Crediting period

Seven years – The crediting period is the period of time a project can apply to claim Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs).

Act – Part 5, Sections 69 and 70

Eligibility requirements

There are general eligibility requirements in the Act which include:

• newness
• additionality and funding from other government programs, and
• legal right.

In addition, the method requires that you:

• conduct your project in Australia. Dairy farms in external territories have been excluded, and
• use milking cows that are pasture fed for at least nine months of the year. The nine months do not need to be consecutive.

Act – Section 5

Act – Part 3, Section 27

Method – Part 2 and 3

Project Activities

A project involves feeding eligible additives to milking cows. An eligible additive is one of the following:

• canola meal
• cold-pressed canola meal
• brewers grain
• hominy meal, or
• dried distillers grain.

The concentration of fat in the diet of the milking herd must not exceed 70 grams of fat per kilogram of dry matter intake in any season.

The project must begin on the first day of a season (summer, autumn, winter or spring). Subsequent years must be started on the first day of a season beginning after the last day of the preceding project year.

Method – Parts 2 and 3

How is abatement calculated?

The net abatement amount for each milking herd for each project year is calculated by entering data into the Dietary Fats Calculator which is available on the Department of Environment and Energy’s website.

Abatement is credited for each reporting period based the difference in emissions between the reporting period and a baseline period. Baseline emissions are established by using data from three consecutive years in the seven years prior to the commencement of the project.

Further information and abatement calculations are available in Part 4 of the method.

Act – Section 7A

Act – Section 69

Rule – Section 6

Method – Part 4, Division 4.2

Reporting requirements

In addition to the reporting requirements of the Act, the method also sets out the following method-specific reporting requirements that must be included in each report:

• The start and end dates of each project year to which the report applies.
• All inputs and outputs from the Dietary Fats Calculator for each project year in the reporting period.
• The carbon dioxide equivalent net abatement amount measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent calculated using the Dietary Fats Calculator.

In addition to the information above, the first report must also contain:

• The start and end dates of each of the baseline years.
• All inputs and outputs from the Dietary Fats Calculator for each of the baseline years.
• Information as required in each report.

Applications for ACCUs can be made at the same time as you submit your project reports through the Client Portal using the electronic ERF Project Reporting and Crediting Application form.

Act – Part 6

Rule Part 6

Method – Division 5.4

Monitoring requirements

In addition to the general monitoring requirements of the Act, projects must meet specific monitoring requirements in the method.

These include monitoring and recording the number of milking cows in the milking herd via an animal identification tag or other unique identifier.

Milking cows in the milking herd must be counted at least once per month in the baseline and each project year.

The method outlines quality assurance and quality control requirements for all measuring or monitoring instruments.

Act – Part 17

Method – Division 5.2

Record-keeping requirements

In addition to the record keeping requirements of the Act and the Rule, projects must also meet the specific record keeping requirements in the method.

Seasonal records (such as supplier invoices) must be kept of the following:

• the number of milking cows in the milk herd via an animal identification tag or other unique identifier
• the liveweight of each milking cow
• the daily milk volume produced by the eligible dairy farm
• the mass of each feed type fed to the milking herd
• the mass of each eligible additive fed to the milking herd

Diet records must also be kept as evidence of dry matter digestibility, crude protein content and fat content inputs. These records must include:

• product information from the manufacturer of each feed type
• a copy of the analysis of bulk feed samples of the feed type; or the seasonal feed quality data tables in the Dietary Fats Calculator or Australian Feed Comparison Tables 1987.

Additional eligible additive records must be kept as evidence of fat, metabolisable energy, mass and crude protein inputs. These records may include:

• product information from the manufacturer of the eligible additive
• a copy of the analysis of bulk feed samples of the eligible additives; or references to the applicable parts of the Australian Feed Composition Tables 1987.

All of this data must be stored in its raw form and if your data is stored electronically, it is important to have a ‘data contingency plan’ by backing up computer files.

Act – Part 17

Rule – Part 17

Method – Division 5.3

Audits

All projects receive an audit schedule when the project is declared, and must provide audit reports according to this schedule. A minimum of three audits will be scheduled and additional audits may be triggered. For more information on the audit requirements, see the Act, the Rule and the audit information on our website.

All non-compliance whether accidental or not or through circumstances outside your control must be reported to your auditor and rectified as soon as reasonably possible. For more information, see Participant obligations.

Act – Part 19

Rule – Part 6