Announcement date
1 April 2022
Link to announcement
Rule change to protect agriculture and regional communities - Joint media release with the Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia the Hon David Littleproud MP
Problem being addressed
There is concern that the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) unintentionally incentivises reduced output on agricultural land in favour of native forest regeneration projects. In these circumstances, there is a risk that high concentrations of native forest regeneration projects could reduce agricultural productivity and create negative flow-on impacts in local communities.
Proposal
On 1 April 2022, the government announced an amendment to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015 to give the Agriculture Minister authority to exclude native forest regeneration projects where the Minister determines they would have a material adverse impact on agricultural production or the local community in the region where the projects would be located. The amendment was made in accordance with section 56 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, which allows certain types of ERF projects to be excluded if there is a material risk that the project will have a material adverse impact on the local community or land access for agricultural production.
The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER) prepared and certified a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS), which the Office of Best Practice Regulation assessed as adequate.
DISER estimates the average annual regulatory costs at $0.1 million.
Please note - any accessibility enquiries should be directed to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.
Assessed RIS outcome
Compliant with RIS requirements