Chapter 2Key provisions of the bills
2.1This chapter outlines the key provisions of the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024 (the bill); Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024 (Charges bill); and Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024 (Amendment bill) (collectively the bills).
2.2Inquiry participants’ views on the bills, and broader perspectives on the proposed scheme, are discussed in the following chapter.
2.3This chapter outlines key provisions of the bill, including:
information relating to the registration for the overall Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme;
the main elements of the two certificate streams;
a summary of Product Guarantee of Origin (PGO) profiles;
proposed detail which would be included in legislative rules; and
various other measures.
2.4A brief summary of the provisions of the two other bills is included at the end of this chapter.
Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024
2.5The bill seeks to establish a new legislative framework for the GO scheme, a proposed product-based accounting system with certificate streams for hydrogen products and renewable electricity. If passed, the GO scheme will be launched in 2025.
Key definitions
2.6Key definitions, such as those relating to the profiles registered under the GO scheme, are discussed in relevant sections throughout this chapter.
Registration for the GO scheme
2.7The Clean Energy Regulator (CER, or the Regulator) would be responsible for the Guarantee of Origin Register (GO Register) for Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificates and PGO certificates.
2.8A registered person would be able to apply to the Regulator for the issuing of certificates which verify various attributes of products (initially hydrogen) or renewable electricity. The GO Register would be used to register the two streams of certificates, and also trade REGO certificates (but not PGO certificates). The registered person would apply to the CER for a particular profile for the PGO certificate stream, discussed below.
2.9The GO Register would be electronic and accessible online, and include information such as the name of each registered person, each registered profile, each registered PGO certificate, the name of each registered renewable electricity facility and each registered REGO certificate.
2.10Information that would be included on the register is included in the bill’s provisions, and would be provided in rules.
2.11The bill provides that the Regulator must decide to either register or refuse to register the person who is registering the facility. In doing so, the Regulator must have regard to the matters prescribed by the associated rules, and may have regard to any other matter the Regulator deems relevant. The Regulator must be satisfied that the person is a fit and proper person, if registration is approved.
2.12Various provisions of the bill set out the proposed process for the suspension, cancellation and surrender of registration of both streams of certificates. Applications would be able to be withdrawn at any time before the decision is made by the Regulator.
2.13A registered person would be able to apply to the Regulator for specific information to be withheld from the publicly-available register, for example, information which may prejudice national security or harm public safety, contains commercially sensitive information, or other matters included in the rules.
Certificate streams under the GO scheme
2.14As noted above, the bill seeks to establish a scheme for the creation of two streams of certificates: PGO certificates, which would initially apply to hydrogen; and REGO certificates, which would apply to renewable electricity generation.
2.15Both streams of certificates would contain information about the attributes of the renewable electricity or product to which they are assigned.
2.16The bill sets out how certificates would be created and maintained, and that the certificates would contain information regarding production, delivery, consumption and associated emissions.
2.17The bill would provide for the CER to administer the GO scheme, including registering participants and facilities, issuing certificates, maintaining the GO Register of certificates and undertaking compliance and enforcement.
2.18A periodic formal review of the GO scheme would be undertaken to consider its effectiveness in meeting the objects of the Act, functionality and efficiency of the GO scheme and relevant international context, at a minimum. The first review would be undertaken within three years after commencement, with the second review undertaken no later than three years after the first review is completed, and subsequent reviews undertaken within five years after the second review.
Key differences between certificate streams
2.19The Explanatory Memorandum (EM) for the bill outlines that the REGO certificates would:
certify the electricity used to create REGO certificates as verifiably renewable;
be traded independently from the physical delivery of electricity;
be used to claim the benefits of renewable electricity use; and
provide information about generation and delivery of electricity, including facility age, fuel source, time of generation, location of facility etc.
2.20PGO certificates, on the other hand, would:
record and verify the carbon intensity and other attributes of products across each step of a product’s lifecycle;
capture information on emissions associated with the supply of raw materials, production, storage and transport to the point of consumption or international departure;
use a chain of custody approach to track the physical flow of products through the supply chain; and
enable robust claims regarding the production and consumption of products.
2.21While both REGO and PGO certificates would be added to the GO Register, only REGO certificates would be able to be traded and retired through the GO Register. The ability to trade REGO certificates was described as a ‘key distinction’ between the two streams:
Renewable electricity certificates decouple claimable attributes of the electricity from its physical delivery, reflecting the reality that electrons cannot be tracked, and most generated electricity is pooled in a network before reaching users. PGOs, on the other hand, would not be tradeable, but track the embodied emissions of a product to the point of its delivery to a consumer.
