diff --git a/.changes/unreleased/Features-20231012-122917.yaml b/.changes/unreleased/Features-20231012-122917.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ab79dac76b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/unreleased/Features-20231012-122917.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+kind: Features
+body: Optimize refreshing materialized views when autorefreshed
+time: 2023-10-12T12:29:17.705373-04:00
+custom:
+  Author: mikealfare
+  Issue: "6911"
diff --git a/.flake8 b/.flake8
index e39b2fa4646..26e20a5d209 100644
--- a/.flake8
+++ b/.flake8
@@ -10,3 +10,5 @@ ignore =
     E741
     E501 # long line checking is done in black
 exclude = test/
+per-file-ignores =
+    */__init__.py: F401
diff --git a/core/dbt/adapters/base/impl.py b/core/dbt/adapters/base/impl.py
index 9c8a1c2dcd5..69126cddb0e 100644
--- a/core/dbt/adapters/base/impl.py
+++ b/core/dbt/adapters/base/impl.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 )
 
 from dbt.adapters.capability import Capability, CapabilityDict
+from dbt.adapters.relation_configs import RelationConfigFactory
 from dbt.contracts.graph.nodes import ColumnLevelConstraint, ConstraintType, ModelLevelConstraint
 
 import agate
@@ -246,6 +247,18 @@ def __init__(self, config) -> None:
         self.cache = RelationsCache()
         self.connections = self.ConnectionManager(config)
         self._macro_manifest_lazy: Optional[MacroManifest] = None
+        self.relation_config_factory = self._relation_config_factory()
+
+    def _relation_config_factory(self) -> RelationConfigFactory:
+        """
+        This sets the default relation config factory in the init.
+        If you need to adjust the default settings, override this
+        returning an instance with the settings specific to your adapter.
+
+        See `dbt.adapters.relation_configs.factory.RelationConfigFactory`
+        for more information regarding these settings.
+        """
+        return RelationConfigFactory()
 
     ###
     # Methods that pass through to the connection manager
diff --git a/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/__init__.py b/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/__init__.py
index b8c73447a68..1903becdcd2 100644
--- a/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/__init__.py
+++ b/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/__init__.py
@@ -1,12 +1,16 @@
-from dbt.adapters.relation_configs.config_base import (  # noqa: F401
+from dbt.adapters.relation_configs._factory import RelationConfigFactory
+from dbt.adapters.relation_configs._materialized_view import (
+    MaterializedViewRelationConfig,
+)
+from dbt.adapters.relation_configs.config_base import (
     RelationConfigBase,
     RelationResults,
 )
-from dbt.adapters.relation_configs.config_change import (  # noqa: F401
+from dbt.adapters.relation_configs.config_change import (
     RelationConfigChangeAction,
     RelationConfigChange,
 )
-from dbt.adapters.relation_configs.config_validation import (  # noqa: F401
+from dbt.adapters.relation_configs.config_validation import (
     RelationConfigValidationMixin,
     RelationConfigValidationRule,
 )
diff --git a/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/_factory.py b/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/_factory.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b635313bc82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/_factory.py
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+from typing import Dict, Type
+
+from dbt.contracts.graph.nodes import ParsedNode
+from dbt.contracts.relation import RelationType
+from dbt.dataclass_schema import StrEnum
+from dbt.exceptions import DbtRuntimeError
+
+from dbt.adapters.relation_configs.config_base import RelationConfigBase
+from dbt.adapters.relation_configs._materialized_view import MaterializedViewRelationConfig
+
+
+class RelationConfigFactory:
+    """
+    This provides a way to work with relation configs both in the adapter and in the jinja context.
+
+    This factory comes with a default set of settings which can be overridden in BaseAdapter.
+
+    Args:
+        relation_types: an enum that contains all possible relation types for this adapter
+            this is generally `RelationType`, but there are cases where an adapter may override
+            `RelationType` to include more options or exclude options
+        relation_configs: a map from a relation_type to a relation_config
+            this is generally only overridden if `relation_types` is also overridden
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+        # the `StrEnum` class will generally be `RelationType`, however this allows for extending that Enum
+        self.relation_types: Type[StrEnum] = kwargs.get("relation_types", RelationType)
+        self.relation_configs: Dict[StrEnum, Type[RelationConfigBase]] = kwargs.get(
+            "relation_configs",
+            {
+                RelationType.MaterializedView: MaterializedViewRelationConfig,
+            },
+        )
+
+        try:
+            for relation_type in self.relation_configs.keys():
+                self.relation_types(relation_type)
+        except ValueError:
+            raise DbtRuntimeError(
+                f"Received relation configs for {relation_type} "  # noqa
+                f"but these relation types are not registered on this factory.\n"
+                f"    registered relation types: {', '.join(self.relation_types)}\n"
+            )
+
+    def make_from_node(self, node: ParsedNode) -> RelationConfigBase:
+        relation_type = self.relation_types(node.config.materialized)
+        relation_config = self._relation_config(relation_type)
+        return relation_config.from_node(node)
+
+    def _relation_config(self, relation_type: StrEnum) -> Type[RelationConfigBase]:
+        if relation := self.relation_configs.get(relation_type):
+            return relation
+        raise DbtRuntimeError(
+            f"This factory does not have a relation config for this type.\n"
+            f"    received: {relation_type}\n"
+            f"    options: {', '.join(t for t in self.relation_configs.keys())}\n"
+        )
diff --git a/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/_materialized_view.py b/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/_materialized_view.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2da61673dce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/_materialized_view.py
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+from dbt.adapters.relation_configs.config_base import RelationConfigBase
+
+
+class MaterializedViewRelationConfig(RelationConfigBase):
+    @property
+    def auto_refresh(self) -> bool:
+        return False
diff --git a/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/config_base.py b/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/config_base.py
index 9d0cddb0d21..1d3e0190442 100644
--- a/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/config_base.py
+++ b/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/config_base.py
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass
-from typing import Union, Dict
+from typing import Any, Dict, Union
+from typing_extensions import Self
 
