Carbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) Bill 2026

Ms JARRETT (Brisbane) (18:24): Protecting our environment, including our transition to net zero, is fundamental to ensuring that there is a future world for future generations—for my kids and everybody else's. It's certainly something my community of Brisbane cares deeply about, including the very young people who are too young to vote and who I met earlier in this House today.

That's why I rise to speak in support of the Carbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) Bill 2026. At its core, this bill is about trust: trust that when Australia issues a carbon credit it represents a genuine emissions reduction or carbon storage outcome; trust that businesses investing in our carbon market can rely on storage rules and effective oversight; trust that farmers, landholders and First Nations communities who are participating in carbon projects are treated fairly; and trust that, as Australia transitions to net zero, the systems supporting that transition are transparent, credible and accountable.

If carbon credits are to play a meaningful role in reducing Australians emissions, Australians have every right to expect that those credits have integrity. The Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme has become an important part of Australia's climate policy. It rewards projects that avoid emissions or remove carbon from the atmosphere through activities such as restoring native vegetation, improving land management, and supporting new emissions reduction technologies.

These projects can provide additional income for farmers, they can create jobs in regional communities and they offer opportunities for First Nations communities to combine economic development with caring for country. They also give businesses flexibility while they work towards reducing emissions at the source. But all these benefits depend on one thing, and that's integrity.

The carbon credit has value only if people have confidence in what it represents. If one Australian credit unit is meant to equal one tonne of emissions avoided or removed, Australians must have confidence that the abatement is real. That's why integrity must be built into the architecture of the carbon credit market.

Our government has listened to many independent reviews, including the Chubb review and reviews by the Climate Change Authority and the Australian National Audit Office. None of them recommended abandoning the scheme. Instead, they recommended strengthening it, and that's exactly what this legislation does.

One of the most significant reforms in this bill strengthens the recognition of First Nations rights and interests. It's not overreach, as referred to by those opposite. Carbon projects often involve land, and in Australia land issues frequently intersect with native title.

Under these reforms, consent requirements for projects on native title land will be strengthened, and registered native title claimants will be recognised as eligible interest holders. Importantly, consent will be required earlier in the process. That matters, because consultation should not be a box-ticking exercise.

Genuine consultation occurs before key decisions are made. It allows people to understand proposals, raise concerns and negotiate agreements. It builds partnerships rather than seeking approval after decisions have already been made.

These changes provide greater certainty for project proponents while better recognising the rights of First Nations Australians and aligning the scheme more closely with the principles of free, prior and informed consent. The bill also reforms governance arrangements by replacing the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee with the new Carbon Abatement Integrity Committee.

This committee will provide independent expert advice on the methodologies used to generate Australian carbon credit units. Methodologies are important, and they sit at the heart of the carbon credit market. They determine how emissions reductions are measured, what evidence is required and what activities qualify.

Their credibility is critical to the integrity of every carbon credit. The new committee will have enhanced independence, broader responsibilities and stronger transparency requirements. It will also include at least one Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander member, ensuring that First Nations knowledge and perspective contribute to safeguarding the integrity of Australia's carbon market.

This bill also strengthens institutional independence. Responsibility for regulating carbon projects will be separated from responsibility for future government purchasing of carbon credits. The future Commonwealth purchasing function will move from the Clean Energy Regulator to the Secretary of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

This reform responds directly to the recommendation from the Chubb review and establishes a clear separation between regulation and purchasing decisions. The legislation also shifts government purchasing arrangements from a narrow focus on least-cost abatement to a broader value-for-money approach. That matters because many carbon projects deliver benefits beyond just emissions reduction.

Projects may improve biodiversity, restore habitats, strengthen soil, support regional employment and advance First Nations land management. Considering these broader outcomes does not weaken fiscal discipline; it recognises value more comprehensively. The bill also introduces safeguards to address serious integrity risks when they emerge, and one such safeguard is the method transition declaration.

This mechanism is intended for exceptional circumstances where a methodology is found to present significant integrity risk. Importantly, it is designed as a circuit breaker, not a routine intervention. Farmers and businesses need certainty when making long-term investments, and government should not change the rules arbitrarily.

However, certainty cannot come at the expense of integrity. When compelling evidence reveals that a methodology is failing to deliver genuine abatement, there has to be a mechanism to respond. This legislation provides that mechanism while surrounding its use with safeguards, criteria and consultation requirements.

This reflects the balance at the heart of this bill: certainty for participants and accountability for outcomes. The bill also strengthens provisions for relinquishing carbon credits. Project proponents will be able to voluntarily relinquish credits where credits have been issued because of, say, incorrect information.

The Clean Energy Regulator will also gain stronger powers to require relinquishment where updated information reveals overcrediting. The principle is simple. If credits have been issued for abatement that did not occur, this system must be able to correct that record.

