Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024

The majority voted in favour of a motion to agree with the main idea of the bill. In other words, they voted in favour of reading the bill for a second time.

What is the bill's main idea?

According to the bill homepage, the bill was:

Introduced with the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024 and Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024, the bill imposes charges to recover the cost of providing services that benefit groups of Guarantee of Origin scheme participants.

According to the explanatory memorandum (which is a political document produced by the party introducing it):

The Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024 (GO Charges Bill) is part of a package of three Bills, including the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024 (GO Bill) and the Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024 that are intended to be introduced to the Parliament concurrently .

The Bill package would provide a framework for the establishment of a Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme that would track and verify attributes associated with low-emissions products, starting with hydrogen, and establish an enduring certification mechanism for renewable electricity. Participants that opt in to the GO scheme, who produce low-emissions products or renewable electricity, would be able to create certificates that contain information about their emissions or renewable attributes that would be tracked through a public register providing greater certainty and trust to domestic and international customers. Green metals, low carbon liquid fuels and other products would be incorporated in the future.

The GO scheme is to be fully cost recovered with fees and levies being included from commencement of the scheme. Consistent with the Australian Government Cost Recovery Policy, the GO Charges Bill would provide for the imposition of charges that may be considered cost recovery levies. These charges would recover the costs of providing services that benefit groups of scheme participants. This could include activities such as monitoring compliance, investigations and enforcement.

The GO Charges Bill would impose charges on different profiles and registered facilities under the GO scheme for a financial year. Charges would be payable with respect to the following profiles and registered facilities in the GO scheme:

• Production profiles

• Delivery profiles

• Consumption profile

• Accredited power stations

• Renewable electricity generation facilities, other than accredited power stations

• Renewable energy storage facilities

• Aggregated systems.

The amounts of relevant charges, or methods for calculating the amounts of relevant charges, would be prescribed in regulations. The regulations would also prescribe other matters relevant to the payment of charges, such as how and when payments are to be made.

Imposition of charges under the GO Charges Bill would be complementary to the collection of cost recovery fees payable for services that the Clean Energy Regulator (the Regulator ) provides directly for the benefit of a single individual scheme participant. The GO Bill provides for fees to be payable for activities that would be prescribed in rules, such as making applications.

Exemptions, waivers, refunds and remissions may be provided by the Regulator in circumstances that would be prescribed in rules made under the GO Bill. The intention is that exemptions, waivers, refunds and remissions may be provided by the Regulator on a consistent basis with respect to cost recovery fees payable under the GO Bill and cost recovery charges payable under the GO Charges Bill.