 import agate
+from dbt.contracts.graph.nodes import ModelNode, ParsedNode
 from dbt.utils import filter_null_values
 
 
@@ -24,7 +26,7 @@
 @dataclass(frozen=True)
 class RelationConfigBase:
     @classmethod
-    def from_dict(cls, kwargs_dict) -> "RelationConfigBase":
+    def from_dict(cls, kwargs_dict: Dict[str, Any]) -> Self:
         """
         This assumes the subclass of `RelationConfigBase` is flat, in the sense that no attribute is
         itself another subclass of `RelationConfigBase`. If that's not the case, this should be overriden
@@ -37,8 +39,53 @@ def from_dict(cls, kwargs_dict) -> "RelationConfigBase":
         """
         return cls(**filter_null_values(kwargs_dict))  # type: ignore
 
+    ###
+    # Parser for internal nodes, from dbt
+    ###
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_node(cls, node: ParsedNode) -> Self:
+        config_dict = cls.parse_node(node)
+        return cls.from_dict(config_dict)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_model_node(cls, model_node: ModelNode) -> Self:
+        # this method is being deprecated in favor of the more generic `from_node`
+        return cls.from_node(model_node)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def parse_node(cls, node: ParsedNode) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        # this method was originally implemented as `parse_model_node`
+        if hasattr(cls, "parse_model_node"):
+            return cls.parse_model_node(node)
+        return {}
+
+    ###
+    # Parser for database results, generally used with `SQLAdapter`
+    ###
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_relation_results(cls, relation_results: RelationResults) -> Self:
+        config_dict = cls.parse_relation_results(relation_results)
+        return cls.from_dict(config_dict)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def parse_relation_results(cls, relation_results: RelationResults) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        raise NotImplementedError(
+            "`parse_relation_results` has not been implemented for this relation_type."
+        )
+
+    ###
+    # Parser for api results, generally used with `BaseAdapter`
+    ###
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_api_results(cls, api_results: Any) -> Self:
+        config_dict = cls.parse_api_results(api_results)
+        return cls.from_dict(config_dict)
+
     @classmethod
-    def _not_implemented_error(cls) -> NotImplementedError:
-        return NotImplementedError(
-            "This relation type has not been fully configured for this adapter."
+    def parse_api_results(cls, api_results: Any) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        raise NotImplementedError(
+            "`parse_api_results` has not been implemented for this relation_type."
         )
diff --git a/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/config_change.py b/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/config_change.py
index ac653fa5210..7e8b89064f8 100644
--- a/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/config_change.py
+++ b/core/dbt/adapters/relation_configs/config_change.py
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ class RelationConfigChangeAction(StrEnum):
 @dataclass(frozen=True, eq=True, unsafe_hash=True)
 class RelationConfigChange(RelationConfigBase, ABC):
     action: RelationConfigChangeAction
-    context: Hashable  # this is usually a RelationConfig, e.g. IndexConfig, but shouldn't be limited
+    context: Hashable  # this is usually a RelationConfigBase, e.g. IndexConfig, but shouldn't be limited
 
