auto_stories Corporate Plan 2024-28

The CER is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity and statutory agency established under the Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011(CER Act).

The Regulator (our Board) is a decision-making body which sets the direction for the agency’s work. It consists of a Chair (full-time) and between 2 and 4 other Members (part-time). Members of the Regulator are appointed under the CER Act by the responsible Minister and are required to have substantial experience or knowledge in at least one of a range of fields relevant to the CER across industry, economics, energy and emissions measurement. The CER Act was recently amended, in preparation for the commencement of Nature Repair Act 2023 activities, to include the fields of agriculture and biological or ecological science.

In addition to regulatory accountabilities, the Chair also serves as the agency head under the Public Service Act 1999 and is the accountable authority under the PGPA Act.

The CER is responsible for the following Outcomes:

Outcome 1: Contribute to a reduction in Australia’s net greenhouse gas emissions, including through the administration of market-based mechanisms that incentivise reduction in emissions and the promotion of additional renewable electricity generation.

Outcome 2: Contribute to the sustainable management of Australia’s biodiversity through the administration of market-based mechanisms that incentivise the preservation and improvement of
diverse ecosystems.

The following schemes administered by the CER work together to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the use of renewable energy to achieve the agency’s purpose of “accelerating carbon abatement for Australia”:

• The Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme, established under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, provides incentives for a range of organisations and individuals to adopt new practices and technologies to reduce their emissions or store atmospheric carbon. Over the forward plan we are continuing to work with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to improve transparency around project and crediting activities and to support the development of new methods, as recommended by the Independent ACCU review.
• The Safeguard Mechanism together with the reporting obligations under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (NGER Act), ensures that facilities which emit more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent annually keep their net emissions below a baseline. Safeguard facilities operate across the mining, manufacturing, transport, oil, gas and waste sectors. The Safeguard Mechanism reforms, which commenced in 2023, apply a decline rate to facilities’ baselines so that they are reduced predictably and gradually over time on a trajectory consistent with achieving Australia’s emission reduction targets of 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050. Implementing these reforms, including preparing to issue a new type of carbon unit – the Safeguard Management Credit, is a priority for the agency over the coming years.
• The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme (NGERS), established by the NGER Act, is a single national framework for reporting and disseminating company information about greenhouse gas emissions, energy production, energy consumption and other information specified under the legislation. The reporting threshold is 25,000 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide equivalence (CO₂-e) for a facility or 50,000 tonnes or more of CO₂-e for a corporation. This data informs government policy and programs and helps Australia meet its international reporting obligations. From 2024 these companies will start to include their energy and emissions data as part of a new mandatory climate-related disclosure scheme. We are continuing to liaise with the Treasury on how we can support implementation while maintaining simple and streamlined processes for business.
• The Renewable Energy Target (RET), established by theRenewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000, encourages the additional generation of electricity from renewable sources, reduces emissions of greenhouse gases in the electricity sector and ensures that renewable energy sources are ecologically sustainable. We are in the final stage of implementing integrity reforms across the supply chain for small-scale renewable energy systems and expect application volumes for large-scale renewable generators to markedly increase following the government’s introduction of the Capacity Investment Scheme.
• The Australian National Registry of Emissions Units (ANREU), established by the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units Act 2011, is a secure electronic registry system that tracks the location and ownership of units issued under the Kyoto Protocol and the ACCU Scheme. In 2024 we will establish a new unit register with modern capabilities that can support the needs of an evolving and more sophisticated carbon market. Safeguard Management Credits will be the first units to be issued in the new registry.
• The Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency (CERT) report, a voluntary initiative for participating NGERS corporations to demonstrate the net annual emissions and energy position. In light of the new mandatory climate-related disclosure regime, we are reviewing this initiative to optimise how it can best contribute to clear reporting of progress in reducing emissions by companies.

Over the lifetime of this Corporate Plan, the CER is also responsible for implementing the following new initiatives, which actively leverage existing schemes of the agency to build vibrant voluntary markets to address climate change and improve biodiversity outcomes for Australia.

• The Nature Repair Market, now known as the Nature Positive Plan, established under the Nature Repair Act 2023, provides a framework to encourage investment in biodiversity and drive environmental improvements. It enables the CER to issue Australian landholders with tradable biodiversity certificates for projects that protect, manage and restore nature. We are developing the infrastructure necessary to support participation in this new scheme and anticipate that engagement will build over the term of this Corporate Plan.
• The Guarantee of Origin Scheme provides a certification framework to enable Australian businesses to sell verified low emissions products domestically and to the world. Hydrogen, ammonia, green metals and low emission aviation fuels will be the first suite of products progressively covered under the scheme, which forms part of the Future Made in Australia measure announced in the 2024-25 budget. It will also provide for an enduring certification of renewable electricity. We will build on the experience gained by running the pilot to build modular and transparent systems that can show where and how a product was made and its carbon emissions profile.
• An Australian Carbon Exchange to accelerate the emergence of an online exchange trade market for emissions units. This may include the provision of trading, clearing and settlement services and a unit and certificate register to offer buyers and sellers greater choice, efficiency and transparency. This year we will undertake market soundings to inform final design and work with our regulatory partners to obtain any necessary approvals. Build and education activities will then commence.

The CER’s strategies for delivering these outcomes and achieving its purpose are to:

• Invest in more streamlined and easier to use systems for participants.
• Support understanding and encourage active participation in our schemes.
• Invest in preparing education and guidance materials to help participants comply with scheme requirements.
• Set clear and consistent expectations.
• Use data analysis and compliance monitoring tools to make lawful, consistent and robust decisions.
• Communicate our regulatory responses and the actions we take to address non-compliance, including the use of targeted enforcements.
• Use risk-based and continuous improvement approaches to deploy agency resources to best effect.
• Maintain and enhance the skills and expertise of the CER’s people and encourage innovation to benefit the CER and scheme participants.
• Build and sustain the CER’s reputation and impact through sound stakeholder relationships and partnerships with other relevant institutions and regulatory bodies.
• Use the data the CER holds to provide transparent public information and insights to support the effective operation of carbon and nature markets.
• Ensure the CER’s infrastructure is reliable, resilient and flexible enough to be reused in response to policy or operational change. Protect the integrity and utility of the core elements of the CER’s schemes, including greenhouse and energy data, contracts, units and certificates.

Our internal Change Program provides the governance to prioritise investment in new online and data management systems, manage delivery and ensure that we are building pathways and resilient business infrastructure that can support innovation by industry and the carbon abatement ecosystem. We work closely with the Digital Transformation Agency to ensure they have visibility of our progress and the benefits we are achieving.

The new Unit and Certificate Register is being designed in a way that makes it adaptable and able to accommodate any future units or certificate types. In addition to being able to hold units and certificates that the agency is responsible for administering, the agency is looking to leverage its market, registry and data services support to other government agencies. The agency is currently working with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA), the department responsible for administering the government’s newly established New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) for light vehicles. By 1 January 2026, the NVES will need a reliable and secure credit trading platform. The agency is looking to assist DITRDCA by leveraging our existing provider, currently facilitating the CER’s new Unit and Certificate Register, to build and maintain an additional, dedicated register for the NVES.

Other potential new areas of work include a proposed renewable energy developer rating scheme. The scheme would aim to provide transparent, periodic ratings of developer engagement, performance and capability. It would be designed in such a way to motivate ongoing continuous improvement by
the developers.

With our renewed IT and business infrastructure, we will be able to explore further opportunities for streamlining our processes, easing the regulatory burden on our participants and engaging with contemporary digital systems to achieve improved regulatory outcomes.