2.22In its 2022 policy paper on the scheme, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) explained that there are anticipated interactions between products under the proposed GO scheme:
For example, renewable electricity will be used in the production of hydrogen via electrolysis, while hydrogen will be used in the production of ammonia. By issuing certificates for each product, the GO scheme will enable emissions to be tracked using a consistent emissions accounting framework across the supply chain.
PGO certificates
2.23PGO certificates would initially apply to hydrogen and hydrogen energy carriers, and track the physical flow of the product. One PGO certificate would be able to be created for each whole functional unit of the product in a batch. The bill’s EM provides the example that a 500 kilogram batch of hydrogen may lead to 500 certificates, if the functional unit for hydrogen were determined to be kilograms.
2.24PGO certificates would have a unique identification code and other identifying information. They would also contain information relating to the production profile (set out below) and information specific to the batch. They might include a list of inputs such as fuels, chemicals and renewable energy relevant to the production process, and any appropriate emissions factors. Batch specific information would include metered amounts of these inputs, and together, the information would determine the attributes of the batch to be included on certificates.
2.25The bill provides that when a product is produced using a batch of another certified product or renewable electricity certified through REGO certificates or Large-Scale Generation Certificates (LGCs), the attributes of those products can be claimed as an input to the new batch of product. For example, this would show that hydrogen was made with renewable electricity, or steel was made with low-emissions intensity hydrogen.
2.26Related certificates are unlikely to have a ‘one to one’ relationship with the new product. For example, more than one hydrogen PGO or REGO certificate would be required when creating a PGO certificate for ammonia. Certificates would only be able to be claimed as an input into new production once, to ensure there is no double counting of claims.
2.27Under the bill, the CER would undertake an annual reconciliation check (ARC) to confirm the ongoing compliance of registered persons and information regarding PGO certificates from the previous 12 months. The ARC may result in the correction of a registered PGO certificate.
Creation, registration and addition of information
2.28PGO certificates would be registered by the holder of a production profile who requested the creation of the certificates. The request to register certificates must be made within one year of the batch leaving the production gate. Other requirements may be prescribed by rules.
2.29If the delivery profile holder has not included post-production information on the certificate, the production profile holder must explain why. Circumstances which see this occur may include where hydrogen is consumed immediately to produce ammonia at a connected facility, as the product has not undergone a delivery stage.
2.30The Regulator must decide whether to register or not register the certificates. The Regulator may refuse to register PGO certificates if it is not satisfied that the emissions have been calculated correctly, and if it is not reasonable that the amount of product could have passed between the production and delivery gates.
2.31Products may be blended with another product during transport or storage, and this other product may itself be certified under the GO scheme, and may be produced using a different production pathway. The bill’s EM provides the example that ‘a batch of hydrogen made using electrolysis may be blended with a batch [of] hydrogen produced using steam methane reformation in a storage tank. While the production pathways differ, the product is the same’.
2.32Consumption information may be added to the PGO certificate by either the holder of the production or consumption profiles. The consumption profile holder must have been authorised by the profile holder who created the certificate. This authorisation is intended to facilitate a more streamlined reporting system for the participants in the supply chain of a product.
2.33Consumption information to be added to PGO certificates would include details relating to the profile, the location of the consumption facility, the nature of the consumption (for example, if the product is consumed as input to another product), and any other information to be prescribed by rules.
2.34PGO certificates for ‘lost’ product would not be registered under the scheme. This refers to a product like hydrogen of which some may escape in transport or storage.
2.35Post-production information such as transportation or storage of the product may be added to a PGO certificate by the holder of the delivery profile, when authorised by the holder of the production profile. This would allow the person engaging with post-production to be able to report information directly. Information relating to profiles is discussed below.
2.36The bill also provides for the Regulator to invalidate incorrect certificates.
PGO profiles
2.37The registration of profiles for the PGO certificate stream based on a person’s role in the product’s lifecycle is intended to streamline the reporting process for information across a product’s supply chain from production to consumption. The bill EM notes that this is important as the GO scheme ‘will cover diverse, modular, supply chains, in contrast to the National Greenhouse Emissions and Energy Reporting scheme which pertains to specific facilities’.
2.38The three types of profiles relevant to the PGO certificate stream are: production, delivery, and consumption.
