Operating landscape
The Clean Energy Regulator operates in a dynamic
environment. Climate change policy and regulation
attract national and international attention and the
scientific evidence and policy responses continue to
be debated around the world. Against this backdrop,
the Clean Energy Regulator can expect to be the
subject of occasional media commentary and
general public scrutiny. The success of the Clean
Energy Regulator will be of interest to a wide range
of stakeholders. This combined with fiscal pressure
and constrained government budgets means that
the Clean Energy Regulator will have to be highly
effective and focused in its operations to make best
use of limited resources.
In the 2015–16, the carbon price will transition
from a fixed price to a fully flexible internationally
linked emissions trading scheme. In addition, the
scheduled independent reviews of both the carbon
pricing legislation and of the Renewable Energy
Target will be key influences on the future operating
environment.
Relationships between the Clean Energy Regulator and the Government
The Clean Energy Regulator is an independent
statutory decision maker but is nevertheless
accountable to the Government and to the Parliament
for its use of resources in the performance of its
functions, and the way in which it performs those
functions.
The Clean Energy Regulator will report regularly
to enable the Government to assess the agency's
performance against agreed performance indicators.
This includes providing to the Minister annual reports
for tabling in the Parliament under Section 40 of the
Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011 and under Section
105 of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000.
The Clean Energy Regulator's annual report will
be prepared in accordance with the Requirements
for Annual Reports for Departments, Executive
Agencies and FMA Act Bodies approved by the Joint
Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.
Consistent with Section 39 of the Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011, at least once each three
year period, the Clean Energy Regulator will also
submit a corporate plan to the Minister. The Chief
Executive Officer will report against the corporate
plan and inform the Minister of any changes to the
plan or significant matters that may impact on the
achievement of the objectives contained therein.
The effective performance of the Clean Energy
Regulator will be underpinned by the establishment
of collaborative relationships across government.
The Clean Energy Regulator works closely with
the Department, which is the principal advisor to
the Government on climate change policy. This is
done through a formal executive-level co ordination
committee as well as frequent meetings and
information exchange at all levels on current and
emerging issues.
In particular, the Clean Energy Regulator will provide
advice and input into any further policy development
relevant to the legislation which it administers. The
Clean Energy Regulator also relies on the Department
for the provision of certain corporate services through
a shared services agreement. The Clean Energy
Regulator will contribute to the development of formal
government submissions relating to its activities and
resources, which will be coordinated and submitted
by the Department. Advice and support will also be
provided to the Minister and Parliamentary Secretary,
to assist the administration of both clean energy
policy and programs.
Partnerships within the Commonwealth
The Clean Energy Regulator works in close
partnership with other agencies that have
regulatory responsibilities under climate law and
other legislation. This includes sharing of relevant
information, intelligence gathering, and referring
matters for law enforcement. Some of the other
agencies that the Clean Energy Regulator engages
with include:
- ASIC
- The Australian Securities and Investment Commission
regulates emissions units as financial products under
the Corporations Act 2001 and Australian Securities
and Investments Commission Act 2001.
- ACCC
- The Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission addresses misrepresentations about the
impact of carbon price on the price of goods
and services.
- ATO
- The Australian Taxation Office applies equivalent
carbon price to specific fuels under the Fuel Tax
legislation and, utilising risk management strategies,
ensures the appropriate income tax and GST
treatment arising from carbon price emissions
liabilities.
- AUSTRAC
- The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis
Centre regulates the trading of emissions units in the
secondary market as a 'designated service' under
the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism
Financing Act 2006.
- DSEWPaC
- The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water,
Population and Communities applies equivalent
carbon price to synthetic greenhouse gases under
the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas
Management legislation.
The Clean Energy Regulator also supplies information
to state and territory government organisations. As
well as alliances with a range of organisations across
the Commonwealth, the Clean Energy Regulator has
a close working relationship with the portfolio lead
Department.
Client and stakeholder engagement
The Clean Energy Regulator has adopted the
term 'client' to describe participants in the any
of the schemes which we administer. The Client
Engagement Strategy is the highest level of a suite
of control documents that describes the intent,
concepts and principles under which the Clean
Energy Regulator will interact with clients and other
stakeholders. Activities include delivering seminars,
online webinars or over the phone communications,
conducting audits, or responding via email.
To enable the agency to prioritise and identify where
to invest effort, engagement themes are being
mapped to specific regulatory outcomes as detailed
in the engagement theme table (over). The various
ways in which client facing staff will engage is broken
loosely into types of activity, with each type having a
specific primary outcome:
Engagement
theme
| Types of activity | Supported
regulatory
outcome |
---|
1. Educating | Information
sessions, howto's,
training and
assurance audits | Voluntary
compliance |
2. Providing | Advising, payments,
certificates and
delivering | Voluntary
compliance
and active
participation |
3. Challenging | Inspections, audits
and reviews
| Compliance |
4. Enforcing | Warning,
determinations,
fines, fees and
litigation | Compliance |
The operating principles in the Client Engagement
Strategy have been developed in consultation with
relevant business areas across the agency. These
principles articulate the desired service delivery
culture of the Clean Energy Regulator and will guide
and inform staff in their day-to-day work. The principles are:
- On-time
- We will provide accurate, consistent,
relevant, and timely responses. Service standards
will support the delivery of timely services and
manage client expectations.
- Whole of client approach
- We will be accessible,
understand and take responsibility for our clients'
needs across the range of schemes we administer.
We will recognise operational linkages and
collaborate across business functions to ensure
seamless and solutions focused service delivery.
Where possible, we will offer clients a single point
of contact, to reduce multiple touch points with
the agency. High volume, low complexity functions
and information will be delivered through online
self-service. We will consider client feedback as we
build agency capability.
- Professional, knowledgeable and decisive
- We will engage in a manner that fosters a
professional, constructive engagement. We will
build trust through providing technical proficiency
and consistent advice. We will understand the
legislation we are responsible for administering,
the policy intent behind the legislation and the
decision-making frameworks in which we operate.
We will consult and involve the right teams, assess
the risk and sensitivities associated with our
actions, make timely decisions, and document and
communicate decisions for consistency.
- Communicate proactively
- We will listen to
our clients and provide the necessary support
and tools to ensure they are well informed to
meet their obligations, and where possible seek
feedback to inform the development of system and
processes. We will ensure internal communication
around client service delivery is coordinated and
consistent. We will 'Brief-up' when decisions are
likely to be contentious or sensitive.
- Deliver continuous improvement
- We will empower
teams to implement continuous improvements in
client service delivery, and will identify opportunities
to become more efficient and effective in how we
manage client needs. We will proactively share
lessons learned and make changes to our Standard
Operating Procedures and systems to reflect these
lessons.
The Clean Energy Regulator is committed to
the continuous improvement of its services and
relationships with its clients. The Clean Energy
Regulator values feedback on its performance and
strives to improve on the commitments outlined in
the Clean Energy Regulator Service Charter.