National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (Biomethane and Tyre Fuel Types) Regulations 2022

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

Legislation au F2022L00824 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by authority of the Minister for Climate Change and Energy

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (Biomethane and Tyre Fuel Types) Regulations 2022

Background

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme provides a framework for the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, energy production and consumption and other information in Australia. Section 77 of National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may 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. The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008 (the NGER Regulations) have previously been made under this section.

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination 2008 (the Measurement Determination), made under section 10(3) of the Act, specifies the methods by which the amounts of emissions and energy production and consumption are to be measured for the purposes of the Act.

Purpose and Operation

The purpose of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (Biomethane and Tyre Fuel Types) Regulations 2022 (the amending Regulations) is to support simultaneous amendments to be made to the Measurement Determination allowing NGER reports to better reflect reduced emissions from consumption of natural gas with a blended biomethane component, and from the use of end-of-life tyres as fuel.

Details of the amending Regulations are outlined in Attachment A.

Consultation

The substance of the amendments made by the amending Regulations was released for public consultation from 4 April to 29 April 2022. No concerns were raised about the proposals included in these amendments.              

Regulatory Impact

The regulatory impacts of these amendments have been assessed as not requiring a Regulation Impact Statement by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) (ref OBPR22-02245).

A statement of the amending Regulations’ compatibility with human rights is set out in Attachment B.

ATTACHMENT A

Details of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (Biomethane and Tyre Fuel Types) Regulations 2022

Section 1—Name

This section provides that the title of the Regulations is the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (Biomethane and Tyre Fuel Types) Regulations 2022.

Section 2—Commencement

This section provides that the amending Regulations commence on 1 July 2022.

Section 3—Authority

This section provides that the amending Regulations are made under the Act. The power to make regulations under section 77 of the Act includes the power to amend or revoke regulations that have already been made, with any doubt about this resolved by subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

Section 4—Schedules

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

Schedule 1—Amendments

Part 1—Main amendments

 

Item 1 – Regulation 1.03

 

This item inserts definitions of biogas upgrading and biomethane to support the inclusion of biomethane as a fuel type within the NGER Scheme. These definitions are consistent with corresponding definitions in methodology determinations made for the purposes of the Emissions Reduction Fund under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011.

 

Item 2 - In the appropriate position in Part 7

 

This item inserts a transitional provision to provide that the amendments made by the amending Regulations apply in relation to reports under Part 3, 3E, 3F or 3G of the Act for the 2022-23 and subsequent financial years. This ensures reports for the 2021-22 financial year to be submitted by 31 October 2022 are not impacted by the changes.

 

Item 3 - Schedule 1 (table item 8)

 

Schedule 1 of the NGER Regulations (‘Fuels and other energy commodities’) lists fuels and other energy commodities consumption of which is reportable within the NGER Scheme.

 

The consumption of end-of-life tyres as fuel is currently reportable under existing item 8 of that Schedule (Industrial materials and tyres that are derived from fossil fuels, if recycled and combusted to produce heat or electricity).

 

This item amends item 8 of the Schedule to remove the reference to tyres, and instead create two stand-alone fuel types for end-of-life tyres: Passenger car tyres, if recycled and combusted to produce heat or electricity (item 8A), and Truck and off road tyres, if recycled and combusted to produce heat or electricity (item 8B). Technical parameters applicable to these new fuel types are specified by simultaneous amendments to Schedule 1 of the Measurement Determination in order to more accurately reflect emissions from their consumption.

 

Item 4 - Schedule 1 (heading titled “Biogas captured for combustion” before table item 28)

 

This item makes a minor amendment to the title before item 28 (Biogas captured for combustion) of Schedule 1 of the NGER Regulations (‘Fuels and other energy commodities’) for clarity: the words ‘captured for combustion’ do not serve a useful purpose and are removed.

