Dynamic, global environment
The CER operates in a dynamic environment that spans all sectors of the economy, levels of government and a wide range of stakeholders.
To achieve our purpose we scan the horizon, domestically and internationally, to identify trends and signals that may have implications for our schemes. Areas of focus include developments in Australia's energy and carbon markets such as:
- the emergence of nature repair markets alongside carbon markets
- corporate and government initiatives to reduce and offset emissions
- the development of new low emissions products and supply chains such as hydrogen, ammonia and metals, and
- adoption of new technologies and international and domestic transparency initiatives such as mandatory climate-related disclosures and standards.
Engagement with scheme participants, partners and stakeholders
The CER is committed to working with industry, government departments and other stakeholders as Australia transitions to a net zero economy.
We engage with our scheme participants to help them understand our schemes, participate, and comply with their obligations. Results of our 2025 Stakeholder Survey show that 83% of respondents think the CER continues to do a good job and 82% were satisfied with how we perform our functions as a regulator. These results show an improvement on 2024 results, as well as the historical average.
The CER will continue to monitor views from stakeholders across all our schemes as well as other interested parties. We'll use this feedback as part of our ongoing work to continue improving our consultation, engagement and support across both our existing schemes and new areas of work.
Carbon markets
Efficient and effective carbon markets play an integral part in the success of our schemes, particularly as the number, interconnectedness and complexity of the schemes administered by the CER grows. Markets for ACCUs and renewable energy certificates enable emissions reduction to be valued and drive investment into clean energy technology and emissions reduction actions. The GO Scheme will provide robust assurance of the emissions intensity of products such as green hydrogen. We continue to provide education and information to carbon markets to enable informed and active market participants.
The CER monitors domestic carbon market developments and regularly publishes information through our Quarterly Carbon Market Reports (QCMR).
In November 2024, the CER launched a new Unit and Certificate Registry. The registry provides a modern, secure, single place to hold and transfer multiple unit and certificate types and will connect with external digital trading platforms. The first Safeguard Mechanism credit units (SMCs) were issued into eligible ANREU accounts in the new registry.
To inform the prioritisation of additional functions and features for the new registry, we released a consultation paper in October 2024. The paper sought feedback on market needs for new market infrastructure and the feasibility of a proposed model for exchange trading of ACCUs. We heard the following:
- Broker platforms, digital marketplaces and companies supported having direct access to the registry via a secure API for increased efficiency and to enable real-time analysis and trading.
- The importance of a carbon exchange and its ability to facilitate more efficient trading. On the proposed exchange trading model, respondents identified issues and challenges associated with the trading of beneficial interests of ACCUs via a Clearing House Electronic Sub-register System Depository Interest.
The CER published our response to the consultation and next steps in May 2025. Given what was expressed in the submissions, we will be focusing on:
- Interoperability and connectivity with external account holder systems and trading platforms.
- Transferring ACCUs from the existing ANREU system into the new registry, as this is a critical foundation for further interoperability with the new registry. We expect the ACCU migration to be finalised in early 2026 and we will also be working on REGO, PGO and Nature Repair Market certificates later this year.
Demand for units from Safeguard entities to meet new compliance obligations will see the carbon market increasingly driven by private sector demand. The CER will continue to update the market with relevant information in an open, transparent and timely manner.
Clean Energy Regulator
Participants
Organisations and individuals who participate in our schemes, and their professional advisors
Stakeholders
Ministers, other Commonwealth departments and agencies, expert service providers, industry representatives, investors, Australian public
Partners
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, co-regulatory arrangements, state and territory regulators, law enforcement, scheme auditors and inspectors
Innovation and productivity through technology
The CER continues to introduce fit-for-purpose technology solutions to drive carbon abatement and support Australia's transition to net zero emissions. Central to this effort is our Integrated Transformation and Sustainment Investment Program, which is modernising our platforms, services and tools to create a resilient, scalable and future-ready digital ecosystem.
This program of work is aligned with the Australian Government's productivity agenda, which emphasises the strategic adoption of technology to improve service delivery, reduce regulatory burden, and enhance operational efficiency. By investing in digital capabilities, the CER is enabling smarter, faster and more adaptive regulation of carbon markets.
