Emissions-intensive trade-exposed activity entities

What is an exemption certificate?

An exemption certificate is a letter confirming eligibility under the legislation and the use amount formula that determines the certifiable amount. An exemption certificate is issued in the Client Portal for a:

calendar year within 60 days of application receipt or within 60 days after the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) receives additional information from a request for information
site that conducts an emissions-intensive trade-exposed (EITE) activity or activities
liable entity or entities who supply electricity to the site.

The certifiable amount is a letter that details the amount of electricity consumed as a relevant acquisition of electricity in megawatt hours (MWh) for the EITE activity at the site to produce the relevant product.

The exemption certificate and certifiable amount allow the liable entity to decrease their relevant acquisitions of electricity.

See Reporting liability and Calculating certificate liability for more information.

Companies that conduct eligible EITE activities can apply for exemption certificates under the Renewable Energy Target (RET).

Companies must apply for exemption certificates in the Client Portal on an annual basis.

Companies issued an exemption certificate:

can negotiate a benefit (usually lower electricity costs) with the liable entity (usually their electricity retailer) specified on the certificate. CER has no role in this negotiation
must lodge monthly data for a certifiable amount period (typically a calendar year) based on their use amount formula to claim a certifiable amount (the amount of electricity consumed to conduct the EITE activity) that reduces their liable entity’s relevant acquisition of electricity.

Liable entities use exemption certificates to:

decrease the number of large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) and small-scale technology certificates (STCs) they surrender to meet their RET obligations
reduce the amount of large-scale renewable energy shortfall charge and small-scale technology shortfall charge payable where LGCs or STCs, respectively, are not surrendered to meet their RET obligations.

Exemption certificates and certifiable amounts can be amended by the applicant and CER once they have been issued. This can affect liable entity reporting in the current and prior years.

Key dates

The table below provides deadlines that apply to companies who conduct an EITE activity or activities at a site.

Application	Time frames
Applying for an exemption certificate	Applications open on 1 August and close on 30 March annually. Applicants apply using the ‘Apply for an exemption certificate’ form in the Client Portal. See Applying for an exemption certificate for eligibility information, guidance and Client Portal user tips.
Submitting monthly data for your certifiable amount	After exemption certificates are issued, applicants need to enter monthly data for the certifiable amount. Once your data has been entered for the certifiable amount period you must submit it. You can submit monthly data at any time but ideally by mid-January to ensure that your liable entity can use the exemption certificate in their annual reporting. Enter and submit your data using the ‘Exemption determination tool’ form in the Client Portal. See Submitting monthly data in your exemption determination tool for your certifiable amount for more information, guidance and Client Portal user tips.
Applying to change one or more liable entities	Applicants can apply to change one or more liable entities for their exemption certificate/s once their exemption certificate/s have been issued. Applications to change a liable entity close on 31 December for the application year. Apply using the ‘Apply to amend your exemption certificate’ form in the Client Portal. See Apply to amend your exemption certificate for eligibility information, supporting documents for the application and Client Portal user tips.
Amend other application information	Applicants can apply once their exemption certificate has been issued. You can amend your exemption certificate at any time in the future, but you are encouraged to apply within 5 years of the exemption certificate issuance date to align with your liable entity’s amendment obligations. This includes amending your notice of certifiable amount. Apply using the ‘Apply to amend your exemption certificate’ form in the Client Portal. See Apply to amend your exemption certificate for eligibility information, supporting documents for the application and Client Portal user tips.
Client Portal assistance – ‘Notify the regulator’	Applicants who apply for or amend an exemption certificate, including the certifiable amount, may require assistance with the Client Portal — specifically contact details and user roles. Alternatively, there may be an issue with the Client Portal preventing you from to lodging an application. In these situations, contact us directly and use the ‘Notify the regulator’ form in the Client Portal. The ‘Notify the regulator’ form does not stipulate what documents you need to supply with your application. However, you are encouraged to provide supporting evidence like screen shots of the issues you are facing. The more information you provide the quicker the request can be assessed.
Regulator initiated exemption certificate amendments	CER can initiate an amendment if inaccuracies are identified after your exemption certificate has been issued, by 31 December of the application year. See Clean Energy Regulator initiated amendments for more information.

Compliance and enforcement priority

Companies seeking to apply for an exemption certificate must adhere to legislation and meet our compliance and enforcement priority expectations annually.

Published information

We publish 3 sets of data related to exemption certificates. All data is subject to revisions and legislative deadlines. Find all EITE published information.