2023 freedom of information disclosure log

The request: Final meeting minutes (with each agenda title) of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee from November 2020 to December 2021 concerning development of the carbon capture and storage method.

Documents released: 11 documents released in full with irrelevant information removed. These documents are minutes.

Date of release: 18 December 2023

Ref. number: FOI 231026

The request: Any documents, including emails, between staff at the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) and the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee and the Carbon Market Institute​ which reference external research papers and discussing the crafting of public responses and media releases to be published.​

Documents released: 2 documents released in full and 6 documents released in part. These documents are email correspondence​​​.​

Date of release: 11 December 2023

Ref. number: FOI 231003A

The request: Final internal audit reports for the CER that were completed between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022 and any draft reports for those audits.

Documents released: 8 documents released in part. These documents are audit reports. ​

Date of release: 11 December 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230925

The request: Documents produced by the CER from the 2014 period that show the grounds for approval of the Meadow Glen Native Forest Protection Project (EOP100756) and for the ACCUs issued in 2014–2015.

Documents released: 3 documents released in part and 3 documents exempt in full. These documents are assessment tools and correspondence with project applicants.

Date of release: 4 December 2023

Ref. number: FOI 231004A

The request: Emails involving staff at the Senior Executive Service level or more senior, relating to:

• QoN 98 - SQ21-000367 – created between 30/05/21 and 16/07/21
• QoN 90 - SQ21-000076 – created between 01/04/21 and 10/05/21.

Any briefing material, created in the aforementioned timeframes, which discusses the risks or issues associated with responses to the aforementioned QoNs.

Documents released: 7 documents released in full and 7 documents released in part. These documents are email correspondence relating to the above QoNs.

Date of release: 15 November 2023

Ref. number: FOI 231016

The request: A copy of the Independent Expert review relating to commercial lighting.

Documents released: 2 documents released in full - a consultation report and data extract.

Date of release: 18 October 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230915

The request: Documents providing a decision on the approval of the full or partial suppression of the publication of project details on the following projects:

• Blue-Leafed Mallee Project A (EOP100198)
• Carbon Estate – Creating a Better Climate (EOP100254)
• Carbon Estate – Creating a Better Climate Project – Stage 2 (EOP100985)
• Icon Water Reforestation Project (EOP100252)
• Newmont Australia Reforestation Project (EOP100200)
• Wannon Water Emissions Offset Project (EOP100586)
• Woodside Pluto Carbon Offset Project – Stage 1 (EOP100203)
• Woodside Pluto Carbon Offset Project – Stage 2 (EOP100654)
• Woodside Pluto Carbon Offset Project – Stage 3 (EOP10081).

Exclusions: location of the projects, requests for suppression of project areas, correspondence relating to the appointment of agents for the projects, personal information of third parties and junior officers and publicly available information

Documents released: 8 documents released in full. These documents are final decision notices.

Date of release: 11 September 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230705

The request: A copy of the style guide for the CER.

Documents released: One document released in full. This document is the CER style guide.

Date of release: 31 August 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230817

The request: Emails and audit reports between the Land and Forest Branch of the CER and any auditors from the months of May and June in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, limited to:

• Instances where the findings resulted in a qualified audit opinion regarding the stratification of project areas into carbon estimation areas and exclusion areas under the 2013 human-induced regeneration (HIR) method
• Any direction that the CER provided to auditors on how they ought to deal with the stratification of project areas into CEAs and exclusion areas under the 2013 HIR method when conducting their assessments.

Exclusions: duplicates, personal information of third parties and junior officers, publicly available information and information previously provided to Australian Conservation Foundation under FOI.

Documents released: One document released in part. This document is an audit report.

Date of release: 3 August 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230515

The request:

1. As referenced in estimates briefing SE17/95, any notes/minutes (including handwritten), briefs or reports prepared for or generated by (a) the roundtable held in November or December 2017 and/or (b) the webinar held in January 2018 between auditors and the CER in relation to the HIR method.
2. In FOI 18_2019, document 22.5 relates to which the National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) dataset GHD ought to use to assess baseline forest cover when auditing an NFMR project. Within that context:
   • any records from June 2016 onwards regarding any monitoring or compliance action that the CER undertook to verify whether that particular project was eligible for the ACCUs it had been credited with when assessed against more recent NCAS datasets
   • any further correspondence between GHD and the CER following the email dated 15 June 2016 at 9:14 am, where it was asked: ‘... Are you able to provide any information if there was much difference between the layers? Such as the calculated amounts?’.

Documents released: 2 documents released in full with irrelevant information removed. These documents are an email and roundtable information pack.

Date of release: 18 July 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230327

The request: All documents [dated from 24 February 2020 to 17 May 2023] – including, but not limited to, meeting notes and agendas, recordings, memoranda, briefing notes, emails, texts and signal messages, handwritten notes, and any other correspondence – discussing fraud in coal quality testing and/or referring to laboratory testing companies ALS and/or SGS.

Documents released: 6 documents released in full with irrelevant information removed. These documents are emails and attachments.

Date of release: 16 June 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230517A

The request: Briefs/reports (including drafts), emails, letters and meeting notes/minutes from 1 September to 1 December 2022 written by, or sent/provided to, senior executives of the CER relating to how the Australian Academy of Science or the panellists conducting the Independent Review of ACCUs would address the HIR method (including references to the suitability of using the FullCAM model to estimate carbon on sites with existing woody biomass/vegetation/forest cover) during their respective reviews and in the resulting reports published October 2022 and December 2022, respectively.