2.39The roles of registered persons participating in the scheme will be better defined and controlled by using the profile approach. Charges imposed on persons will be determined by the type of profile. The Regulator will be able to direct compliance action, or apply conditions, on profiles rather than on persons where this is appropriate.
2.40Profiles could be corrected, surrendered or transferred. The Regulator would have the power to suspend or cancel registration.
Production profile
2.41A production profile would include core information about a facility in accordance with a production pathway, and would provide detailed information about production. Certificates can then be created in high volumes aligned with production batches, with details of each batch added.
2.42When considering an application for a production profile, the Regulator must decide to register or not register the profile, and must be satisfied that the facility produces a product in accordance with a production pathway, and associated production modules, defined in a methodology determination.
2.43The Regulator would also be able to impose a condition on the registration, intended to be applied to require additional reporting of information. Examples include a broken meter resulting in unreliable production data, which would lead to a condition specifying that an alternative metering approach and reporting requirements are needed.
Delivery profile
2.44A delivery profile would capture post-production information including the type of transport and storage, and post-production emissions sources, which occur between the production and delivery gates.
2.45Definitions relating to the production and delivery gate are provided in the bill. In essence, the production gate is the location at which the production module has been completed and the product is ready to be delivered. The delivery gate may include locations such as: where the product is placed on a ship or other transport type for export; where the product enters a pipeline; and where a product is delivered to a consumer in Australia.
2.46Examples of a delivery gate for hydrogen are provided in the EM as:
where a product would be exported from Australia, the delivery gate may be the port where the product is placed on a ship;
the point of injection into a natural gas network to which a consumer’s facility is connected or the point where it enters other infrastructure that conveys the product to a consumer; and
the feedstock receiving tank at an ammonia production facility.
2.47The bill EM clarifies that delivery profiles are likely to be registered by the producer of the product rather than the company transporting it. That is, the trucking company contracted to transport the product would generally not register for a delivery profile—the profile would be registered by the producer on the trucking company’s behalf. This is due to the producer’s ability to gather and report information relating to the product more easily than the transport company.
2.48Delivery profiles might include information relating to the method of transport of a product, such as the type of fuel the model of truck is using, rather than the batch-specific information that would be used to create certificates. It may also relate to how much fuel was used, or the distance travelled, for the batch.
2.49Application requirements will be set in rules, and further information can be requested by the Regulator. In granting a delivery profile, the Regulator must ‘be satisfied that a batch of product could reasonably pass to the delivery gate specified in the profile from a production gate’.
Consumption profile
2.50A consumption profile would be granted to a registered person, and would record information about the facility where the product was consumed. The registered person may register a consumption profile for products their facility will consume, or on behalf of a non-registered consumer. The bill’s EM sets out that ‘the person listed as the consumer of the product may make claims regarding the consumption of a product to which a PGO certificate relates’.
2.51This profile would identify whether the facility is connected to a pipeline or other shared infrastructure to receive the product. In these cases the profile would indicate the delivery gate for the shared infrastructure. The bill’s EM provides the following example:
…if a facility consumes gas from a gas pipeline shared with other consumers, the registered person, when applying to register a profile, would identify their connection to the network, as well as where the certified gas product was injected into that network.
2.52As with the other profiles, the Regulator would have a broad discretionary power to require additional information.
REGO certificates
2.53Renewable energy power stations currently accredited under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (REE Act) are eligible to be registered under the REGO stream. The REGO certificate stream would differ from the RET in its treatment of small-scale renewable electricity (SRES). These small-scale assets could be included as part of aggregated systems (discussed below).
2.54The REGO stream would provide certain mandatory information to be included on all certificates, as well as any optional information required by the rules. The inclusion of more detailed information (called ‘attributes’) is ‘intended to meet evolving market interest by including more detailed information in respect of the electricity the certificate represents’. The ability to include detailed information would allow registered persons to meet the requirements of third party verification schemes for international markets.
2.55A variety of renewable energy sources would be eligible for REGO certification, including:
hydro;
wave;
tide;
ocean;
wind;
solar;
geothermal-aquifer;
hot dry rock;
energy crops other than biomass from a native forest;
wood waste;
agricultural waste;
waste from processing of agricultural products;
food waste;
food processing waste;
bagasse;
black liquor;
biomass-based components of municipal solid waste;
landfill gas;
sewage gas and biomass-based components of sewage; and
any other energy source prescribed by the rules.
