Current regulatory pathways to compliance in energy efficiency for Australian housing are via provisions in the National Construction Code (NCC). This paper first identifies performance evaluation criteria set out in the code presented as a comparative analysis across the different methods of achieving compliance. Jurisdictional and concessional variations are discussed and thereafter an examination of the effect of specific design and location factors that impact the commonly used deemed to satisfy route to compliance. A study is presented in the paper investigating typical South Australian temperate climate housing styles in terms of their expected energy performance and compliance. This is done to test for measurable differences or test where equivalence can be shown to be reasonably achieved.

This study highlights the issue of alternative pathways, being different options of using software modelling or elemental compliance based on specification details. The sample set is a modest seven houses only but carefully chosen to show the compliance pathway results for different options across this sample set. Further measures of house energy performance evaluation and comparison are drawn from the literature.