This bill is currently before Parliament.
Climate, energy & environment
First Nations native titleRecognition in Australian law of First Nations peoples’ traditional rights and interests in land or waters. holders and registered claimants gain a two-stage consent process for carbon-credit projects on their land.
The government said the Australian Carbon Credit UnitA credit issued for eligible emissions reductions or carbon storage. Scheme, which rewards projects that cut or store emissions, supports the goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Independent reviews found the scheme was producing genuine emissions reductions but needed stronger oversight and continuing improvement to maintain trust. The government said it had committed more than $75 million since 2023 to reforms, after consultations involving more than 750 stakeholders and 73 submissions on the draft bill.
Australia’s ACCU Scheme was already paying for projects that claimed to avoid or store emissions and helping Safeguard Mechanism facilities meet obligations, but independent reviews, research and regulatorThe public authority that administers and enforces the covered schemes.-conflict allegations exposed doubts about whether some credits represented real reductions and whether oversight was transparent. After the government accepted the Climate Change Authority’s recommendations in 2024, it introduced this bill on 20 August 2026 to strengthen First Nations consent, independent oversight, credit correction and public enforcement information.
The evidence pack contains no opposing debate speech or named criticism of the bill. Its two speeches are both attributed to Josh Wilson (Australian Labor Party) and describe the government’s case for the changes.
The government introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from Labor.
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
47 days
Updated 06 Oct 2026.
Meaning
First Nations native titleRecognition in Australian law of First Nations peoples’ traditional rights and interests in land or waters. holders and registered claimants gain a two-stage consent process for carbon-credit projects on their land.
Carbon-credit project operators could lose access to credits if their project’s calculation method poses a serious risk to the scheme’s integrity.
Carbon-credit project operators can return credits voluntarily after providing incorrect information. The regulatorThe public authority that administers and enforces the covered schemes. can require returns when updated estimates reveal over-creditingIssuing more carbon credits than a project’s updated emissions benefit supports..
Carbon-credit applicants face checks covering agents who act for them. Financial trouble becomes one consideration, rather than an automatic bar.
Carbon-credit project operators can begin work after applying, instead of waiting for the regulatorThe public authority that administers and enforces the covered schemes. to assess whether the project is new.
Businesses reporting emissions may have more of their submitted information published under rules set by the government.
New-vehicle suppliers receive revised compliance dates. The first checkpoint moves from 1 February to 1 March, while credit expiry moves to 30 April.
Improving consent processes for ACCU Scheme projects on native title and claimed native title land The Bill seeks to strengthen recognition of the interests of First Nations peoples in the Scheme, to bring the Scheme closer in line with recognised rights under the Native Title Act 1993, and principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent. The CFI Act requires that anyone with an eligible interest in a sequestration project or area-based emissions avoidance project, must give their consent to the project. The Bill would expand the categories of eligible interest holders to include registered nCarbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) explanatory memorandum
Powers to prevent crediting under ACCU methods subject to critical integrity risks The Bill would introduce a framework to enable the government to address integrity risks that may be encountered in the future concerning methods being used by existing projects. Ensuring the integrity of methods is critical to the credibility and long-term success of the ACCU Scheme. Under the current legislative framework, methods may be varied, revoked or allowed to expire; however, existing projects continue to operate under their original method. The CFI Act includes various safeguards to ensure the inteCarbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) explanatory memorandum
The Bill would also amend relinquishment provisions to complement existing mechanisms to ensure crediting of ACCUs is conservative. The Offsets Integrity Standards in the CFI Act include a standard of conservativeness that aims to mitigate the risk of over-crediting. This requires method estimates, projections and assumptions to be conservative, meaning where there is uncertainty, estimates of potential abatement are taken to be lower. This includes the application of discounts to sequestration project abatement estimates. In addition, discounts are applied to sequestration project abatementCarbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) explanatory memorandum
Improving integrity and compliance frameworks in the ACCU Scheme Integrity is key to ensuring abatement achieved under the ACCU Scheme is genuine, additional and contributing to Australia’s emissions reduction targets. The Bill would strengthen Scheme integrity and enhance the Regulator’s compliance and enforcement frameworks. The Bill would extend the fit and proper person test to include agents acting on behalf of ACCU project applicants, increasing oversight and supporting improved compliance outcomes. The amendments would also refine the operation of the fit and proper person test by makCarbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) explanatory memorandum
