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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Additional compliance methodologies for TVOCs | Green Star Buildings NZ, DABv1, DABv1.1 | March 2026 | 13 - Indoor Pollutants, 13 - Exposure to Toxins | Link | |
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Approved Ruling: Credit 13 Outlines that to prove the Total VOC (TVOC) levels of a product, “There are two methods for demonstrating that a paint, adhesive or sealant complies with this criterion:
While these are the preferred methods, publicly available documentation, such as a Safety Data Sheet (SDS), may also be accepted as evidence for this credit. The VOC content of the product must be presented numerically in grams per litre of ready-to-use product. A statement as to how the result was obtained (such as the testing standard) is no longer required.
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