What is BASIX and why is it so expensive?

So you’re building a new house, extending your current one or planning a residential development and they’re telling you that you need a BASIX certificate, but you don’t know what that is?

Speaking generally, BASIX is a NSW Government tool aimed to make houses and residential buildings use less water and energy, while also providing cost savings to the home owner (but those cost savings are going to be in the long term and may not fully subsidise the upfront costs from the BASIX requirements).

They’ve basically taken some fairly broad assumptions about water and power usage by households and applied them in a very limited way to housing models.

So as a result of the limitations of the system, BASIX is not super accurate and is kind of a worst case scenario making it very difficult to get your design to pass without some major costs or design alterations. It’s also probably causing you to swear at your computer screen. A lot. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

But the good news is that there’s better computer modelling you can use which can save you thousands of dollars and hours of stress. There’s also some tricks and tips on how to get your dream house across the line that we can help you with.

So, If you’ve hit a road block with your BASIX and can’t seem to get it to pass, get in contact with us and we can help you. Send us a set of your plans to info@senica.com.au and we’ll get you moving again.