What is the Guarantee of Origin?
The Guarantee of Origin (GO) is an internationally aligned assurance scheme being designed to track and verify emissions associated with hydrogen and renewable electricity made in Australia.
Over time, it could expand to include a range of products such as metals, low emissions fuels and other products made in Australia.
GO will show where a product has come from, how it was made, and the emissions throughout its lifecycle.
This will help decarbonise the Australian economy by encouraging sellers to reduce carbon intensity. Increasing transparency for consumers will give participating sellers a competitive advantage in the Australian and international market.
We're designing the GO scheme in partnership with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Find out more on the department's website.
Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin
Designing the Guarantee of Origin
How it works
GO is a voluntary scheme for producers in certain industries to verify the carbon intensity of their products.
Product GO scheme
When an eligible product like hydrogen is produced, a digital certificate will be issued that travels through the supply chain until it is sold and the certificate consumed. This will show:
- where it was made
- what it was made from
- how it was transported.
At each stage, details of greenhouse gas emissions and other information are added to the certificate.
We will validate these details to ensure the integrity of each certificate.
Renewable Electricity GO (REGO) scheme
The proposed Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificate mechanism would build on the large-scale generation certificate (LGC) framework which ends in 2030.
The REGO certificate mechanism would provide certainty for renewable electricity investment and procurement, and support Australia’s energy transformation.
Who can participate
Once legislated, the product GO Scheme will initially be open to the hydrogen industry and its derivatives. The REGO Scheme will be open to those in the renewable electricity sector.
The scheme is expected to expand to include new industries over time.
Guarantee of Origin Emissions Accounting Approach calculator
An excel spreadsheet that enables users to populate their own data to generate an estimated emissions intensity of hydrogen based on the proposed emissions accounting approach.
Go to the calculator on the department's website.
Designing GO
Our co-design process with the department has included hydrogen and ammonia producers and stakeholders.
The department and CER continue to consult with a broad range of stakeholders.
Learn more about the GO consultation process on our consultations page, or the department's consultation hub.
Our role
We are co-designing the GO Scheme with the department and our stakeholders.
Once legislated, we will administer the GO Scheme. This will include:
- participant enrolment
- GO certificate creation and transfer
- compliance activities.
Legislative framework
The Australian Government has introduced the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024 into parliament, along with the supporting:
- Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024
- Future Made in Australia (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024.
If legislated, these bills will establish the GO Scheme framework.