Documents released: One document released in full and one document released in part. These documents are internal analysis documents.

Date of release: 14 June 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230307B

The request: Briefs/reports (including drafts) and correspondence from 1 September to 1 December 2022 to/between senior executives of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water; senior executives of the CER; panellists of the Independent Review of ACCUs; the Australian Academy of Science; and/or Minister Chris Bowen (as well as his staff):

• containing commentary, analysis or opinions about the submissions of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and/or the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to the Independent Review of ACCUs
• containing commentary, analysis or opinions about the draft or final report/findings of the Academy’s review into 4 methods for generating ACCUs.

Documents released: One document released in full and 3 documents released in part. These documents are emails.

Date of release: 8 May 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230307A

The request:

1. records of communication/correspondence* from 1 September to 1 November 2022 inclusive relating to the 2 instances of contact between employees of the CER and submitters to the Independent Review of ACCUs as referred to ... at the estimates hearing of 28 November 2022
2. all records of communication/correspondence* from 20 to 30 November 2022 inclusive between any of the following in relation to the article published in the Guardian on 22 November 2022 titled 'Flaws in Australia's carbon credit schemes from the Australian Academy of Science (the Academy) to the panellists of the Independent Review of ACCUs:
   • senior executives of the CER
   • the Academy
   • panellists of the Independent Review of ACCUs.

* including, but not limited to, emails, letters, phone calls, text messages, meeting notes/minutes, diary records and messages/documents exchanged via electronic communication platforms.

Documents released: One document released in full with irrelevant information removed and 4 documents released in part. All documents are emails.

Date of release: 21 April 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230220

The request: Information relating to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) … requests access to a list of gas consumer facilities and their gas consumption within the Tamworth Regional Council area registered under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007. To clarify [the] request:

1. 'gas' refers to:
   • ‘natural gas distributed in the pipeline’ (item 17 in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of NGER (Measurement) Determination)
   • gaseous fossil fuels other than those mentioned in items 17 to 26 (item 27 in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of NGER (Measurement) Determination)
   • in the latest list published that can be extracted from regulators and exiting locational data including address, postcode and geocoordinates within the Tamworth Regional Council area.
2. [the] request is limited to facilities the locations for which can be identified by reference to data held in the CER database (including postcode, street address and/or geocoordinates).

Documents released: One document released in part. This document is a spreadsheet database extract.

Date of release: 20 April 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230201

The request: A copy of the CER finalised estimates briefing pack, including an index of back pocket briefs, for the 2023 February Supplementary Budget Estimates.

Documents released: One document released in full. This document is a supplementary budget estimates brief.

Date of release: 15 March 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230213

The request:

1. All draft reports prepared by Professor Rod Fensham for the CER on the impacts of grazing on tree and shrub cover in the rangelands in relation to the Emissions Reduction Fund's human-induced regeneration method.
2. All correspondence between the CER and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water or the Minister for Climate Change and Energy on the proposed makeup of the expert committee established to advise on the establishment of the nature repair market.

Excluding:

• duplicates of any document captured within the scope of the request
• the mobile numbers or full email addresses of government officials, nor the names and contact details of government officials not in the Senior Executive Service or equivalent. I do ask that junior official’s position or titles be left unredacted, along with email domains that provide useful information as to the origin and destination of communication e.g. [redacted]@industry.gov.au.

Documents released: 2 documents released in full. These documents are draft reports.

Date of release: 10 March 2023

Ref. number: FOI 230113

The request: Created between 1 July 2020 and 5 July 2022:

• records of meetings (including calendar invites, agendas, meeting minutes, handwritten notes, Whatsapp messages) between the CER and BHP, GRACosway or GRA Partners about an Emissions Reduction Fund/Climate Solutions Fund methodology for carbon capture, use and storage
• emails between the CER and BHP, GRACosway or GRA Partners that discuss carbon capture, use and storage, the Emissions Reduction Fund/Climate Solutions Fund and mineral carbonation.

Created between 1 July 2020 and 27 June 2022:

• briefs created by the CER for Minister Taylor’s office that include more than one paragraph discussing an Emissions Reduction Fund/Climate Solutions Fund methodology for carbon capture, use and storage.

Excluding:
 

• cabinet material and any publicly available documents
• staff contact details, staff names below Senior Executive Service/Ministerial Chief of Staff, third party personal information
• duplicate documents so long as it remains clear where duplicates were attached to correspondence and earlier emails in any complete email chain.

Documents released: 19 documents released in full with irrelevant information removed and one document exempt in full. These documents are emails, notes, a submission, a publication and a slideshow.

Date of release: 12 January 2023

Ref. number: FOI 47_2022

The request: Information relating to the submission of the 2020–21 NGER report for the Maules Creek facility:

• any report submitted under sections 19, 22G, 22X or 22XB of the NGER Act
• any annual basis of preparation document
• any information submitted to the CER by Whitehaven relating to the use of Method 2 to estimate fugitive emissions
• any correspondence between the CER and Whitehaven regarding the use of Method 2 to estimate fugitive emissions in the period from 1 January 2020 to 31 June 2022.

Documents released: 4 documents released in part. These documents are reports.

Date of release: 11 January 2023

Ref. number: Internal review FOI 46_2022