Key initiatives within the program include:
- Cloud-first architecture: The majority of our systems now operate in the cloud, providing a secure, accessible and adaptable foundation for digital services. Our cloud management practices support scalability and cost-efficiency, while ensuring robust cybersecurity and data integrity.
- Advanced data capabilities: We are building an integrated system capable of ingesting and managing higher volumes of diverse data. This enhanced capability allows us to detect instances of non-compliance more rapidly and take timely action. It also strengthens our ability to support other government agencies in delivering initiatives that contribute to Australia's net zero emissions goal.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): The CER is adopting a staged approach to the introduction of AI as we look to enhance productivity across the agency and improve the efficiency of regulatory processes. While the potential applications for AI are numerous, initial work will focus on streamlining service delivery, internal workflows and automating analytics and reporting.
- Agile delivery and user-centred design: Through contemporary agile practices we are delivering innovative solutions that are responsive to the evolving needs of carbon markets and stakeholders.
These efforts not only strengthen the CER's regulatory performance but also contribute to broader economic productivity by reducing transaction costs, improving data transparency, and supporting innovation.
By enabling more efficient participation in carbon markets and facilitating cross-agency collaboration, our technology investments help unlock value across the clean energy sector and the wider economy.
International developments
The CER is committed to working with international organisations to enable the sharing of data and knowledge, support the trading of international carbon units and facilitate the development of new international low emissions product supply chains backed by high integrity certification.
As part of our international commitments, we continue to provide regular briefings to international government representatives on the schemes we run and Australia's carbon market, to support climate reporting and carbon markets internationally.
We also monitor international carbon market developments to better understand the implications for Australia's domestic carbon markets and to support Australia in meeting its international obligations under the Kyoto and Paris agreements.
In conjunction with DCCEEW, our staff participate in the annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) greenhouse gas inventory review process, providing expertise to help ensure national inventory information submitted by parties under the UNFCCC is consistent, transparent and complete.
Collectors and custodians of data
The CER is the custodian of Australia's key emissions, energy and abatement data. We provide regular insights and data that inform government policy, programs and activities and help meet Australia's international reporting obligations. Recent government reforms have enabled us to publish more detailed data about our schemes.
Quality data is essential for the integrity of our schemes and in supporting a vibrant carbon market while underpinning the reputation of the agency as a trusted, relevant and expert institution. We are upgrading our systems to automatically validate key scheme data. These steps will improve scheme integrity and make it easier for scheme participants to gain benefits more quickly.
We have released our data services website where stakeholders and the public can find, access, use and understand our data. We will progressively populate this site over the term of the Corporate Plan and seek feedback from users. The new platform will provide searchable, flexible and dynamic access to the data collected and stored by the CER and allow for faster automated information exchanges with data consumers. This work aligns with the Australian Government's national data strategy and is guided by the provisions within our legislation that govern how we use, share and manage our data safely and securely.
Appetite for data is increasing, and we understand our data can help unlock new business opportunities, understand progress in reducing emissions and evidence environmental claims. We acknowledge high levels of transparency and accountability are crucial if Australia is to be competitive in a decarbonising world.
The CER is committed to transparency for all its schemes. Recent amendments to the legislative rules underpinning the ACCU Scheme supported by the CER mean we can now make more project information available. The 2022 Independent Review of ACCUs recommended changes to enhance transparency. These were supported by the Australian Government and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy amended the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015 (CFI Rule) in December 2024. Amendments to the Rules were developed following public consultation and the updates published. The CER is also making it easier for project proponents to voluntarily release extra information about their projects. This information will be published alongside the project register.
Data is critical to everything we do. We are pursuing opportunities for improving the way we use our data, including 're-use' to reduce regulatory burden, improved integration to enable sophisticated analytics and insights and cataloguing to aid accurate interpretations. Internally, we will continue to foster a data-led culture to encourage all employees to extend their data capabilities. By focussing on data as part of our workforce planning, we hope to attract, grow and retain a skilled workforce that can confidently use data in decision making, to drive operational efficiencies and to detect and predict trends and potential non-compliance. Work is also underway as part of the data strategy to invest in data infrastructure and tools and uplift data governance and practices to ultimately deliver more timely, reliable and repeatable data services to our people, participants and the public.