New buildings will have to meet higher safety standards such as greater use of sprinklers, while other states will have to follow NSW and adopt separate minimum energy requirements for summer and winter, according to proposed changes to national construction codes.

The public has until April 13 to comment on changes proposed by the Australian Building Codes Board due to come into effect in 2019.

The possible amendments come as ClimateWorks and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council released a report highlighting significant savings in energy use and carbon emissions if governments strengthened minimum standards for new homes.

Neil Savery, head of the ABCB, told Fairfax Media new residential accommodation and hotels would need to install sprinklers in floors above three storeys - or about 12 metres - compared with 25 metres now if the proposed changes get approved by state and federal governments.

"Firefighting equipment can deal relatively easily with fires up to three storeys but not above," Mr Savery said. Above that height, it also becomes "much harder and much longer for people to evacuate”.