2.56Energy sources such as fossil fuels, materials or waste products derived from fossil fuels, and biomass from a native forest would not be eligible.
2.57An electricity generation system that is not accredited under the REE Act must generate from at least one eligible renewable energy source, and meet the requirements of the measurement standard (discussed below).
Registration of REGO certificates
2.58REGO certificates would be registered by the Regulator, if the Regulator is satisfied that they meet the requirements included in the bill or proposed rules, as well as any other matters they deem relevant to the decision.
2.59At registration, the Regulator may impose conditions on the registration, which must be of a kind prescribed by the rules, and may include additional requirements for registered persons.
2.60The Regulator may suspend or cancel registration of persons, systems or certificates on certain grounds set out in the bill, such as a facility adding or removing a component which would have caused a different registration decision if it had been included in the application. The eligible registered person must be notified of this, and may also surrender their registration to withdraw from the scheme.
Facilities
2.61A renewable electricity facility, including an electricity generation system, energy storage system, or aggregated system, may be registered and receive REGO certificates.
Aggregated systems (including small-scale renewable energy systems)
2.62The bill’s EM sets out that it is anticipated that rules will prescribe requirements for an electricity generation system and its components, ‘including that all the interconnected/integrated or interrelated components of an electricity generation system that are integral to the operation of the system and generation of electricity constitute an electricity generation system’. This would include any component that operates to transform an eligible energy source into electricity and any infrastructure of the system including buildings, fuel storage areas, handling devices and ICT.
2.63An aggregated system would consist of multiple electricity generation systems as two or more generation systems, two or more energy storage systems, or at least one electricity generation system and at least one energy storage system. This approach is intended to allow the collective registration of small-scale systems under one registration, and associated rules would prescribe requirements. The rules would prescribe the requirements for registration of aggregated systems and that they must be made before aggregated systems can be registered.
2.64Small-scale systems including rooftop solar and household batteries would be able to participate in the scheme ‘using emerging market participation models, such as virtual power plants and other innovative small-scale aggregation approaches’. Large-scale aggregated systems could be facilitated by the scheme in future, subject to rules.
2.65The Regulator must not register a facility before 1January2031 if it contains a small generation unit (SGU) for which a RET certificate has been created under the REE Act, as SGUs are allocated certificates based on their deemed generation over the lifespan of the unit. While some deeming periods will have expired, most will be within their deeming period, until 1 January 2031. As with other facilities, the Regulator would be able to impose conditions on the registration of an aggregated system.
2.66A capacity limit on aggregated systems is provided for in the bill, with the intention to provide an upper limit for components:
For example, if the capacity limit of an energy storage system for the purposes of being a component of an aggregated system is 15 kWh, only energy storage systems of that capacity or less may be a component of an aggregated system.
Energy storage systems
2.67Energy storage systems may also be registered, provided they meet the requirements of any prescribed rules. The rules would set out guidelines as to what components make up an energy storage system, and the Regulator would be able to impose conditions.
2.68Energy storage systems may use LGCs, REGO certificates, and directly-supplied electricity as inputs to determine how many certificates they may create in respect of electricity dispatched.
Determination of baseline, and ‘below-baseline’ generation
2.69The bill would allow the creation of REGO certificates for renewable electricity generation from facilities which generated electricity before 1 January 1997 (below-baseline generation).
2.70The bill provides for the Regulator to determine a legacy baseline for these facilities where they were not accredited power stations under the REE Act. These are typically hydroelectricity facilities located in Tasmania and the Snowy Mountains region of NSW.
2.71Facilities with ‘legacy baselines’ would have different requirements which would apply to the creation of REGO certificates while the RET is in operation (until 1 January 2031). The bill’s EM provides the following example:
…certificates produced by this type of renewable electricity facility under its legacy baseline would be identified as ‘below baseline’. Rules made under this bill may also restrict the retirement of some of these certificates in some circumstances.
2.72The EM states that:
…if the Regulator would have determined a 1997 eligible renewable power baseline for the facility (as a power station) under the REE Act (had an application been made), then the same baseline would be determined for that facility under this bill. This maintains fair treatment across facilities, ensuring that below-baseline generation is identified. To determine the legacy baseline under this bill, the Regulator would follow the process set out in the REE Regulations.
2.73Below-baseline certificates would be created if a facility has a legacy baseline, are created prior to the sunset of the RET, and would represent the amount of electricity that is generated during the calendar year before the baseline is exceeded. REGO certificates would be required to state whether they are below-baseline certificates.