     @property
     @abstractmethod
     def requires_full_refresh(self) -> bool:
-        raise self._not_implemented_error()
+        return True
diff --git a/core/dbt/context/providers.py b/core/dbt/context/providers.py
index febc21a546f..9ad03785164 100644
--- a/core/dbt/context/providers.py
+++ b/core/dbt/context/providers.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 )
 from typing_extensions import Protocol
 
+from dbt.adapters.base import BaseAdapter
 from dbt.adapters.base.column import Column
 from dbt.adapters.factory import get_adapter, get_adapter_package_names, get_adapter_type_names
 from dbt.clients import agate_helper
@@ -107,7 +108,7 @@ class BaseDatabaseWrapper:
     via a relation proxy.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, adapter, namespace: MacroNamespace):
+    def __init__(self, adapter: BaseAdapter, namespace: MacroNamespace):
         self._adapter = adapter
         self.Relation = RelationProxy(adapter)
         self._namespace = namespace
@@ -125,6 +126,10 @@ def type(self):
     def commit(self):
         return self._adapter.commit_if_has_connection()
 
+    @property
+    def relation_config_factory(self):
+        return self._adapter.relation_config_factory
+
     def _get_adapter_macro_prefixes(self) -> List[str]:
         # order matters for dispatch:
         #  1. current adapter
diff --git a/core/dbt/include/global_project/macros/materializations/models/materialized_view.sql b/core/dbt/include/global_project/macros/materializations/models/materialized_view.sql
index 6dc30bf9a9a..3c6d3fe5c33 100644
--- a/core/dbt/include/global_project/macros/materializations/models/materialized_view.sql
+++ b/core/dbt/include/global_project/macros/materializations/models/materialized_view.sql
@@ -65,7 +65,15 @@
         {% set configuration_changes = get_materialized_view_configuration_changes(existing_relation, config) %}
 
         {% if configuration_changes is none %}
-            {% set build_sql = refresh_materialized_view(target_relation) %}
+            {% set relation_config = adapter.relation_config_factory.make_from_node(config.model) %}
+            {% if relation_config.auto_refresh %}
+                {% set build_sql = '' %}
+                {{ exceptions.warn(
+                    "No configuration changes were identified on: `" ~ target_relation ~ "`. Continuing."
+                ) }}
+            {% else %}
+                {% set build_sql = refresh_materialized_view(target_relation) %}
+            {% endif %}
 
         {% elif on_configuration_change == 'apply' %}
             {% set build_sql = get_alter_materialized_view_as_sql(target_relation, configuration_changes, sql, existing_relation, backup_relation, intermediate_relation) %}
diff --git a/core/dbt/tests/util.py b/core/dbt/tests/util.py
index 21a23b58010..15710cd4abb 100644
--- a/core/dbt/tests/util.py
+++ b/core/dbt/tests/util.py
@@ -631,3 +631,11 @@ def get_model_file(project, relation: BaseRelation) -> str:
 
