title Tool Version Date Released Credit Name Sub-credit Name TC Link
Submitting for Design Review DABv1 November 2020 0 - General General
Approved Ruling:

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