2.74After 1 January 2031 (when the RET has ceased and transitioned fully to the GO scheme), certificates will not need to specify that they are below-baseline certificates.
2.75Under the RET, LGCs may be retired, which ensures that no other business can make a claim on that same unit of renewable electricity generation. Regarding the retirement of below-baseline certificates under the proposed GO scheme while it operates alongside the RET, the Regulator must not retire a below-baseline certificate if the time period or calendar month ends before 1January2031, and the rules prescribe conditions relating to the retirement which are not met. The Regulator may retire a below-baseline certificate if the rules do not prescribe conditions which may apply, or if the time period or calendar month ends after 1 January 2031.
2.76Rules which relate to the retirement of below-baseline certificates may be made, in which case holding a non-zero baseline ‘will be material for many participants’. The EM states that it is critical that this is not able to be bypassed, and as such, the Regulator must be empowered to determine baselines to capture the facilities that would otherwise have had a baseline but did not become accredited power stations. Identification of below-baseline generation is only intended to apply to facilities until 31 December 2030 (the end date for certificate creation under the REE Act).
2.77Industry submitters noted that the Australian Government has indicated that the surrender of below-baseline certificates will be limited to Emission Intensive Trade Exposed (EITE) entities utilising PGO certificate stream products (initially hydrogen).
2.78Inquiry participants’ views on below-baseline generation are discussed in the following chapter.
Legislative rules
2.79As noted throughout this chapter, a number of provisions in the bill allow for the minister to make legislative rules and regulations prescribing certain matters.
2.80The bill’s EM states that consultation would be undertaken in the development of these rules. Key legislative instruments are set out below.
2.81Inquiry participants’ views on the legislative rules are discussed in the following chapter.
Methodology determination
2.82Under the bill, the minister must make a methodology determination by legislative instrument, which would determine one or more production pathways for a product included in the GO scheme. Definitions related to this determination, such as ‘production pathway’, ‘production module’, ‘delivery profile’, and ‘production emissions’ are provided in the bill.
2.83A methodology determination would specify requirements, including providing formulas for: metering, measuring, and calculating inputs, outputs, and losses relevant to producing a batch of product.
2.84These measurements would also be specified for the post-production processes regarding batches of product. The minister must have regard to the objects of the bill when making the methodology determination.
2.85Methodology determinations would also set out the emissions sources for each production module and the way that these emissions should be measured and reported. This would apply to post-production, including any transport and storage steps to get the product to the consumer after production.
2.86The bill’s EM explains that defining concepts such as ‘production pathway’ will add clarity, as often the same product can be made in a variety of ways:
For example, hydrogen can be produced via electrolysis, through gas reformation, or coal gasification, among other methods. A production pathway is a way of characterising one of these routes and outlining the minimum modules (or process steps) which would make up one of these.
2.87The bill’s provisions anticipate that different production pathways for the same product will result in different levels of lifecycle emissions. By specifying distinct production pathways, it will be possible to differentiate between products ‘that may be chemically identical but are produced in different ways’, and ensure consistency in emissions accounting approaches.
2.88The methodology determination will specify the functional unit for the product, as well as the minimum modules, optional modules and conditional modules (if any) for each production pathway.
2.89A delivery module may also be included in the methodology determination, and would include the process steps to store and/or transport a product. For example, one delivery module may include the method relating to transporting hydrogen by diesel truck, while another may relate to storing hydrogen in a tank.
Measurement standard
2.90Another key legislative instrument is the measurement standard. The bill would provide for the minister to put in place requirements that would apply to facilities regarding measuring and metering of electricity.
2.91A measurement standard would specify requirements related to:
measuring electricity generated, stored, consumed, lost or dispatched from a facility or a component of a facility;
measuring an energy source for the facility or a component of the facility; and
measuring an input (other than a source of energy) into the facility or a component of the facility.
2.92As stated in the EM, the measurement standard may prescribe a variety of information, including: type, class and accuracy standards for meters and transducers, guidance on configuration, the application of direct supply arrangements for storage technologies, and other elements.
Audits
2.93The bill provides for the Regulator to require audits to be carried out regarding compliance with the GO scheme. The bill provides for three types of audit to be carried out: scheduled, compliance, and other audits.
2.94Scheduled audits would be carried out at set times and events during participation in the GO scheme, while compliance audits would be carried out in response to suspected non-compliance. Scheduled audits may be required when registering a production profile, or in relation to an annual reconciliation check (ARC).
