Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 4)

Administered by Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Legislation au F2005L03271 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

Select Document

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Select Legislative Instrument 2005 No. 256

ISSUED BY AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE

Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000

Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 4)

Subsection 161(1) of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (the Act) provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing all 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 Act provides the legislative framework for the implementation of the Government’s mandatory renewable energy target, announced by the Prime Minister on 20 November 1997. The mandatory renewable energy target (the target) is designed to increase the amount of electricity in Australia that is being generated from renewable energy sources. By 2010, an additional 9,500 Giga Watt hours (GWh) of electricity will be required to be supplied from renewable energy sources, raising the contribution that renewable energy sources make to Australia’s electricity supply.

The Act requires wholesale purchasers of electricity (liable parties) to surrender ‘renewable energy certificates’ to the Renewable Energy Regulator, or pay a penalty. Liable parties meet a share of the target, in proportion to their share of the national wholesale electricity market. The Act also establishes the framework for renewable energy generators (eligible parties) to create renewable energy certificates that can then be sold to liable parties to meet their requirements under the Act.

The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 (the Principal Regulations) provide the administrative framework to implement the Act in relation to power station accreditation, eligibility requirements for fuel sources, and calculation methods for determining the number of renewable energy certificates that can be claimed.

The purpose of the Regulations is to amend the Principal Regulations to update the existing list of prescribed solar water heaters, and their corresponding eligibility for renewable energy certificates, for the purposes of the Act.

Details of the Regulations are set out in Attachment A.

Subsection 161(2) of the Act provides that draft regulations must be available for public comment for a period of not less than 30 days before the regulations are made. In accordance with subsection 161(2) of the Act, the Regulations have been available for public comment for a period of no less than 30 days.

It is intended that eligibility for renewable energy certificates for the new solar water heater models be backdated to the date on which certification to Australian Standard 2712:2002 was obtained. This would prevent manufacturers being disadvantaged by the time required to update the list of eligible solar water heater models in the Principal Regulations. The benefits that the manufacturers gain from the new models being listed in the Regulations would be able to be accessed for past sales, back to the date of certification against Australian Standard 2712:2002. Although the eligibility for renewable energy certificates would be backdated, the Australian Government Solicitor has previously advised that the proposed amendment would not have a retrospective effect and that subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 would not have any application in respect of the proposed Regulations (this advice is detailed in Attachment B).

Since that time, the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 has removed that provision from the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. Subsection 12 (2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 is in substantially the same terms as subsection 48 (2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. The Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing agrees with the advice from the Australian Government Solicitor and has advised that subsection 12 (2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 does not apply to the proposed legislative instrument because it does not ‘take effect before the date it is registered’. The amendments do not confer any rights or impose any obligations on any date before registration (this advice is detailed in Attachment C).

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The Regulations commence on the 15 November 2005.

Attachment A

Details of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 4)

Regulation 1 - Name of Regulations

This provides that the name of the Regulations is the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 4).

Regulation 2 - Commencement

Regulations 1 to 3 and Schedule 1 commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

Regulation 3 - Amendment of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001

This Regulation provides for Schedule 1 to amend the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 (the Principal Regulations).

Schedule 1 Amendments commencing on the day after registration

Item 1 – Paragraph 3 (3)(a)

This amendment revises existing paragraph 3(3)(a) to correctly reference the new Part 2A and Part 2B of Schedule 7 of the Regulations, due to the reformatting of Schedule 7 Part 2.

Item 2 – Regulation 19

This amendment revises existing Regulation 19 to correctly reference the new Part 2A and Part 2B of Schedule 7 of the Regulations, due to the reformatting of Schedule 7 Part 2.

