15 March 2025

The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) welcomes the opportunity to provide comments in response to the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) Strategic Review Discussion Paper.

ASBEC commends the success of the VEU program since its inception in 2009 and the benefits it has delivered to the 2.4 million households and businesses that have accessed the program. We are actively engaged with the current strategic review of the program and look forward to the review delivering an updated VEU program that will ensure continued alignment with key government objectives including electrification, energy affordability, emissions reduction targets and reliability.

Our members have long called for a strategic approach to ensure that Australia can transition towards a net zero economy to safeguard the nation’s ongoing prosperity and social viability. We make the following recommendations in response to the Strategic Review:

• The VEU program should prioritise a whole-of-building approach that integrates electrification and thermal efficiency improvements, ensuring long-term energy demand reduction and resilience to future climate conditions.
• To accelerate Victoria’s transition to a zero-emissions economy, the VEU program should incorporate thermal efficiency upgrades, including insulation, draught-proofing, double glazing, and window shading etc.
• The VEU should adopt a whole-home retrofit approach, integrating appliance upgrades with building fabric improvements to achieve deeper energy savings and emissions reductions. It should look to address barriers to access for low-income and rental households, and where possible, simplify program complexity to ensure it is easier for consumers to understand and navigate.

Read the full submission here.