As the changes we can all make to create more sustainable and comfortable homes vary so much from place to place, it’s fantastic to be able to have a trained home sustainability assessor offer ideas and information tailored for your own home – and that’s exactly what’s on offer to Australian residents through the a new federal government initiative.  

The free home sustainability assessments involve a trained assessor going to people’s places for about an hour and a half and undertaking an assessment to look at energy and water usage, and other aspects of household sustainability. They then send you a report with all the suggestions, and there is an option to take out an interest free loan up to $10,000 to buy any sustainable investments recommended in the report – like a solar hot water system.

Local assessors and teams of assessors are popping up all over the place, including in the Illawarra. The web address for more info is http://www.environment.gov.au/greenloans/, or you can call the national hotline to find your nearest assessor on 1800 895 076.