Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2)

Administered by Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

Legislation au F2012L01505 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Select Legislative Instrument 2012 No. 125

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011

Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2)

The Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (the CFI Act) establishes the Carbon Farming Initiative (the CFI). The CFI is a voluntary scheme that aims to provide incentives for the agricultural, landfill and forestry sectors to minimise greenhouse gas emissions or maximise carbon storage by altering their agricultural, landfill and forestry practices. The Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Regulations 2011 (the CFI Regulations) provides necessary details supporting the administration of the CFI Act.

Applications for recognition as an offsets entity for CFI purposes must be made in the approved form and be accompanied by certified copies of relevant documents. The effect of an amendment made to the definition of ‘certified copy’ by item [38] of Schedule 1 to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 1) was to narrow the list of persons who can certify that a copy of a document is a true copy of the document for these purposes. Before the amendment was made, a copy could be certified by any person before whom a statutory declaration could be made; since the amendment a copy can only be certified by certain bank, building society or credit union officers, judicial officers, legal or medical practitioners, ministers of religion and police officers. This amendment commenced on 29 May 2012.

The Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2) (the Regulation) provides that this amendment does not apply in relation to applications that were signed no later than 29 May 2012 and given to the Clean Energy Regulator no later than 12 June 2012. In effect, the Regulation preserves the more liberal certification procedures that applied at the time the applications were prepared and signed, thus ensuring that applicants are not required to re-certify and re-submit relevant documents. Any applicant who complied with the later, more restrictive certification procedures would still be compliant with the more liberal procedures, and so would be unaffected by the Regulation.

Details of the Regulation are set out in Attachment A.

The Regulation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The Regulation is taken to have commenced on 29 May 2012.

Subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 provides that a legislative instrument has no effect if, apart from that subsection, it would take effect before it is registered and as a result, the rights of a person (other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth) as at the date of registration would be affected so as to disadvantage the person, or liabilities would be imposed on a person (other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth) in respect of anything done or omitted to be done before the date of registration. The Regulation is taken to have commenced before it is registered, but no rights of any person are affected so as to disadvantage the person, and no liabilities are imposed on any person in respect of anything done or omitted to be done before the date of registration. Subsection 12(2) therefore does not render the Regulation ineffective.

A statement of compatibility with human rights is set out in Attachment B.

Consultation

The amendment is of a minor nature and does not alter existing arrangements. Rather it preserves the certification arrangements that applied before the commencement of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 1) in relation to applications signed before the commencement of that instrument and given to the Clean Energy Regulator within two weeks of that date. Consultation was therefore not required.

 

Authority: Section 307 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011

ATTACHMENT A

Details of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2)

1 – Name of regulation

Section 1 provides that the name of the Regulation is the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2).

2 – Commencement

Section 2 provides that the Regulation is taken to have commenced on 29 May 2012.

3 – Amendment of Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Regulations 2011

Section 3 provides that Schedule 1 to the Regulation amends the CFI Regulations.

SCHEDULE 1 – Amendment

Item [1] – After regulation 4.2

Item [1] inserts new subregulation 4.2(4) into the CFI Regulations.

The effect of this subregulation is to preserve the certification procedures that applied before the commencement of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 1) in respect of applications under Division 4 of the CFI Regulations that were signed no later than 29 May 2012 and given to the Clean Energy Regulator no later than 12 June 2012. Applications signed and given by or before these dates may be accompanied by copies of relevant documents certified by any person before whom a statutory declaration may be made.

Applications signed or given after these dates will need to be accompanied by copies of relevant documents certified by one of the following persons who is in Australia:

  1. a bank, building society or credit union officer with five or more continuous years service;
  2. a commissioner for declarations;
  3. a judge of a court;
  4. a justice of the peace;
  5. a legal practitioner;
  6. a medical practitioner;
  7. a minister of religion registered under Subdivision A of Division 1 of Part IV of the Marriage Act 1961;
  8. a police officer;
  9. a sheriff or a sheriff’s officer.