2.95Compliance audits would be limited to a range of specific circumstances. They would
…only be required if the Regulator has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person has contravened, is contravening, or is proposing to contravene provisions in the bill, or sections of the [Criminal Code Act 1995] that relate to fraud and the provision of false and misleading information, in so far as those sections relate to the bill.
2.96Other audits would be similar to compliance audits, with the key difference that compliance audits would be paid for by the person being audited, while an ‘other audit’ would be arranged and paid for by the Regulator. ‘Other audits’ would not require the Regulator’s suspicion that a person has contravened the bill’s provisions.
2.97Detailed information on the proposed operation of the audit system may be found in the EM.
Compliance and enforcement
2.98The bill would provide the Regulator with information-gathering powers for the purpose of assessing compliance with the scheme and undertaking specific investigations into suspected breaches.
2.99The Regulator already has certain powers as an authorised officer under the Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2014 (Regulatory Powers Act). These would be added to by the bill by allowing the Regulator to compel the production of documents, information or things.
2.100The powers conferred by the GO scheme would differ from those under the Regulatory Powers Act in that ‘certain provisions…would abrogate an individual’s privilege against self-incrimination’. This would enable the Regulator to undertake investigations, including where a certificate has been transferred.
2.101The standard provisions of the Regulatory Powers Act would be triggered by the bill’s provisions. The Regulatory Powers Act creates a framework that allows the civil penalty provisions of the bill to be enforced by obtaining an order for a person to pay a pecuniary penalty.
2.102Enforceable undertakings would be able to be sought, agreed to and enforced.
Miscellaneous matters
2.103The bill provides for a number of miscellaneous matters, including record-keeping requirements, enabling the Regulator to re-use information, the mechanism for review of certain decisions, and the framework for delegations by the minister and chair of the Regulator.
2.104A number of decisions made under the bill would be reviewable. Detailed information on this aspect of the bill can be found in the bill’s EM.
Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024
2.105The GO scheme is to be fully cost recovered with fees and levies included from the scheme’s commencement. The Charges bill comprises three parts and would impose these charges on different profiles and registered facilities under the GO scheme for a financial year. The following profiles and registered facilities would pay charges:
Production profiles
Delivery profiles
Consumption profiles
Accredited power stations
Renewable electricity generation facilities, other than accredited power stations
Renewable energy storage facilities
Aggregated systems.
2.106The amounts to be charged, and the methods of calculating the amounts, would be prescribed in regulations, as would information relating to how and when payments are to be made.
2.107The Charges bill’s EM sets out that the imposition of charges would be complementary to the collection of cost recovery fees payable for services that the Regulator provides directly for the benefit of a single scheme participant. The Charges bill EM stated that the bill would provide for fees to be payable for activities that would be prescribed in rules, such as making applications.
2.108According the Charges bill EM, full cost recovery is required to allow the appropriate resourcing of the CER as it administers the scheme.
2.109Further, the Charges bill provides that:
Exemptions, waivers, refunds and remissions may be provided by the Regulator in circumstances that would be prescribed in rules made under the GO Bill. The intention is that exemptions, waivers, refunds and remissions may be provided by the Regulator on a consistent basis with respect to cost recovery fees payable under the GO Bill and cost recovery charges payable under the GO Charges Bill.
2.110The Charge’s bill’s EM states that the charges imposed by the Charges bill may amount to taxation, as they have some characteristics of a tax in that they are levied by the Commonwealth for public purposes, and are compulsory for registration. They are also enforceable by the provisions of the bill.
2.111Charges would be imposed on a financial year basis, with the intention of resembling an annual registration fee for each profile. The charge is not intended to represent the cost of providing any particular service for the financial year.
2.112Different charges would be imposed on different types of profiles and facilities, as they would require different levels of regulation.
Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024
2.113The Amendment bill would make amendments to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act2007 (NGER Act), the Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011 (CER Act), and the REE Act, to align those Acts with the GO bill.
2.114The Amendment bill would:
introduce the concept of the GO audit to the NGER Act to extend its audit framework to GO audits;
include the proposed Act in the definition of climate change law within the CER Act in order to give the Regulator the functions proposed in the bill; and
align liability rules for energy storage systems across the proposed Act and REE Act.
2.115The minister would have the ability to make rules to give effect to transitional provisions.
2.116Views on the provisions of this, and the other two bills in the package, are discussed in the next chapter.