Integrity isn't just about making the right decisions initially; it is about correcting mistakes when they are discovered. Similarly, the regulator's compliance powers will be strengthened, including powers to address decisions based on false and misleading information and issue infringement notices for lower-level breaches. While these reforms may appear technical, they are essential.

Credible markets depend on clear and enforceable rules. This bill recognises that integrity and innovation must also go hand in hand. Australia's path to net zero will require new technologies and new approaches to emissions reduction.

Researchers, farmers, universities and businesses must be supported to develop and test innovative ideas. Current arrangements can sometimes create unintended barriers by treating legitimate research and development activities as inconsistent with project eligibility requirements. This bill addresses that issue through more tailored arrangements that support innovation while maintaining integrity.

The legislation also creates flexibility for future methodologies to recognise projects that combine multiple emissions-reduction activities. For example, a landlord may simultaneously reduce agricultural emissions and increase carbon storage through revegetation. Our carbon markets should be capable of recognising the sophistication of projects that meet robust integrity standards.

That's how we encourage innovation. It's how we broaden participation and ensure the scheme evolves alongside science and technology. The reforms also extend beyond carbon credits.

The bill strengthens the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme, Australia's key framework for collecting information on greenhouse gas emissions and energy production and energy consumption. This data underpins major components of Australia's climate policy, including the safeguard mechanism and Australia's domestic and international emissions-reporting obligations.

The legislation increases flexibility around the publication of reporting data, promoting greater transparency. Climate policy should be informed by credible and accessible information. Australians should be able to track progress.

Researchers should be able to analyse trends, and governments should be accountable for results. The bill addresses practical administrative issues including reporting requirements where registrations may have been delayed and deregistration of corporations, say in liquidation, that are unlikely to continue participating in the scheme. Finally, the legislation makes targeted amendments to the new vehicle efficiency standard by adjusting the timing of key compliance milestones and calculations.

These changes provide greater certainty to the automotive industry and help ensure the framework operates effectively as intended. There is a broader principle running through this legislation. Climate policy is not strengthened simply by setting ambitious targets.

Targets matter, but institutions matter too. Measurements matter, transparency matters, governance matters, independent scrutiny matters, and public confidence matters. Australians expect that emissions reductions claimed by governments are genuine and measurable.

Businesses expect transparent and consistent market rules. Farmers and landholders deserve certainty, and First Nations Australians deserve meaningful recognition of their rights. Taxpayers deserve confidence that public funds are spent wisely.

That's why this bill matters. It's not simply about carbon accounting; it's about strengthening the institutions that Australia will rely upon during one of the most significant economic transformations in our history. There are enormous opportunities in that transformation.

Regional communities can benefit, farmers can benefit, First Nations communities can benefit, researchers and innovators in Australian industry can benefit, and our environment—and therefore our society—benefits. But those opportunities will only endure if systems supporting them are credible. Integrity is not a barrier to the growth of Australia's carbon markets; it is what makes growth possible.

Transparency is not unnecessary red tape; it's what creates confidence. Independent oversight is not inconvenience; it protects the reputation and value of the entire system. Continuous improvement is not an admission of failure; it's the hallmark of responsible government.

Labor has a proud record of protecting our environment, and this bill supports that. We've established Australia's first national environment protection agency. We've strengthened environmental laws with higher penalties for serious breaches—new protection orders, for instance.

We've passed laws requiring large polluters to cut emissions, putting Australia on the path to net zero by 2050, with a commitment to reduce emissions by 62 to 70 per cent by 2035. We're working towards 82 per cent renewable electricity by 2030 too, with more than 140 renewable projects approved to help power Australian homes and businesses. We've protected an additional 95 million hectares of ocean and bushland and now protect more ocean than any other country in the world.

We established Environment Information Australia and doubled funding for national parks, including Kakadu and Uluru. We continue to support the Indigenous rangers, including doubling their numbers to help manage feral animals and weeds and protect native species. We're investing in restoration projects that protect threatened plants and animals.

We've cleaned up urban rivers and improved recycling capacity. We've established the world's first nature repair market and invested in protecting the Great Barrier Reef through better water quality, stronger environmental protections and climate action. And we ratified the high-seas biodiversity treaty and strengthened water security through projects across Australia, including in remote and regional First Nations communities.

It's quite the list and something this government is very proud of. The Albanese Labor government understands that Australia's transition to net zero must be economically responsible, environmentally credible and socially fair. This is careful reform, it's evidence based reform, and it's another important step towards building a cleaner, more competitive and more sustainable Australian economy.

It's about policies that deliver genuine emissions reduction while creating opportunities across the country. That's the purpose of this bill, that's why these reforms matter and that's why I commend this bill to the House.