Safeguard baselines

Under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Safeguard Mechanism) Rule 2015, the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) is required to publish information relating to emissions baseline determinations (baselines).

The Safeguard baselines table includes facilities that have been issued a baseline determination under the Safeguard Mechanism. Inclusion in this table does not mean a facility will be covered by the Safeguard Mechanism for 2021–22 or for future financial years. Coverage will depend on whether the facility's covered emissions for the relevant financial year exceed the 100,000 tonne carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂-e) Safeguard threshold. Additionally, in the case of designated generation facilities that are connected to a designated electricity network (grid-connected electricity generators), facilities will only be covered if the sectoral baseline is exceeded.

Responsible emitters identified in the Safeguard baselines table can keep their emissions down in several ways. For example, a responsible emitter may purchase Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs).

Facilities that meet or exceed the Safeguard threshold in a financial year from 1 July 2016 onwards are referred to as designated large facilities for the purposes of the Safeguard Mechanism.

Safeguard baselines table update​

The Safeguard baselines table was last updated on 31 March 2023 to reflect baseline determinations made and amended under the Safeguard Mechanism. The CER will continue to update this information as baseline determinations are made and new information becomes available.

Summary of updates

*Updates to a determination’s details could be for several reasons including:

• baselines expiring or being replaced
• extensions to end dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• variation of a baseline emissions number including for Global Warming Potential updates
  
• publication of a baseline emissions number that was previously withheld pending the outcome of a section 25 application
• updates to facility name or responsible emitter details.

These are updates to already published determinations and do not affect the number of baseline determinations published.

Safeguard baselines table

Notes about this publication​

Current Baseline number

• Where a facility has both a reported baseline and a calculated baseline, the calculated baseline will be 'current', until such time as it expires or is replaced by a new baseline.
• If a facility has had more than one calculated baseline determination made, the one most recently made will be the baseline that is current.
• Where a multi-year monitoring period (MYMP) is in place, the facility’s baseline for the entire period will be the total of the baselines that would have been current for each year during the extended monitoring period.
• Where a facility has had its baseline temporarily varied due to improved emissions intensity, the variation will be current, for that particular financial year.
• Baselines that are withheld may be pending the submission of an application, or a decision under, section 25 of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (NGER Act).
• Production adjusted baseline determinations that use annually adjusting prescribed production variables will not have a baseline number published in the Safeguard baselines table. This is because the baseline number will be calculated each year, based on the amount of production reported for the facility. These facilities have 'Yes' recorded in the ‘Annually adjusted baseline’ column of the Safeguard baselines table. Each year’s production adjusted baseline number will be published, from March 2021 onwards, in Safeguard facility reported emissions data.

• Calculated baselines are determined based on an independently audited forecast of production and either forecast emissions intensity provided by the responsible emitter or the default emissions intensity value, set out in the Safeguard Rule. The baseline is calculated by multiplying forecast production by the emissions intensity of that production. Where a calculated baseline is determined using one or more default emissions intensity values, the baseline number will not necessarily represent expected future emissions.
  

• Where a baseline record has a start date and end date of 'n/a' this means that baseline has never been in force.

MYMP declarations

• Under section 65 of the Safeguard Rule, responsible emitters may apply for a MYMP to be declared in relation to a facility.
• Where a MYMP has been granted, the baseline emissions number for the facility is calculated as a single baseline number that applies across the entire MYMP. At the end of the period, aggregate covered emissions for the 2 or 3 year period (plus or minus any ACCUs issued or surrendered) are compared against this baseline number to determine whether the facility is in an excess emissions situation.
• For more information regarding the MYMPs in place, including baseline numbers for completed MYMPs, please see the Multi-year monitoring period table.

Baseline variation for an improvement in emissions intensity

• Before 31 October 2019, under section 46 of the Safeguard Rule, responsible emitters could apply for a facility’s baseline to be varied, where they could demonstrate that the emissions intensity at a facility had improved.
  
• Provided the relevant tests were met, the facility’s baseline could be varied to the level of covered emissions from the facility, for a particular financial year.
• The 2018-19 compliance period was the last year emissions intensity baseline variations were available.

Variations to baselines

In certain circumstances, we may amend:

• a reported baseline where it includes emissions attributable to activities that no longer occur at the facility
• a reported baseline that was based on reported data that has later been determined to be incorrect
• any type of baseline determination to take into account updates to the NGER legislation in relation to Global Warming Potentials
• a production-adjusted baseline because of a new prescribed (annually adjusted) production variable
• certain calculated or production-adjusted baselines where there has been a change in activities
• baselines where facilities have been restructured
• any type of baseline determination to rectify an error.

A registered corporation or a person required to report under the NGER Act, may apply to have their data withheld from publication. A request can only be made in relation to information which reveals or could be capable of revealing a trade secret or any other matter having a commercial value that would be, or could reasonably be expected to be, destroyed or diminished if the information were disclosed specific to the facility or responsible emitter. See what data is published and why for more information.

Downloadable data

documentasset:Safeguard baselines table