Green Star FAQs

Gross Floor Area (GFA)

The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) definition from the Australian Cost Management Manual - Volume 1 for GFA applies with car parking (including undercover car parking) areas to be excluded for the purposes of Green Star unless specifically noted otherwise in the credit requirements. GFA is defined as the sum of Fully Enclosed Covered Area (FECA) and Unenclosed Covered Area (UCA). Definitions for FECA and UCA below are extracted from the AIQS' Australian Cost Management Manual - Volume 1.

Fully Enclosed Covered Area (FECA)

"The sum of all such areas at all building floor levels, including basements (except unexcavated portions), floored roof spaces and attics, garages, penthouses, enclosed porches and attached enclosed covered ways alongside buildings, equipment rooms, lift shafts, vertical ducts, staircases and any other fully enclosed spaces and usable areas of the building, computed by measuring from the normal inside face of exterior walls but ignoring any projections such as plinths, columns, piers and the like which project from the normal inside face of exterior walls.
It shall not include open courts, light wells, connecting or isolated covered ways and net open areas of upper portions of rooms, lobbies, halls, interstitial spaces and the like which extend through the storey being computed."

Unenclosed Covered Area (UCA)

"The sum of all such areas at all building floor levels, including roofed balconies, open verandahs, porches and porticos, attached open covered ways alongside buildings, undercrofts and usable space under buildings, unenclosed access galleries (including ground floor) and any other trafficable covered areas of the building which are not totally enclosed by full height walls, computed by measuring the areas between the enclosing walls or balustrade (i.e. from the inside face of the UCA excluding the wall or balustrade thickness).
When the covering element (i.e. roof or upper floor) is supported by columns, is cantilevered or is suspended, or any combination of these, the measurements shall be taken to the edge of the paving or to the edge of the cover, whichever is the lesser.
UCA shall not include eaves overhangs, sun shading, awnings and the like where these do not relate to clearly defined trafficable covered areas, nor shall it include connecting or isolated covered ways."

Net Lettable Area (NLA)

The Property Council of Australia (PCA) definition from the Method of Measurement: Commercial for NLA applies. NLA is defined as the sum of the whole floor lettable areas at each floor level. It is measured from the internal finish surface of permanent internal walls but it includes structural columns or piers and small protuberances from the wall lines including window mullions and frames. Common areas part of the base build such as lift lobbies, stairs, plant rooms etc. are excluded.

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