Encouraging participation in ACCU Scheme projects and innovation in new methods The Bill seeks to support participation in the ACCU Scheme by removing barriers to registering new projects at both the project registration and method design levels. The Bill would make changes to the application of the “newness requirement” the Regulator must consider as part of additionality tests when assessing applications for projects to be registered under the ACCU Scheme. These changes would increase flexibility for project proponents and support more projects to enter the Scheme. The amendments would alCarbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) explanatory memorandum
Amendments to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 The Bill would amend the NGER Act to strengthen the integrity and transparency of the NGER Scheme. These reforms will increase the transparency of the NGER Scheme by introducing a new flexible regulation-making power to require publication of prescribed kinds of information submitted under the Scheme. This power would allow for the publication of more information, with the details of the transparency arrangements (for instance, the granularity of published information or the threshold above which publication is required) toCarbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) explanatory memorandum
Amendments to the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act 2024 The amendments to the NVES Act would address a timing misalignment relating to the calculation of IEV and FEVs; the date to extinguish a liability; and the expiration of NVES units awarded under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard. The purpose of these amendments is to improve the administration of the framework, reduce the administrative burden on regulated entities and ensure that the NVES operates as intended. The NVES Act established a NVES for Australia. The NVES seeks to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new vehicles aCarbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) explanatory memorandum
Context
Australia’s ACCU Scheme was already paying for projects that claimed to avoid or store emissions and helping Safeguard Mechanism facilities meet obligations, but independent reviews, research and regulatorThe public authority that administers and enforces the covered schemes.-conflict allegations exposed doubts about whether some credits represented real reductions and whether oversight was transparent. After the government accepted the Climate Change Authority’s recommendations in 2024, it introduced this bill on 20 August 2026 to strengthen First Nations consent, independent oversight, credit correction and public enforcement information.
Independent report finds flaws in carbon-credit transparency
An independent study backed concerns that some credited projects might have proceeded without funding and that the scheme lacked sufficient transparency.
The Guardian ↗Chubb review recommends more transparency
The review found the scheme was fundamentally well designed but recommended greater transparency and cancelling avoided-deforestation credits.
ABC News ↗Research questions whether forest credits cut emissions
A major study reported that almost a third of examined forest-regeneration projects generated credits without delivering equivalent emissions reductions.
ABC News ↗Government accepts 15 carbon-market review recommendations
The government agreed to implement all 15 Climate Change Authority recommendations aimed at improving Australia’s carbon-credit markets.
Capital Brief ↗FOI documents allege regulatorThe public authority that administers and enforces the covered schemes. conflicts and scientist intimidation
Documents obtained under freedom-of-information laws alleged that the carbon watchdog mishandled conflicts of interest and failed to investigate suspected fraud properly.
Sydney Morning Herald ↗Forestry Australia questions native forest credit benefits
Forestry Australia warned that the improved native forest management method could issue credits for climate benefits that were not genuinely additional or accurately modelled.
Australian Financial Review ↗Government introduces the integrity and transparency bill
The government introduced the bill to strengthen First Nations consent, replace the scheme’s assurance committee, correct overstated credits and publish more enforcement information.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Key criticism
The evidence pack contains no opposing debate speech or named criticism of the bill. Its two speeches are both attributed to Josh Wilson (Australian Labor Party) and describe the government’s case for the changes.
Wilson said independent reviews found the carbon-credit scheme was sound and producing genuine emissions reductions, while also finding that stronger oversight and continuing improvement were needed to preserve trust.
Flawed credit methods may remain
Researchers warned that some projects receive credits without delivering matching emissions reductions, while Forestry Australia said the improved native forest management method has material accounting and modelling flaws. The bill’s governance changes may therefore be insufficient unless weak methods are corrected or withdrawn.
Oversight reforms must work in practice
Reports of weak conflict controls, inadequate fraud-investigation systems and alleged pressure on scientists at the Clean Energy RegulatorThe public authority that administers and enforces the covered schemes. raise an implementation risk: new committees, disclosure rules and enforcement powers will only improve integrity if agencies use them independently and consistently.
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Wilson supports the bill as a major improvement to Australia's carbon market, arguing that stronger governance, transparency and compliance measures will protect the integrity of carbon credits while encouraging investment and participation.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
1 speaker · 1 support
“By updating and strengthening the ACCU Scheme, this bill represents the next stage in the ongoing improvement and evolution of Australia's carbon market. Enacting these reforms will reinforce the fundamentally sound foundations of integrity that our market is built upon, and at the same time provide the certainty it needs to drive more investment in emissions reductions across the nation.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