 def set_model_file(project, relation: BaseRelation, model_sql: str):
     write_file(model_sql, project.project_root, "models", f"{relation.name}.sql")
+
+
+class UtilityMethodNotImplementedError(NotImplementedError):
+    def __int__(self, class_name: str, method_name: str, additional_message: Optional[str] = None):
+        message = f"To use this test, please implement `{class_name}`.`{method_name}`."
+        if additional_message:
+            message += f" {additional_message}"
+        super().__init__(message)
diff --git a/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation.py b/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation.py
index e6a302d4143..b0eb8c31b3b 100644
--- a/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation.py
+++ b/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation.py
@@ -59,9 +59,7 @@ def get_materialized_view_config_change_collection(
         existing_materialized_view = PostgresMaterializedViewConfig.from_relation_results(
             relation_results
         )
-        new_materialized_view = PostgresMaterializedViewConfig.from_model_node(
-            runtime_config.model
-        )
+        new_materialized_view = PostgresMaterializedViewConfig.from_node(runtime_config.model)
 
         config_change_collection.indexes = self._get_index_config_changes(
             existing_materialized_view.indexes, new_materialized_view.indexes
diff --git a/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation_configs/index.py b/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation_configs/index.py
index 3a072ea4307..12f58b5e50a 100644
--- a/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation_configs/index.py
+++ b/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation_configs/index.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
-from typing import Set, FrozenSet
+from typing import Any, Dict, FrozenSet, Set
 
 import agate
 from dbt.dataclass_schema import StrEnum
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ def validation_rules(self) -> Set[RelationConfigValidationRule]:
         }
 
     @classmethod
-    def from_dict(cls, config_dict) -> "PostgresIndexConfig":
+    def from_dict(cls, config_dict: Dict[str, Any]) -> "PostgresIndexConfig":
         # TODO: include the QuotePolicy instead of defaulting to lower()
         kwargs_dict = {
             "name": config_dict.get("name"),
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ def from_dict(cls, config_dict) -> "PostgresIndexConfig":
         return index
 
     @classmethod
-    def parse_model_node(cls, model_node_entry: dict) -> dict:
+    def parse_node(cls, model_node_entry: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         config_dict = {
             "column_names": set(model_node_entry.get("columns", set())),
             "unique": model_node_entry.get("unique"),
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ def parse_model_node(cls, model_node_entry: dict) -> dict:
         return config_dict
 
     @classmethod
-    def parse_relation_results(cls, relation_results_entry: agate.Row) -> dict:
+    def parse_relation_results(cls, relation_results_entry: agate.Row) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         config_dict = {
             "name": relation_results_entry.get("name"),
             "column_names": set(relation_results_entry.get("column_names", "").split(",")),
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ def parse_relation_results(cls, relation_results_entry: agate.Row) -> dict:
         return config_dict
 
     @property
-    def as_node_config(self) -> dict:
+    def as_node_config(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         """
         Returns: a dictionary that can be passed into `get_create_index_sql()`
         """
diff --git a/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation_configs/materialized_view.py b/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation_configs/materialized_view.py
index 15e700e777a..4c795628734 100644
--- a/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation_configs/materialized_view.py
+++ b/plugins/postgres/dbt/adapters/postgres/relation_configs/materialized_view.py
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
-from typing import Set, FrozenSet, List
+from typing import Any, Dict, FrozenSet, List, Set
 
 import agate
 from dbt.adapters.relation_configs import (
-    RelationConfigBase,
+    MaterializedViewRelationConfig,
     RelationResults,
     RelationConfigValidationMixin,
     RelationConfigValidationRule,
 )
-from dbt.contracts.graph.nodes import ModelNode
+from dbt.contracts.graph.nodes import ParsedNode
 from dbt.exceptions import DbtRuntimeError
 
 from dbt.adapters.postgres.relation_configs.constants import MAX_CHARACTERS_IN_IDENTIFIER
@@ -19,14 +19,15 @@
 
 
 @dataclass(frozen=True, eq=True, unsafe_hash=True)
-class PostgresMaterializedViewConfig(RelationConfigBase, RelationConfigValidationMixin):
+class PostgresMaterializedViewConfig(
+    MaterializedViewRelationConfig, RelationConfigValidationMixin
+):
     """
     This config follows the specs found here:
     https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-creatematerializedview.html
 