 

Item 5 - Schedule 1 (table item 30)

 

This item inserts a new fuel type biomethane, as defined by item 1 of the amending Regulations, as item 29A of Schedule 1 of the NGER Regulations (‘Fuels and other energy commodities’). Technical parameters applicable to this fuel type are specified by simultaneous amendments to Schedule 1 of the Measurement Determination, together with amendments to that instrument allowing the reporting of consumption of natural gas with a blended biomethane component.

 

 

 

 


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 (Biomethane and Tyre Fuel Types) Regulations 2022

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 National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme provides a framework for the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, energy production and consumption and other information in Australia.

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (Biomethane and Tyre Fuel Types) Regulations 2022 amend the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008 to support simultaneous amendments to be made to the National Greenhouse and Energy (Measurement) Determination 2008 allowing NGER reports to better reflect reduced emissions from consumption of natural gas with a blended biomethane component, and from the use of end‑of-life tyres as fuel.

Human rights implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable human 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 (Biomethane and Tyre Fuel Types) Regulations 2022, enacted to support the amendments of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008, were introduced to enhance the reporting accuracy within the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme. This regulatory framework, overseen by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, aims to address the issue of more precise reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from specific fuel types, particularly natural gas blended with biomethane and the use of end-of-life tyres as fuel. These amendments were made under the authority of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007, specifically to facilitate the simultaneous updates to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination 2008, ensuring that emissions data is more accurately reflected in NGER reports. The policy objective is to improve the precision and reliability of emissions data, thereby supporting better policy and regulatory measures aimed at mitigating climate change.

Scope and Application

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (Biomethane and Tyre Fuel Types) Regulations 2022 applies to entities required to report under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007, which includes facilities that emit a specified amount of greenhouse gases and facilities that consume or produce a specified amount of energy. The regulations are designed to ensure that reports submitted under the Act more accurately reflect the emissions reductions achieved from the use of blended biomethane in natural gas and the use of end-of-life tyres as fuel. The regulations apply nationally across Australia and are made under the authority of the Act, with the power to amend or revoke existing regulations as necessary. The regulations commenced on 1 July 2022 and include amendments to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008 and the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination 2008. The regulations do not contain any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds, and their application is not extended or restricted through any subordinate instruments. The compatibility of the regulations with human rights has been assessed, and it has been determined that they do not engage any applicable human rights or freedoms.

Key Provisions

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (Biomethane and Tyre Fuel Types) Regulations 2022 (amending Regulations) primarily concern the definitions, reporting requirements, and the technical parameters for measuring greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption within the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme. Section 1 of the amending Regulations establishes the title of the instrument, while Section 2 states that the Regulations come into effect on 1 July 2022. The authority to make these Regulations is derived from section 77 of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (the Act), with any doubts regarding the power to amend or revoke existing regulations resolved by subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, as noted in Section 3. Section 4 refers to the schedules of the amending Regulations, indicating how each instrument specified in the schedules is to be amended or repealed. The amending Regulations introduce several obligations for parties subject to the NGER Scheme. Firstly, the Regulations insert definitions for biogas upgrading and biomethane into the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Regulations 2008 to support the inclusion of biomethane as a fuel type. These definitions are consistent with those used in methodology determinations under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011. Additionally, the Regulations include a transitional provision to ensure that reports for the 2021-22 financial year are not impacted by the changes, as outlined in Item 2 of Schedule 1. The Regulations also modify the list of reportable fuels and other energy commodities to distinguish between different types of end-of-life tyres and to include biomethane as a new fuel type. These amendments are designed to more accurately reflect emissions from the consumption of natural gas blended with biomethane and from the use of end-of-life tyres as fuel. There are no specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences outlined for breaches of these amending Regulations. However, failure to comply with the NGER Scheme's requirements, including the new provisions introduced by the amending Regulations, could result in enforcement actions under the Act. The Act provides for various penalties, including financial penalties, for non-compliance with reporting requirements, which could apply if entities fail to report as required by the amended Regulations. The precise penalties for non-compliance would be determined in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Act.

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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.