 

 

ATTACHMENT B

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

 

Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2)

 

The Regulation is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

 

Overview of the Regulation

The Regulation makes transitional provisions in relation to an amendment made to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Regulations 2011 by the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 1). In particular, the Regulation preserves the certification procedures that applied before the commencement of the amendment in relation to applications signed before, and received within two weeks of, the commencement of the amendment.

Human rights implications

The Regulation does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Conclusion

The Regulation is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

 

Greg Combet

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

 

 

 

 

Overview

The Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2) was introduced by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency under the authority of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011. The primary objective of this regulation is to address a specific issue arising from the previous amendment made to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Regulations 2011. Specifically, the initial amendment, which took effect on 29 May 2012, narrowed the list of authorised persons who could certify copies of documents for applications under the Carbon Farming Initiative. To mitigate any undue hardship on applicants who may have already prepared their applications under the broader certification criteria, the current regulation ensures that applications signed before the commencement date and submitted within a specified timeframe retain the original, more liberal certification procedures. This transitional measure is intended to uphold fairness and continuity for those who were in the process of applying for recognition as offsets entities before the stricter certification rules came into effect. The regulation came into effect on 29 May 2012, and it explicitly states that it does not disadvantage any person or impose new liabilities on anyone for actions taken before its registration. This ensures that the regulation's implementation does not negatively impact those who were in the process of complying with the requirements before the amendment. Additionally, the regulation has been assessed for compatibility with human rights, and it has been determined that it does not engage any of the rights or freedoms recognised in the relevant international instruments.

Scope and Application

The Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2) applies to entities and individuals involved in the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, which encompasses the agricultural, landfill, and forestry sectors. This regulation primarily concerns those entities and individuals who have applied or are applying for recognition as offsets entities under the CFI. Geographically, the regulation operates within the Commonwealth of Australia and applies to all entities and individuals within its jurisdiction that are involved in the CFI. This regulation preserves the certification procedures that applied before the commencement of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 1) in respect of applications that were signed no later than 29 May 2012 and given to the Clean Energy Regulator no later than 12 June 2012. This transitional measure ensures that applicants who adhered to the more liberal certification procedures before the amendment are not required to re-certify and re-submit their documents, thus maintaining consistency and fairness in the application process.

Key Provisions

The Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2) is a piece of legislation that amends the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Regulations 2011. The primary aim of this amendment is to preserve the certification procedures that applied before a previous amendment (No. 1) took effect. Specifically, it ensures that the more liberal certification procedures apply to applications that were signed and submitted before the commencement of the previous amendment. This is detailed in item [1] of Schedule 1 to the Regulation, which inserts new subregulation 4.2(4) into the CFI Regulations (section 3 of the Regulation). This amendment ensures that the more stringent certification requirements, which limit the persons who can certify copies of documents to specific categories such as legal or medical practitioners, do not apply to applications signed and given to the Clean Energy Regulator before 29 May 2012 and no later than 12 June 2012. The obligation under this amendment is to ensure that applications for recognition as an offsets entity under the CFI are accompanied by certified copies of relevant documents. However, for applications signed before 29 May 2012 and submitted by 12 June 2012, these copies can be certified by any person before whom a statutory declaration could be made. For applications signed after this date, the copies must be certified by one of the specified persons, such as a bank officer with five or more years of continuous service, a legal practitioner, or a police officer, among others. This preserves the more flexible certification procedures that were in place before the commencement of the previous amendment. There are no specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences outlined in the Regulation for breach of its provisions. However, the failure to comply with the certification requirements could result in an application being deemed incomplete or invalid. This could potentially delay or prevent the recognition of an entity under the CFI, which is essential for participating in the scheme and generating carbon credits. The Regulation aims to avoid any disadvantage to applicants by preserving the certification procedures that were in effect at the time their applications were prepared and submitted.

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