Influence of Behavioural Constructs on Building Practitioner’s Minimal Compliance with Residential Building Energy Performance Standards in Australia

Energy performance standards for residential buildings are essential in promoting the residential building industry’s energy efficiency. Dwellings are commonly designed at the standards’ minimum compliance level, which puts the industry at risk of achieving its energy-efficiency goal. One of the causes of this minimal compliance is related to building practitioners’ behavioural constructs during the compliance process: Attitudes (ATT), Subjective Norms (SN), Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC) and Personal Norms (PN). This paper aims to investigate how these behavioural constructs influence minimal compliance. The data are drawn from a questionnaire survey of 73 residential building practitioners who actively deal with compliance requirements in the design stage in Australia. A framework predominantly based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour was analysed via structural equation modelling technique to illustrate the influence paths of the behavioural constructs and the extent of the influence. The results show that SN, PBC and PN positively influence behavioural intention, then the intention positively influences minimal compliance outcome. Furthermore, ATT shows the strongest extent in influencing the minimal compliance outcome, while exhibiting the lowest current performance. These findings inform policymakers of suitable interventions to trigger behaviour change toward going beyond minimal compliance. By illustrating the pathways and the degree to which behavioural constructs influence minimal compliance, policymakers can be more effectively guided on appropriate interventions to encourage behaviour change that exceeds minimal compliance.