Item 3 – Schedule 7, Part 2

This item amends Part 2 of Schedule 7 by:

reformatting Schedule 7 Part 2 of the Regulations to split the Date column into “Eligible from” and “Eligible to” columns;
dividing small, large and commercial heaters into two new parts (Part 2A and Part 2B). Systems up to and including 700 Litres storage capacity would be included in Schedule 7 Part 2A and systems over 700 Litres storage capacity would be included in Schedule 7 Part 2B;
inserting additional solar water heater models that have become eligible for renewable energy certificates under the regulations since Part 2 of Schedule 7 was last revised on 29 April 2005;
revising renewable energy certificate calculations for existing eligible solar water heater models that have changed since last revised on 29 April 2005; and
deleting solar water heater models which are no longer eligible, as their eligibility has lapsed.

Overview

The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 4) were enacted to update the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001, thereby aligning with the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. This legislative instrument was introduced to address the need for an updated list of solar water heaters eligible for renewable energy certificates, ensuring that the framework for implementing the Government’s mandatory renewable energy target remains current and effective. The regulations were issued by the Minister for the Environment and Heritage under the authority of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 and are intended to facilitate the increased use of renewable energy in Australia by recognising new solar water heater models eligible for certificates. The policy objective of these amendments is to ensure that manufacturers and consumers can access the benefits of the mandatory renewable energy target without being disadvantaged by delays in updating regulatory lists.

Scope and Application

The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 4) pertain to the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000, which establishes the legislative framework for Australia's mandatory renewable energy target. This Act applies to wholesale purchasers of electricity, known as liable parties, who must surrender renewable energy certificates to the Renewable Energy Regulator or pay a penalty. The Act also applies to renewable energy generators, referred to as eligible parties, who can generate renewable energy certificates to sell to liable parties. These regulations, which are a legislative instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, aim to update the list of eligible solar water heaters for the purposes of the Act, ensuring that new models can be backdated to the date of certification against Australian Standard 2712:2002. The Regulations do not have a retrospective effect and will come into effect on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The amendments cover the formatting of Schedule 7, Part 2, introducing new columns for "Eligible from" and "Eligible to" dates, and categorising systems based on their storage capacity.

Key Provisions

The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 4) (referred to as the Regulations) amend the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 (the Principal Regulations) to update the list of solar water heaters eligible for renewable energy certificates (section 1). The amendments involve updating the references within the Principal Regulations to reflect the reformatting of Schedule 7 Part 2 into new Parts 2A and 2B (section 2). Additionally, the Regulations split the Date column in the Schedule into "Eligible from" and "Eligible to" columns, dividing small, large, and commercial heaters into two new parts (section 3). This change includes systems up to 700 litres storage capacity in Part 2A and systems over 700 litres storage capacity in Part 2B (section 3). The Regulations also insert additional solar water heater models that have become eligible for renewable energy certificates, revise the calculations for existing eligible models, and delete models that are no longer eligible (section 3). The Regulations impose obligations on manufacturers and eligible parties involved in the generation of electricity from renewable sources. Manufacturers of solar water heaters must ensure their products comply with the Australian Standard 2712:2002 to be eligible for renewable energy certificates. Eligible parties, such as renewable energy generators, must create renewable energy certificates for their eligible solar water heaters and ensure these certificates are correctly recorded and accounted for. Wholesale purchasers of electricity, or liable parties, must surrender the requisite number of renewable energy certificates to the Renewable Energy Regulator or pay a penalty if they fail to do so (section 1). The Regulator is responsible for overseeing the compliance of these parties and ensuring the effective implementation of the mandatory renewable energy target. Breaches of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 can result in various civil and criminal penalties. For instance, liable parties that fail to surrender the required renewable energy certificates can incur penalties, with the exact amount determined by the Regulator based on the extent of the non-compliance (section 1). The Regulations themselves do not specify maximum penalties but reference the primary Act for such details. Additionally, fraudulent actions or deliberate misrepresentations in the process of generating, trading, or surrendering renewable energy certificates could lead to criminal charges, with potential penalties including fines and imprisonment, as outlined in the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000.

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

Interactions

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.

Legislation content