     The following parameters are configurable by dbt:
     - table_name: name of the materialized view
-    - query: the query that defines the view
     - indexes: the collection (set) of indexes on the materialized view
 
     Applicable defaults for non-configurable parameters:
@@ -36,7 +37,6 @@ class PostgresMaterializedViewConfig(RelationConfigBase, RelationConfigValidatio
     """
 
     table_name: str = ""
-    query: str = ""
     indexes: FrozenSet[PostgresIndexConfig] = field(default_factory=frozenset)
 
     @property
@@ -54,10 +54,9 @@ def validation_rules(self) -> Set[RelationConfigValidationRule]:
         }
 
     @classmethod
-    def from_dict(cls, config_dict: dict) -> "PostgresMaterializedViewConfig":
+    def from_dict(cls, config_dict: Dict[str, Any]) -> "PostgresMaterializedViewConfig":
         kwargs_dict = {
             "table_name": config_dict.get("table_name"),
-            "query": config_dict.get("query"),
             "indexes": frozenset(
                 PostgresIndexConfig.from_dict(index) for index in config_dict.get("indexes", {})
             ),
@@ -66,31 +65,16 @@ def from_dict(cls, config_dict: dict) -> "PostgresMaterializedViewConfig":
         return materialized_view
 
     @classmethod
-    def from_model_node(cls, model_node: ModelNode) -> "PostgresMaterializedViewConfig":
-        materialized_view_config = cls.parse_model_node(model_node)
-        materialized_view = cls.from_dict(materialized_view_config)
-        return materialized_view
-
-    @classmethod
-    def parse_model_node(cls, model_node: ModelNode) -> dict:
-        indexes: List[dict] = model_node.config.extra.get("indexes", [])
+    def parse_node(cls, node: ParsedNode) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        indexes: List[dict] = node.config.extra.get("indexes", [])
         config_dict = {
-            "table_name": model_node.identifier,
-            "query": model_node.compiled_code,
-            "indexes": [PostgresIndexConfig.parse_model_node(index) for index in indexes],
+            "table_name": node.identifier,
+            "indexes": [PostgresIndexConfig.parse_node(index) for index in indexes],
         }
         return config_dict
 
