National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026

Administered by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Legislation au F2026L00858 Regulations In force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Climate Change and Energy

 

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007

 

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026

 

Legislative Authority

 

Section 77 of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

For items 1, 3, 4 and 5 of Schedule 1 of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 (Amendment Regulations), section 7 of the Act provides a definition of “energy” to mean “fuel, or any other energy commodity, of a kind specified in the regulations”.

 

For item 2 of Schedule 1 of the Amendment Regulations, subsections 19(7), 22G(3) and 22X(5) of the Act provide that regulations “may specify different requirements for different circumstances” for reports to be given to the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) relating to the greenhouse gas emissions, energy production and energy consumption from the operation of a facility during the whole or part of a financial year.

 

Purpose

 

The purpose of the Amendment Regulations is to support decarbonisation by enabling National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) reports to more accurately reflect scope 1 emissions reductions associated with biomass-derived fuels. The Amendment Regulations do this by updating the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008 (Principal Regulations) to capture bioLPG as an alternative low-emissions primary fuel type. This enables facilities to report bioLPG consumption separately from fossil LPG. In addition, the Amendment Regulations creates a new category of co-processed liquid fuels to enable reporting of fuels produced from mixed fossil and biomass feedstocks.

 

These amendments are intended to align the Principal Regulations with amendments that will be made to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination 2008 (Measurement Determination). The Principal Regulations establish what is reportable (fuel types and classifications), while the Measurement Determination establishes how emissions are calculated. Amendments to the Measurement Determination will make provision for how emissions for bioLPG and co-processed liquid fuels are to be calculated, among other things.

 

Impact and Effect

 

The regulatory impacts of amendments made by the Amendment Regulation have been assessed as minor by the Office of Impact Assessment (ref OIA26-11647).

 

Consultation

 

An exposure draft of the proposed Regulations was included in materials released for public consultation from Thursday 9 April 2026 to Friday 8 May 2026. No submissions received within this time period expressed opposition to the measures contained in the proposed Regulations. Following public consultation, the Department made a minor technical correction to Item 5 of the Amendment Regulations to identify the new co-processed liquid fuels as secondary fuels or energy commodities.

 

Other

 

Details of the Amendment Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

 

The Amendment Regulations are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. A full statement of compatibility is set out in Attachment B.

 

The Amendment Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.

 

The Amendment Regulations commence on 1 July 2026.

  

Authority:  Section 77 of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007.

ATTACHMENT A

 

Details of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026

 

Section 1 – Name

 

  1.       This section provides that the name of the regulations is the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 (Amendment Regulations).

 

Section 2 – Commencement

 

  1.       This section provides for when the amendments made by the Amendment Regulations commence. The whole of the Amendment Regulations commence on 1 July 2026.

 

Section 3 – Authority

 

  1.       This section provides that the Amendment Regulations are made under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Act).

 

Section 4 – Schedules

 

  1.       This section provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to the Amendment Regulations is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule has effect according to its terms.

 

Schedule 1 – Amendments to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008

 

Item 1

 

  1.       This item inserts the following definitions in section 1.03 of the Principal Regulations:
    1.        bioLPG;
    2.       co-processed aviation kerosene;
    3.        co-processed diesel;
    4.       co-processed liquid fuel; and
    5.        co-processed LPG. 
  2.       BioLPG is a liquid, biomass-derived fuel that is chemically equivalent to conventional fossil-fuel derived liquified petroleum gas. The new definition of bioLPG encourages the consumption and reporting of bioLPG as a substitute for liquified petroleum gas. This is a great decarbonisation option for many facilities because their existing infrastructure supports the use of bioLPG without the need for major upgrades.
  3.       Co-processed liquid fuels are liquid fuels produced through the simultaneous processing of fossil and biomass feedstocks in the same processing unit. Co-processing is a great route to produce lower scope 1 emissions fuels because it can leverage existing refinery infrastructure, and transport and storage facilities instead of requiring new, dedicated infrastructure to produce 100% biomass fuel.
  4.       The addition of the definitions of co-processed aviation kerosene, co-processed diesel, co-processed liquid fuel, and co-processed LPG encourages facilities to start co-processing at refineries and enable the reporting of consumption of co-processed liquid fuels by facilities. It also enables the use of certified fuels in the NGER scheme, such as low emissions fuels that are certified under the Guarantee of Origin scheme.

 

Item 2

 

  1.       This item omits “is” at subparagraphs 4.27(5)(b)(i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) and substitutes “has a carbon dioxide equivalence of”. This amendment corrects an error so as to align with the wording in paragraph 4.27(5)(a), where threshold amounts for emissions from fuel combustion are considered in terms of carbon dioxide equivalence.

 

Item 3

 

  1.   This item inserts a new table item 53C in the table in Schedule 1 of the Principal Regulations under existing table item 53B to prescribe BioLPG as a new biofuel.

 

Item 4

 

  1.   This item omits “53B” in table item 54 in Schedule 1 of the Principal Regulations and substitutes “53C”.

 

Item 5

 

  1.   This item inserts new table items 54A, 54B and 54C in the table in Schedule 1 of the Principal Regulations under existing table item 54, to prescribe co-processed aviation kerosene, co-processed diesel and co-processed LPG, respectively, as new co-processed liquid fuels.

