There are 4 steps to participate in the ACCU (Australian Carbon Credit Unit) Scheme (formerly known as the Emissions Reduction Fund).
Four steps to participate in the ACCU Scheme
To participate in the ACCU Scheme (formerly known as the Emissions Reduction Fund) you will need to register your project. Participation in the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme is open to individuals, sole traders, companies, local, state and territory government bodies and trusts. You will also need to supply a
forward abatement estimate.
There are four parts to applying to participate in the ACCU Scheme:
Online application to register your project
This includes:
- information about you, so that we can be sure of your identity and assess you against the Fit and Proper Person test requirements
- a
forward abatement estimate covering the crediting period for your project. This will be:
- 25 years for savanna fire management projects
- 15 years for avoided deforestation projects
- 25 years for all other sequestration projects
- 7 years for all other emissions reduction projects.
Note that this is not necessarily the same as the contract period for a carbon abatement contract. - a question about your legal right to conduct the project.
Fit and Proper Person status
If you have not already had your identity confirmed and been assessed against the
Fit and Proper Person requirements you will need to complete and submit the necessary AFP National Police Check form.
If you are involved with other schemes or activities administered by the Clean Energy Regulator, you may have already met the identification procedures and passed the Fit and Proper Person test. Fit and Proper Person criteria now include work health and safety. However, if you have been assessed against the Fiit and Proper Person test as part of a previous application and your circumstances have changed, you must
notify the Clean Energy Regulator.
The Fit and Proper Person test also now includes a focus on capability and competency.
Carbon Service Providers and the Fit and Proper Person test
This guidance explains the minimum Fit and Proper Person status expectation for project proponents who are Carbon Service Providers (CSPs).
documentasset:Carbon service providers and FPP - Factsheet
Open an ANREU account
If you do not already have an ANREU account you will need to
apply to open an account. This does not have to be done at the time you apply to register your project, but it will need to be done for you to receive any Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) generated by your ACCU Scheme project. You must have applied to open an ANREU account by the time of your first project report. You will not be able to receive ACCUs without an ANREU account.
Eligible interest holder consent
If you are applying to register an area-based emissions avoidance project or a sequestration project under the ACCU Scheme, you must submit signed
eligible interest holder consent forms from all persons or organisations that have a specific legal interest in the land on which your project will run.
This can be done at the time you apply to register your project, or later. If it is not done at the time your project is registered, it will receive conditional registration only. You will be required to obtain signed eligible interest holder consent forms before submitting your first project report. Failure to do so may result in the project owner not receiving ACCUs.
What happens next?
We will assess your application. If you are successful, we will register your project. As part of our assessment, we must be satisfied that:
When a decision has been made by the Clean Energy Regulator, you will be notified of the outcome. If a decision has been made to register your project, its details will be published on the
Emissions Reduction Fund project register. The register lists information about each project registered under the ACCU Scheme including the number of ACCUs issued.