Amendments have been made to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme legislation. 

These amendments do not affect reports due by 31 October 2024 for the 2023-24 reporting year.  

These amendments: 

  • introduce a staggered phase out of the use of Method 1 for estimating fugitive methane emissions from the extraction of coal from open-cut mines covered by the Safeguard Mechanism from 1 July 2025
  • add a Method 2B for the estimation of fugitive methane and carbon dioxide emissions from flaring of gas in natural gas production, providing a mass balance approach
  • update Method 2 for the estimation of fugitive methane emissions from produced formation water occurring in oil or gas operations, to reflect onsite operations where the water has not been exposed to atmosphere and where facilities capture and recycle methane back into the gathering line rather than allowing it to dissolve into the resource pond and leak into the atmosphere
  • correct the categorisation of specified instances of Method 1 for estimating emissions of methane from natural gas venting activities that are consistent with Method 2 requirements
  • update Method 2 for the estimation of fugitive emissions of greenhouse gases from the injection of a greenhouse gas into a geological formation to align with Method 2 for onshore natural gas production
  • reinstate a method for estimating emissions of methane from mud de‑gassing activities during oil or gas exploration and development
  • enable the market-based reporting of scope 1 emissions from renewable liquid fuels when they are co-mingled with their fossil fuel equivalents and supplied through shared infrastructure
  • enable identification of circumstances in which there exists and overlap between a company’s reported scope 1 and scope 2 emissions
  • introduce a reporting requirement for landfills reporting over 100 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent to provide an estimate of gross emissions from non-legacy waste
  • make other minor updates.

The amendments are the first stage of the Australian Government’s response to the Climate Change Authority’s 2023 review of the NGER legislation. The amendments focus on areas identified in the review for further improvement where immediate action can be taken, specifically in relation to market-based reporting and enhancing the accuracy of reported fugitive methane emissions. The Government’s full response to the review, including on further action to enhance fugitive methane emissions estimation will be published once it is finalised.

Except for those amendments phasing out Method 1 for estimating fugitive methane emissions from the extraction of coal from open-cut mines, the updates commence on 1 July 2024 and apply to the 2024-25 financial year and subsequent years. This will affect NGER scheme reports due by 31 October 2025. Amendments phasing out the use of Method 1 for estimating fugitive methane emissions from open-cut coal mines commence progressively from 1 July 2025. 

Public consultation on these amendments took place from 29 April to 24 May 2024. Further information on these amendments is available at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s 2024 NGER Scheme updates consultation page. This page will be updated with submitted consultation responses where consent has been given.

The full text of these amendments and accompanying explanatory statements are on the Federal Register of Legislation: 

Please contact us if you have any questions.