Retirement Living

How it works

Improve your retirement community's environmental impact with NABERS.

A NABERS rating helps retirement village operators measure the sustainability of their facility. Use NABERS to see how your site compares to others and identify opportunities to save energy and water, recycle and reduce waste, and more!

When your retirement village is assessed, you'll receive a rating from 1 to 6 stars, with 3 stars being average and 6 being market leading. Your rating is based how your building's real performance compares to the industry benchmark. The information on this page relates to retirement living.

To learn more about NABERS for aged care facilities, visit the Residential Aged Care page.

Independent benchmark you can trust

NABERS is a trusted, government-backed sustainability initiative, providing independent and credible sustainability assessments since 1999. Our ratings are formulated based on your site’s actual operational performance, compared to the industry benchmark.

Reduce operating costs

The retirement living sector is under immense pressure to deliver high-quality living environments while keeping operational costs low. Operators can use a NABERS rating to help identify and prioritise areas for operational efficiencies and upgrades that can deliver significant cost savings.

Communicate your performance with ease

Use a NABERS rating to translate technical building performance into simple information that residents, families, investors and other key stakeholders can understand.

Attract and retain residents

A strong NABERS rating helps differentiate your retirement village and boost it's reputation among sustainability-conscious residents and families.

Non-disruptive assessment

A NABERS rating assessment requires data collection and an Assessor site visit. Fortunately, the Assessor inspection involves checks to metering and servicing arrangements and does not interrupt site operations or residents.

Support every step of the way

Unsure where to start? Not to worry, you’ll be led through the rating process by a NABERS Accredited Assessor.

Ratings and tools for retirement living

For existing retirement villages

Energy rating

A NABERS Energy rating measures the energy efficiency of your retirement village. It considers the operations of the base building, common areas and site controlled by management, and not the energy metered to your residents. An Energy rating includes the Renewable Energy Indicator, which shows what percentage of your building's energy has come from renewable sources.

For co-located sites offering both retirement living and residential aged care, NABERS can provide a combined Energy rating. Refer to the Rules for more information.

Water rating

A NABERS Water rating measures the amount of water used and recycled in your retirement village. It provides a clear picture of your water performance, helping you understand how efficiently water is being used and identify opportunities to reduce consumption, save costs and support your sustainability goals. Your Water rating can include shared water use only, or all water use, dependent on your rating scope and metering.

Waste Verification and Platform

NABERS Waste tools measure how well your retirement village manages waste generation, recycling, resource recovery and supply chain management. NABERS can provide an independent measurement of the recycling and resource recovery performance of your site.

For new or planned retirement villages

Commitment Agreement

Commit to design, build and commission a retirement village to achieve a specific Energy rating with a NABERS Commitment Agreement.

Agreement to Rate

If you’re building or refurbishing a retirement village, you can commit to obtaining a NABERS rating once it becomes operational with an Agreement to Rate.

Embodied Carbon rating

Measure the upfront embodied carbon of your new retirement village build or partial rebuild with a NABERS Embodied Carbon rating. This tool is a certified measure of material, transport and construction-related emissions.

Note: Some retirement villages may not be suitable for an Embodied Carbon rating, depending on the design and layout of the premises. Please contact us to confirm your eligibility.

Case studies

Morning Peninsula Grange Retirement Community

NABERS leadership in seniors' living

Australian Unity has committed to rate over 50 assets with the help of the NSW Government’s Energy Starters grants.

Read full case study

Resources for retirement living

Downloads

Fact Sheet - Retirement Living

Learn more about NABERS for retirement living.

PDF • 225.16KB

Links

The Rules - NABERS Energy and Water for Residential Aged Care and Retirement Living

Explore the detailed method and criteria Assessors must follow when certifying the energy and water efficiency of a retirement village.

Start your NABERS journey

Take the first step towards measuring your retirement village's sustainability performance.

Find an Assessor

Get in touch with our team

Learn more about how NABERS can support your sustainability goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

For any other questions about NABERS for retirement living please contact us.

To learn more about pricing for shopping centres, visit Pricing and Offers.

For more information on eligibility, download the rules document for your desired rating type from the Publications page.

At this stage, ratings are available only to retirement villages located in Australia.

A NABERS rating considers factors unique to your retirement living facility to ensure a fair, like-for-like comparison. Some factors that we may consider, depending on the rating type, include:

Number of dwellings on site
Serviced apartments on site
Retirement village site area
Heated / unheated pools
Climate zone

For more information on assessment considerations, download the rules document for your desired rating type from the Publications page.

To find a NABERS Assessor for a retirement village, visit the Find an Assessor tool.

As service levels vary, we recommend obtaining quotes from two or three NABERS Assessors.

To learn more about how NABERS Energy and Water ratings for retirement villages are calculated, visit the Retirement Living Rules for Energy and Water page.

For Rules of other types of NABERS ratings, download the rules document for your desired rating type from the Publications page.

Validity periods vary by rating type, though most NABERS ratings are valid for 12 months. Refer to the page of your desired rating to learn more about its validity period.

The latest news for retirement living

30 Jul 2026