 

Item 6

 

  1.   This item inserts a new Division 7.14 in Part 7 of the Principal Regulations which deals with application provisions relating to the Amendment Regulations.

 

  1.   This item inserts a new regulation 7.25 in the Principal Regulations which provides that the amendments made by the Amendment Regulations apply in relation to  a report under Parts 3, 3E, 3F or 3G of the Act for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2026 and each subsequent financial year.


ATTACHMENT B

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

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

 

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026

 

This Legislative Instrument 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 Legislative Instrument

 

The purpose of the Amendment Regulations is to support decarbonisation by enabling National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) reports to more accurately reflect emissions reductions associated with biomass-derived fuels. The Amendment Regulations do this by updating the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008 (Principal Regulations) to capture BioLPG as an alternative low-emissions primary fuel type.

 

This enables facilities to report bioLPG consumption separately from fossil LPG. In addition, the Amendment Regulations creates a new category of co-processed liquid fuels to enable reporting of fuels produced from mixed fossil and biomass feedstocks.

 

These amendments are intended to align the Principal Regulations with amendments that will be made to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination 2008 (Measurement Determination). The Principal Regulations establish what is reportable (fuel types and classifications), while the Measurement Determination establishes how emissions are calculated. Amendments to the Measurement Determination will make provision for how emissions for bioLPG and co-processed liquid fuels are to be calculated, among other things.

Human rights implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

The Hon. Chris Bowen MP

Minister for Climate Change and Energy

Overview

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 were enacted to amend the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007, addressing the need for more accurate reporting of emissions reductions associated with biomass-derived fuels. This amendment was introduced to better support decarbonisation efforts by allowing facilities to distinguish and report bioLPG consumption separately from fossil LPG and by introducing a new category of co-processed liquid fuels for reporting purposes. The regulations were made under the authority of the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, and the policy objective is to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions reporting aligns with the latest technological and scientific advancements in measuring and reducing emissions. The regulatory impacts of these amendments have been assessed as minor, and public consultation did not reveal any opposition to the measures. These amendments to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008 ensure that reporting requirements are up-to-date and reflective of current fuel types and classifications. The regulations are set to commence on 1 July 2026 and are compatible with human rights as outlined in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, with no human rights issues raised by the legislative changes. The introduction of these amendments facilitates more precise tracking and reporting of emissions reductions, supporting Australia's broader climate change and energy policy objectives.

Scope and Application

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 applies to entities and facilities required to report their greenhouse gas emissions, energy production, and energy consumption under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (NGER Act). These entities and facilities are primarily those that fall under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth and are involved in the production or consumption of specified energy commodities. The regulations are intended to improve the accuracy of reporting for scope 1 emissions reductions associated with biomass-derived fuels by updating the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008 (Principal Regulations) to include bioLPG as an alternative low-emissions primary fuel type and establishing a new category of co-processed liquid fuels. The amendments made by the Amendment Regulations apply to reports submitted for financial years beginning on 1 July 2026 and each subsequent financial year. The Amendment Regulations also ensure compatibility with human rights, as they do not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms under the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. The regulations come into effect on 1 July 2026.

Key Provisions

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 (Amendment Regulations) introduce significant changes to the reporting requirements under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Act). The Amendment Regulations, which commence on 1 July 2026, introduce definitions for bioLPG and co-processed liquid fuels, and update the reporting requirements for certain fuels. Section 1 of the Amendment Regulations provides the name of the regulations, while section 2 specifies that the amendments commence on 1 July 2026. Section 3 confirms that the Amendment Regulations are made under the Act. The primary obligations imposed by the Amendment Regulations involve the accurate reporting of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by facilities. For instance, facilities must now report bioLPG consumption separately from fossil LPG. Additionally, facilities must report on the consumption of co-processed liquid fuels, which are fuels produced from mixed fossil and biomass feedstocks. These amendments are designed to more accurately reflect the emissions reductions associated with the use of low-emissions fuels, thereby supporting the goal of decarbonisation. The Amendment Regulations also introduce definitions for bioLPG, co-processed aviation kerosene, co-processed diesel, co-processed liquid fuel, and co-processed LPG. In terms of offences, penalties, and consequences for non-compliance, the Amendment Regulations do not introduce new criminal offences or penalties. However, failure to comply with the reporting requirements under the Act and the Amendment Regulations may result in civil penalties. Non-compliance could also lead to the invalidation of reports submitted to the Clean Energy Regulator, which could impact a facility's eligibility for certain schemes or incentives. The specific consequences of non-compliance would depend on the nature and extent of the breach, as well as any relevant guidelines or interpretations provided by the Clean Energy Regulator. The Amendment Regulations also include a minor technical correction to Item 5, which now correctly identifies the new co-processed liquid fuels as secondary fuels or energy commodities. The Amendment Regulations have been assessed as having minor regulatory impacts, and a Statement of Compatibility has been provided, confirming that the Amendment Regulations are compatible with human rights and freedoms recognised or declared under the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. The Amendment Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003, and the full details of the Amendment Regulations are set out in the Attachments.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Environmental Law
Instrument
Regulation
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Regulatory Standards
Reporting & Disclosure Obligations

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.