All Emissions Reduction Fund participants must report on their projects at regular intervals, regardless of whether you have a contract to sell your Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) to the Australian Government.

Reports on abatement achieved may need to be accompanied by an audit report verifying that the abatement achieved and reported on is accurate.

Reports are submitted on the Clean Energy Regulator Client Portal using the Emissions Reduction Fund Project Report and Crediting Form and must be submitted on time.

Reporting requirements

Your project report will include information and calculations on abatement achieved. Each method contains specific and detailed instructions that should be used to calculate abatement. The method will also include other information that should be included in your report. You should ensure that you are familiar with the reporting and record keeping requirements for the method you choose.

Reporting frequency

Under the Emissions Reduction Fund, you may choose when to report on your project as long as you adhere to the minimum and maximum reporting periods (periods between reports). The first reporting period begins at the start of your project’s crediting period.  Each new reporting period begins immediately after the previous reporting period. All reporting periods must be within your project’s crediting period.

In general, a reporting period can be as short as six months, as long as two years for emissions avoidance projects or five years for sequestration projects. However, a reporting period can be less than six months, and as short as one month, if the net abatement for the period is 2 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent or more.

You must submit a project report to the Clean Energy Regulator within six months of each reporting period, unless your method specifies otherwise.

All project reports must be submitted on time, regardless of whether they are accompanied by an application for ACCUs. Failure to meet project reporting deadlines may result in non-compliance action.

Mapping requirements

Project proponents for area-based methods under the Emissions Reduction Fund must supply geospatial data in support of ongoing reporting requirements. Geospatial data is an important feature to demonstrate eligibility of area-based projects registered and reporting under the Emissions Reduction Fund. Geospatial information is required for most land sector projects because abatement is determined by the location and characteristics of the land where the project mechanism occurs. The amount of information required varies according to the method and activity type being applied.

Further information is available on mapping requirements.

Inclusion of audit reports

Some of your project reports will need to be accompanied by an audit report prepared by a registered category 2 greenhouse and energy auditor. Your project's audit schedule will indicate which project reports must be accompanied by audit reports. Where a project report must be submitted with a reasonable assurance or qualified reasonable assurance conclusion audit no Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) can be issued for a project unless the audit is provided with the project report.

Assessment of project reports

In most circumstances your project report will be processed within 90 days. You will receive email notification that your report has been processed. The notification will include an abatement statement for the reporting period advising the volume of ACCUs you will be issued. The ACCUs earned by your project in the reporting period will be issued into your specified Austr​alian National Registry of Emissions Units (ANREU) account​.

The Clean Energy Regulator may require further information from you. If the information is not provided as requested, the Clean Energy Regulator may refuse to consider or take any further action in relation to any application for ACCUs included in your project report.

To address the possible issuance of too few or too many Australian carbon credit units, the Clean Energy Regulator has a regulatory posture on over and under crediting of units.

Consequences of late reporting

Where a project proponent is unable to meet the first reporting deadline for their project despite any variation of the start date of the project’s crediting period, they must notify this circumstance in writing to the Clean Energy Regulator no later than three months before the last day their project’s report must be lodged. The Clean Energy Regulator may, in limited circumstances, grant a request to report late if satisfied with the notice.

The Clean Energy Regulator will not automatically agree to requests to report late, and will assess each request on its merits. After the first project report no further delays in provision of project reports will be accepted by the Clean Energy Regulator.

Failure of a project proponent to provide a report for their project by the reporting deadline may cause the project proponent to fail the fit and proper person test, which could in turn result in all their projects being revoked by the Clean Energy Regulator, and affect their entitlement to be issued any ACCUs. It will also expose them to the risk of a civil penalty order being made against them. Late reporting is managed as per the Clean Energy Regulator’s Compliance, Education, and Enforcement policy.

Further Information

Further information on reporting requirements can be found at failure to meet project reporting deadlines.