In August 2004, the Department of Housing and Works released the Office Accommodation Policies, A Guide to the Procurement and Management of Western Australian Government Office Accommodation.

Policy 14 relates to Sustainability in Government Accommodation and is relevant to all agencies with office accommodation. This policy will assist agencies to meet the Energy Smart Government energy reduction target by encouraging building owners to make their buildings more energy efficient. It sets certain standards for office accommodation, including the use of the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) tool to assess the energy and greenhouse performance of government offices.

The policy requires the following for office tenancies greater than 1000 square metres:

•	Details of an ABGR Base Building assessment must be provided before an agency can consider leasing office space in a building and from 1 July 2006 only buildings that achieve a minimum 3.5 star level will be considered
•	All tenancies must have had an ABGR Tenancy assessment performed by 1 July 2005 and from 1 July 2006 must achieve a minimum 4 star level (providing it is cost effective to do so)
•	All new office tenancy fitouts and tenancy refurbishments must achieve a minimum 4 star ABGR Tenancy rating and from 1 July 2006 must achieve a minimum 4.5 star level (providing it is cost effective to do so)
•	All new office buildings must achieve a minimum 4 star ABGR (Base Building or Whole Building) rating and from 1 July 2006 achieve a minimum 4.5 star ABGR level (providing it is cost effective to do so).

Tenancies less than 1000 square metres are also encouraged to meet the same requirements.

For detailed information on the requirements of the policy refer to the Department of Housing and Works' Office Accommodation Policies document on the Department of Housing and Works website.

Agencies participating in the Energy Smart Government program can access funding to improve the energy efficiency of their accommodation.