The CER is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity and statutory agency established under the Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011 (CER Act).
Our Regulator Board (Regulator) is a decision-making body which sets the direction for the agency’s work. It consists of a full-time Chair and 4 part-time Members. 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.
Scheme overview
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 DCCEEW to improve transparency around project and crediting activities and to support the development of new methods, as recommended by Independent ACCU reviews.
The Safeguard Mechanism together with the reporting obligations under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (NGER Act), ensures facilities which emit more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) annually, keep their net emissions below a baseline. Safeguard facilities operate across the mining, manufacturing, transport, oil, gas, non-grid connected electricity generation 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, will continue to be 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 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 the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000, encourages the additional generation of electricity from renewable sources, reduces emissions of greenhouse gases in the electricity sector and ensures 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 commenced the establishment of a new unit register with modern capabilities that can support the needs of an evolving and more sophisticated carbon market. Safeguard Management Credits were the first units issued in the new registry and its expansion to other units will continue through 2025-26.
New initiatives
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, established under the Nature Repair Act 2023
The GO Scheme, established under the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Act 2024, is a voluntary certificate scheme designed to certify renewable electricity and track and verify the emissions of low-emissions products such as hydrogen. It will underpin the development of green markets domestically and internationally. It will also provide for an enduring certification of renewable electricity. The CER will administer the GO Scheme expected to launch in the second half of 2025. 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.
Our new Unit and Certificate Registry provides a modern, secure, single place to hold and transfer multiple unit and certificate types. In late 2024 we undertook initial publication consultation to help prioritise additional functions and features for the new registry and connections with external digital trading platforms, with our response to the consultation and next steps published in May 2025. In the early period covered by this Corporate Plan we will be focusing on further assessing, then implementing, connectivity with external platforms. We will also transfer ACCUs from the existing system into the new registry, as this is a critical foundation for further interoperability.
Inclusive participation and First Nations engagement
The CER is committed to enhancing engagement, education and support for First Nations participants and prospective participants in our schemes. This includes facilitating access to economic opportunities through initiatives such as the ACCU Scheme, which recognises traditional indigenous fire management practices as a method for reducing emissions. Additionally, the Nature Repair Market will incorporate indigenous biodiversity knowledge, guided by knowledge owners, to improve environmental outcomes.
In future years, the CER expects to deepen this commitment by exploring opportunities to embed First Nations engagement across its operations and supporting the Australian Government’s First Nations Clean Energy Strategy through collaborative, culturally respectful and economically empowering initiatives.
How we deliver on our purpose
The CER’s strategies for delivering these outcomes and achieving its purpose are outlined below:
- 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.
Digital transformation and infrastructure innovation
Our internal Transformation Office 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 IT 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 Registry 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 the agency is responsible for administering, the CER is looking to leverage its market, registry and data services support to other government agencies.
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.