Schools

How it works

Showcase your school's sustainability with NABERS.

School leaders and administrators are under increasing pressure to demonstrate environmental performance, satisfy reporting requirements, justify infrastructure spend, maintain a strong reputation, all while managing tight budgets and limited time. NABERS gives schools a trusted, independent way to do just that, without the administrative burden.

After your school is assessed, you'll receive a rating from 1 to 6 stars, with 3 stars being average and 6 signalling market-leading performance. Your rating is based on how your school's operational performance compares to other, similar schools.

Join the growing number of schools across Australia using NABERS to create greener, healthier and more efficient learning environments.

A certification 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 school’s actual operational performance, compared to the industry benchmark.

Help allocate budgets for maximum impact

Use your NABERS rating to help identify inefficiencies and prioritise upgrades across your school. This ensures infrastructure spending is directed to projects that deliver real operational value and reduces the risk of reactive or misdirected spend.

Support your sustainability reporting

A NABERS rating provides a trusted, independent measure of your school's environmental performance. By creating a clear picture of how your building is performing, it equips schools with credible data to demonstrate outcomes, track improvements and support future sustainability reporting

Strengthen your school's reputation

A NABERS rating is a simple but powerful way to demonstrate your school's dedication to sustainability to local families, school boards and the wider community. It's a reliable way to show sustainability leadership, without relying on unverified claims or anecdotes.

Ratings and tools for schools

For existing schools

Energy rating

A NABERS Energy rating is a measure of the energy efficiency of your school, giving you a fair reflection of how you are progressing against your energy-saving commitments. It includes the Renewable Energy Indicator, which shows what percentage of your school's energy has come from renewable sources.

Water rating

A NABERS Water rating measures the amount of water used and recycled in your school. It provides a clear picture of your school's water performance, helping you understand how efficiently water is being used. Use your rating to identify opportunities to reduce consumption, save costs, and support your sustainability goals.

Waste Verification and Platform

NABERS Waste tools measure how well your school 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 school.

For new or planned schools

Embodied Carbon rating

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

Commitment Agreement

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

Agreement to Rate

If you’re building or refurbishing a school, you can commit to obtaining a NABERS rating once it becomes operational.

Testimonials

Assistant Minister for Climate Change & Energy

"NABERS benchmarks will help school administrators identify ways to improve and better manage building operations, empowering staff, students and communities to be part of the net zero transition. With buildings accounting for 18 percent of our emissions, Australia’s net zero transition depends upon achieving state of the art energy performance from Australian buildings of every size, shape and purpose."

Josh Wilson, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy of Australia

Resources for schools

Downloads

Fact Sheet - Schools

Learn more about NABERS for schools.

PDF • 218.36KB

NABERS Guide for School leaders and Principals

A guide for school leaders and principals looking to get their school rated

PDF • 1.32MB

NABERS Guide for School Sustainability Champions

A guide for other school representatives looking to get their school rated.

PDF • 1.14MB

NABERS Energy and Water for Schools - The Rules

Explore the detailed method and criteria Assessors must follow when certifying the energy and water efficiency of your school.

PDF • 1.16MB

For non-government schools

Take the first step towards measuring your non-government school’s environmental performance. Select an Accredited Assessor to help you get certified.

Find an Assessor

For government schools

Get in touch with our team to learn more about how NABERS can support your government school’s sustainability journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most types of schools are eligible for a NABERS rating, this includes:

Government Schools
Catholic Systemic Schools
Independent Schools
Primary schools
Secondary schools
Special needs schools

Universities and vocational education institutions (including TAFE) are not eligible for a schools rating.

At this stage, ratings are available only to schools based in Australia.

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

To prepare for a NABERS Energy rating, you'll typically need to gather energy and water consumption data (such as utility bills) and school population data from your administration team. Your Accredited NABERS Assessor will guide you through the process and assist with collecting more complex information such as floor area and site area data.

If you want to undertake a NABERS rating for a government school, please get in touch with the NABERS team. Many Australian state education departments have in-house NABERS Assessors or established assessment programs. We can help connect you with the appropriate contacts and point you in the right direction.

For all other schools, find a NABERS Assessor for a school using the Find an Assessor tool. As service levels vary, we recommend sourcing quotes from two or three NABERS Assessors.

Yes. A NABERS rating provides an independent, trusted measure of a school's environmental performance, which can support ESG reporting and sustainability initiatives. While reporting requirements vary and may evolve over time, having a NABERS rating helps schools establish a credible baseline, track performance improvements, and be better prepared for future reporting expectations.

If you want to assess the energy and water efficiency of multiple schools at once, consider a NABERS Portfolio rating. A Portfolio rating saves you time and money while gaining valuable insights across your entire portfolio.

Please note, Portfolio ratings are currently only available to government schools.

To learn more about Portfolio ratings for schools, please contact us.

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

For a more detailed explanation of the how a NABERS rating is calculated, download the rules document for your desired rating type from the Publications page.

Validity periods vary by rating type. Refer to the page of your desired rating page to determine its validity period.

The time required varies depending on data availability and the complexity of the site, but your Assessor can provide a timeframe - typically a few months to a year - once they understand your school's circumstances.

The latest news on schools

30 Jul 2026