Independent review of gateway checks June 2026

This is the sixth review conducted by Associate Professor (Honorary) Cris Brack of the human-induced regeneration (HIR) gateway checks. This adds to the series of independent reviews, which began in 2023.

Regeneration checks require proponents to demonstrate at 5-yearly intervals that the regenerating vegetation within their project’s carbon estimation areas (CEAs) are increasing in canopy cover against relevant thresholds.

With this new report, Assoc Prof Brack has now independently reviewed 95 projects. This represents around 32% of reporting projects under the HIR method.

Summary

The report finds that:

• independent audits and our assessment processes provide strong assurance that HIR projects are being managed in line with legislative requirements
• appropriate methods have been used by the proponents or their agents in classifying their carbon estimation area and confirming regeneration canopy cover is meeting threshold levels
• minor areas flagged by ecologists and foresters during expanded audits appear to be within the guidelines for stratification accuracy but are required to be reviewed and potentially removed before the next reporting period
• our reviews continue to use appropriate and varied data sources, including national-scale models, to check whether regeneration thresholds at relevant scales are being met.

We continue to check that regeneration thresholds are being met by using multiple data sources, and we routinely request additional data from proponents to address areas of concern or resolve discrepancies.