     @classmethod
-    def from_relation_results(
-        cls, relation_results: RelationResults
-    ) -> "PostgresMaterializedViewConfig":
-        materialized_view_config = cls.parse_relation_results(relation_results)
-        materialized_view = cls.from_dict(materialized_view_config)
-        return materialized_view
-
-    @classmethod
-    def parse_relation_results(cls, relation_results: RelationResults) -> dict:
+    def parse_relation_results(cls, relation_results: RelationResults) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         indexes: agate.Table = relation_results.get("indexes", agate.Table(rows={}))
         config_dict = {
             "indexes": [
diff --git a/tests/adapter/dbt/tests/adapter/materialized_view/auto_refresh.py b/tests/adapter/dbt/tests/adapter/materialized_view/auto_refresh.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d7b7c5f030c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/adapter/dbt/tests/adapter/materialized_view/auto_refresh.py
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+from datetime import datetime
+from typing import Tuple
+
+import pytest
+
+from dbt.tests.util import UtilityMethodNotImplementedError, run_dbt
+
+
+class MaterializedViewAutoRefreshNoChanges:
+    """
+    When dbt runs on a materialized view that has no configuration changes, it can default
+    to manually refresh the materialized view. In order to optimize cost and performance,
+    there is no need to run a manual refresh if one is already scheduled due to
+    auto refresh being turned on. Therefore, we should ensure that a manual refresh
+    is only issued if the materialized view does not refresh automatically, and dbt
+    otherwise does nothing.
+
+    To implement:
+    - override `seeds` and provide a seed for your materialized views
+    - override `models` and provide a materialized view auto refresh turned off called "auto_refresh_off.sql"
+    - override `last_refreshed` with logic that inspects the platform for the last refresh timestamp
+
+    If your platform supports auto refresh:
+    - in `models`, provide another materialized view with auto refresh turned on called "auto_refresh_on.sql"
+
+    If your platform does not support auto refresh:
+    - override `test_manual_refresh_does_not_occur_when_auto_refresh_is_on` and mark it with `@pytest.mark.skip`
+    """
+
+    @pytest.fixture(scope="class", autouse=True)
+    def seeds(self):
+        yield {"my_seed.csv": ""}
+
+    @pytest.fixture(scope="class", autouse=True)
+    def models(self):
+        yield {"auto_refresh_on.sql": "", "auto_refresh_off.sql": ""}
+
+    @pytest.fixture(scope="class", autouse=True)
+    def setup(self, project):
+        run_dbt(["seed"])
+        run_dbt(["run"])
+        yield
+
+    def last_refreshed(self, project, materialized_view: str) -> datetime:
+        raise UtilityMethodNotImplementedError(
+            "MaterializedViewAutoRefreshNoChanges", "last_refreshed"
+        )
+
+    def run_dbt_with_no_changes_and_capture_refresh_times(
+        self, project, materialized_view: str
+    ) -> Tuple[datetime, datetime]:
+        last_refresh = self.last_refreshed(project, materialized_view)
+        run_dbt(["run", "--models", materialized_view])
+        next_refresh = self.last_refreshed(project, materialized_view)
+        return last_refresh, next_refresh
+
+    def test_manual_refresh_occurs_when_auto_refresh_is_off(self, project):
+        last_refresh, next_refresh = self.run_dbt_with_no_changes_and_capture_refresh_times(
+            project, "auto_refresh_off"
+        )
+        assert next_refresh > last_refresh
+
+    def test_manual_refresh_does_not_occur_when_auto_refresh_is_on(self, project):
+        last_refresh, next_refresh = self.run_dbt_with_no_changes_and_capture_refresh_times(
+            project, "auto_refresh_on"
+        )
+        assert next_refresh == last_refresh
diff --git a/tests/adapter/dbt/tests/adapter/materialized_view/changes.py b/tests/adapter/dbt/tests/adapter/materialized_view/changes.py
index 5fc933fbe0d..1c31c62b250 100644
--- a/tests/adapter/dbt/tests/adapter/materialized_view/changes.py
+++ b/tests/adapter/dbt/tests/adapter/materialized_view/changes.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 from dbt.contracts.graph.model_config import OnConfigurationChangeOption
 from dbt.contracts.relation import RelationType
 from dbt.tests.util import (
+    UtilityMethodNotImplementedError,
     assert_message_in_logs,
     get_model_file,
     run_dbt,
@@ -45,10 +46,7 @@ def check_start_state(project, materialized_view):
         """
         Check the starting state; this should align with `files.MY_MATERIALIZED_VIEW`.
         """
-        raise NotImplementedError(
-            "To use this test, please implement `check_start_state`,"
-            " inherited from `MaterializedViewsChanges`."
-        )
+        raise UtilityMethodNotImplementedError("MaterializedViewsChanges", "check_start_state")
 
     @staticmethod
     def change_config_via_alter(project, materialized_view):
@@ -65,10 +63,8 @@ def check_state_alter_change_is_applied(project, materialized_view):
         """
         Verify that the changes in `change_config_via_alter` were applied.
         """
-        raise NotImplementedError(
-            "To use this test, please implement `change_config_via_alter` and"
-            " `check_state_alter_change_is_applied`,"
-            " inherited from `MaterializedViewsChanges`."
+        raise UtilityMethodNotImplementedError(
+            "MaterializedViewsChanges", "change_config_via_alter"
         )
 
     @staticmethod
@@ -87,17 +83,13 @@ def check_state_replace_change_is_applied(project, materialized_view):
         Verify that the changes in `change_config_via_replace` were applied.
         This is independent of `check_state_alter_change_is_applied`.
         """
-        raise NotImplementedError(
-            "To use this test, please implement `change_config_via_replace` and"
-            " `check_state_replace_change_is_applied`,"
-            " inherited from `MaterializedViewsChanges`."
+        raise UtilityMethodNotImplementedError(
+            "MaterializedViewsChanges", "change_config_via_replace"
         )
 
