WHAT: Following submission to a recent inquiry from NSW Parliament, Jack Noonan, Head of Asia Pacific, Senior Vice President, will represent IWBI to present evidence to the NSW Upper House Portfolio Committee No. 2 – Health, on clean indoor air.
Nearly 13 million square meters (~140 million square feet) are engaged in WELL in Australia. With over 600 buildings on the continent utilizing the WELL Standard, the infrastructure for implementation, monitoring and verification is active and proven within the market.
As part of the inquiry, IWBI, the global authority for advancing healthy buildings, organizations and communities, recommends that the NSW Government:
- Demonstrate leadership by example by adopting the WELL Standard’s air quality thresholds as the recognized best practice point of reference
- Leverage industry-established IAQ Standards in private sector new construction and major renovations
- Require implementation of WELL strategies for public infrastructure and publicly subsidized projects
- Leverage the existing 600+ projects in the region as an evidence base
WHY: Poor indoor air quality represents a pervasive public health crisis—one that demands urgent, coordinated global action. Today, people spend about 90% of their time indoors, where the air can be as much as three to five times more polluted than outdoor air. From homes and schools to workplaces and public spaces, poor indoor air contributes to respiratory diseases and illnesses, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and rising healthcare costs for billions of people around the world. It disproportionately harms people living with chronic health conditions and disability, who represent one in two people in Australia.
IWBI submitted to the NSW Clean Indoor Air Inquiry on January 28.
“This work matters. Healthy buildings with healthy indoor air quality are our fulcrum in leveraging globally proven frameworks to protect public health and enhance our collective experience in the built environment on a huge scale,” said Jack Noonan, Head of Asia Pacific, Senior Vice President, IWBI. “By utilising proven frameworks, the NSW Government has an opportunity to bridge a gap in health equity–ensuring that our students in classrooms and workers in public offices benefit from the same environments that have become the standard in much of the private sector. We have the evidence; we must ensure that healthy indoor air is treated as a fundamental pillar of public health.”
“Governments around the world are beginning to lead by example on improving indoor air quality, moving beyond minimum codes and baseline standards,” said Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO, IWBI. “Just as the private sector has embraced WELL as a signal of health leadership, governments have an opportunity to set the bar higher for achieving clean and healthy indoor air in the buildings they own and oversee.”
Last year, IWBI launched the Global Commission for Healthy Indoor Air in an effort to create the world’s foremost alliance of global leaders united in a shared mission to improve air quality around the world. Over the next year, the Commission is leading a Global Framework for Action to chart a comprehensive roadmap across every pillar of market transformation–from public awareness and policy to codes and standards. Aligned with the work of the Global Commission, IWBI is encouraged that the NSW Parliament is engaging a range of experts as it moves forward to explore policy pathways to advance clean indoor air.
WHO: Jack Noonan, Head of Asia Pacific, Senior Vice President, will represent IWBI for the inquiry. Noonan is a long-time member of the International Society for Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ). Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska of the ARC Training Centre, Co-Chair, Global Commission on Healthy Indoor Air, previously served as a witness.
WHEN: Monday, March 16, 2026, 11:15 AM AEST
WHERE: Macquarie Room, Parliament House, Sydney | Livestream on the Parliament of New South Wales website.
Please email media@wellcertified.com to coordinate on-sight or post-hearing interviews
About the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is a public benefit corporation and the global authority for transforming health and well-being in buildings, organizations and communities. In pursuit of its public-health mission, IWBI mobilizes its community through the development and administration of the WELL Building Standard (WELL), WELL for residential, WELL Community Standard, its WELL ratings and management of the WELL AP credential. IWBI also translates research into practice, develops educational resources and advocates for policies that promote people-first places for everyone, everywhere. More information on WELL can be found here.
About the Global Commission on Healthy Indoor Air
The Global Commission on Healthy Indoor Air is comprised of renowned international leaders and experts spanning public health, science, academia, policy and industry who are banding together to advance a Global Framework for Action for making healthy indoor environments the norm—not the exception—in all buildings everywhere. By charting a bold path forward and delivering a transdisciplinary strategy, the Commission seeks to empower decision-makers, accelerate innovation, unlock new sources of funding, shape policy and raise public awareness such that the health, economic and societal benefits of healthy indoor air are recognized, prioritized and realized at scale.
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