If Australia is serious about lower power bills and cooler homes, we should stop pretending we need to “invent” a solution.
The state now builds high-rise apartments with rooftop solar and on-site batteries as standard, and it’s locking in simple wiring rules so every new unit can easily switch to efficient electric appliances later.
We could copy this today.
Instead, we’re stuck in a maze of slow approvals, patchy incentives and rules that make it too hard for renters and strata to benefit.
Here’s the blunt truth: since January 1, 2023, California’s energy code has required solar on new high-rise apartment buildings, and it pairs that with battery storage requirements so buildings can keep the lights on when the grid is under stress.
The next code takes effect for permits from January 1, 2026 and pushes even harder on ready-to-electrify buildings.
Australia’s National Construction Code lifted the minimum thermal standard to seven-star and added a “Whole-of-Home” score, which is welcome, but we still don’t require solar and batteries on new apartment towers.
That’s a clear miss we could fix with one national decision.
California also baked in a simple, common-sense idea: electric-ready wiring.
If a builder installs gas cooking or hot water today, they still have to run the electrical circuits and leave space in the switchboard so an induction cooktop or a heat-pump water heater can be added later without tearing walls open.
It’s cheap to do during construction and saves owners thousands down the track.
This is now a mandatory feature for new multifamily dwellings there.
Australia talks a lot about electrification but hasn’t made this the default in new apartments.
Why not just mandate it and end the wiring excuses?
The US also sorted out something our governments have ducked for years: letting apartment residents share the value of rooftop solar.
Their “virtual net metering” rules let a building’s solar credits be split across individual tenant meters, so renters actually see bill savings.
California then went further with a program called SOMAH that funds solar for affordable housing and guarantees tenants get a big share of the benefit.
On top of that, a new state-approved community solar scheme, backed by federal funds, is opening the door for people without a suitable roof to subscribe to off-site solar and still get credits on their power bill.
Australia is inching along with pilot “solar gardens” and guidance for renters, but there is no simple nationwide system to share solar credits in apartments.
Canberra could copy California’s bill-credit rules tomorrow and finally make rooftop and community solar work for renters.
Another quiet area where the US is ahead is grid-friendly buildings.
California’s code already expects larger buildings to respond when the grid is under pressure, dimming lights a touch or shifting some loads for short periods, so blackouts are less likely and bills are lower.
And the US federal government is pushing a national playbook for “grid-interactive” buildings so owners get paid for being helpful to the grid, not punished with red tape.
We don’t require these simple, automatic controls in Australian apartments, even though retailers are rolling out tariffs that reward flexibility.
This is low-cost, high-impact policy that belongs in our code now.
Then there’s accountability for old towers.
In the US, major cities and states have set performance targets for existing buildings and backed them with data reporting and, if needed, fines.
New York’s Local Law 97 caps emissions from big buildings, including multifamily, and Washington State’s Clean Buildings law now covers many apartment blocks down to 20,000 square feet.
Those rules are forcing upgrades of tired hot-water plants, leaky common areas and clapped-out heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC).
Australia has made progress with ratings and new-build standards, and NSW lifted BASIX for new homes, but we still lack strong, simple performance rules for existing residential towers.
If we copied the US approach, benchmark every year, set clear limits, and give owners a runway, older Aussie apartments would finally get the upgrades residents have been begging for.
None of this is sci-fi.
California’s apartment hot water is rapidly moving to efficient electric heat-pump systems, sized with off-the-shelf guides and supported by utility programs.
Pair those with rooftop solar and batteries and you cut running costs and evening peaks at the same time.
We have the kit and the installers.
What we don’t have is the same clarity of rules and a national tool to split benefits fairly in strata.
That’s a policy failure, not a technology gap.
For viewers sick of government press releases and not much else, here’s the call-to-action.
Make solar and batteries standard on new apartment towers like California did.
Require electric-ready wiring in every new unit so upgrades are cheap and quick.
Create a national, apartment-friendly bill-credit system so renters and owners share the savings from rooftop and community solar without legal gymnastics.
Add basic grid-friendly controls into the code so buildings can earn by helping the system on tough days.
And set firm energy or emissions targets for existing big buildings so upgrades actually happen.
Australia already lifted the construction standard to seven-star and added “Whole-of-Home”, which is good, but it’s not the finish line.
It’s the starting line. The rest is replicating and adjusting policies that work overseas.
If governments want quick, fair cost-of-living relief, this is it.
Stop writing strategy documents.
Copy the proven rules, clear the approvals backlog, and let builders deliver apartments that are cheaper to run from day one.
And ministers get results they can point to in months, not decades.
The technology is ready. The case studies are public.
Canberra’s only job is to lift the playbook.
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