The Australian Government has implemented more recommendations from the Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU review), alongside its reforms to strengthen the Safeguard Mechanism.
In January 2023, the government gave in principle support to all 16 of the recommendations of the review.
The Safeguard Mechanism reforms that went through Parliament in March 2023 included 3 amendments to the ACCU scheme:
- carbon estimation area information and other information prescribed by the rules must be published (recommendation 4.1)
- the Minister for Climate Change and Energy to be satisfied that a methodology determination (or a varied methodology determination) complies with the offsets integrity standards before the Minister can make or vary the determination (recommendation 5.2.2)
- the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC) Chair will move from part time office to a full-time position (recommendation 2.1).
The amendments will strengthen the integrity of the ACCU Scheme by:
- increasing transparency by requiring additional information to be published
- assuring integrity by clarifying the Minister’s considerations when approving methods and
- bolstering governance arrangements through a full-time Chair for the assurance committee.
Further consultation will be undertaken on implementing the recommendations of the review. This will include consultation on the information and data, beyond carbon estimation areas, that should be published to support better understanding and analysis of the ACCU scheme.