     @staticmethod
     def query_relation_type(project, relation: BaseRelation) -> Optional[str]:
-        raise NotImplementedError(
-            "To use this test, please implement `query_relation_type`, inherited from `MaterializedViewsChanges`."
-        )
+        raise UtilityMethodNotImplementedError("MaterializedViewsChanges", "query_relation_type")
 
     """
     Configure these if needed
@@ -152,6 +144,16 @@ def test_full_refresh_occurs_with_changes(self, project, my_materialized_view):
         assert_message_in_logs(f"Applying ALTER to: {my_materialized_view}", logs, False)
         assert_message_in_logs(f"Applying REPLACE to: {my_materialized_view}", logs)
 
+    def test_no_alter_and_no_replace_occurs_with_no_changes(self, project, my_materialized_view):
+        # no changes were made to the model
+        _, logs = run_dbt_and_capture(
+            ["--debug", "run", "--models", my_materialized_view.identifier]
+        )
+        # no changes were submitted to the database
+        assert self.query_relation_type(project, my_materialized_view) == "materialized_view"
+        assert_message_in_logs(f"Applying ALTER to: {my_materialized_view}", logs, False)
+        assert_message_in_logs(f"Applying REPLACE to: {my_materialized_view}", logs, False)
+
 
 class MaterializedViewChangesApplyMixin:
     @pytest.fixture(scope="class")
diff --git a/tests/functional/materializations/materialized_view_tests/files.py b/tests/functional/materializations/materialized_view_tests/files.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..040e73d3ca3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/materializations/materialized_view_tests/files.py
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+SEED__MY_SEED = """
+id,value
+1,100
+2,200
+3,300
+""".strip()
+
+
+# postgres does not let you inspect the database for a last refresh date
+# we need to create our own by adding a last_modified date to materialized view itself
+MODEL__MY_MATERIALIZED_VIEW = """
+{{ config(
+    materialized="materialized_view"
+) }}
+select *, now() as last_refreshed from {{ ref('my_seed') }}
+"""
+
+
+# see above for why we are just querying the table instead of a metadata table
+MACRO__LAST_REFRESH = """
+{% macro postgres__test__last_refresh(schema, identifier) %}
+    {% set _sql %}
+        select max(last_refreshed) as last_refresh from {{ schema }}.{{ identifier }}
+    {% endset %}
+    {% do return(run_query(_sql)) %}
+{% endmacro %}
+"""
diff --git a/tests/functional/materializations/materialized_view_tests/test_auto_refresh.py b/tests/functional/materializations/materialized_view_tests/test_auto_refresh.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..541d8b3e94e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/materializations/materialized_view_tests/test_auto_refresh.py
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+from datetime import datetime
+
+import pytest
+
+from tests.adapter.dbt.tests.adapter.materialized_view.auto_refresh import (
+    MaterializedViewAutoRefreshNoChanges,
+)
+
+from tests.functional.materializations.materialized_view_tests import files
+
+
+class TestMaterializedViewAutoRefreshNoChanges(MaterializedViewAutoRefreshNoChanges):
+    @pytest.fixture(scope="class", autouse=True)
+    def seeds(self):
+        yield {"my_seed.csv": files.SEED__MY_SEED}
+
+    @pytest.fixture(scope="class", autouse=True)
+    def models(self):
+        yield {"auto_refresh_off.sql": files.MODEL__MY_MATERIALIZED_VIEW}
+
+    @pytest.fixture(scope="class", autouse=True)
+    def macros(self):
+        yield {"postgres__test__last_refresh.sql": files.MACRO__LAST_REFRESH}
+
+    def last_refreshed(self, project, materialized_view: str) -> datetime:
+        with project.adapter.connection_named("__test"):
+            kwargs = {"schema": project.test_schema, "identifier": materialized_view}
+            last_refresh_results = project.adapter.execute_macro(
+                "postgres__test__last_refresh", kwargs=kwargs
+            )
+        last_refresh = last_refresh_results[0].get("last_refresh")
+        return last_refresh
+
+    @pytest.mark.skip("Postgres does not support auto refresh.")
+    def test_manual_refresh_does_not_occur_when_auto_refresh_is_on(self, project):
+        pass