The Australian Government is ending certification through its voluntary climate action program, Climate Active.
Climate Active has provided standards, guidance, tools and certification to help businesses take voluntary action.
It filled a gap in voluntary carbon market, but climate policy in Australia has changed.
Corporate emissions reduction and climate-related reporting is increasingly driven by:
- domestic legislation, regulation and policy
- expectations from consumers, investors and the public
- international frameworks and guidance.
The government's climate targets and policies that drive corporate action have evolved.
Mandatory climate financial disclosure requirements are supporting accountable climate reporting in large Australian corporations.
Targets on the path to net zero by 2050 are guiding emissions reduction across different sectors in Australia.
These changes are supported by reforms to foundational climate policies. For example, the Safeguard Mechanism and the Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme.
There is now less need for government certification to drive voluntary action.
Have your say
To support businesses through the transition, we are consulting on 2 options.
- Close the Climate Active program.
- Close the Climate Active program but the department retain some voluntary standards and select guidance.
Read the consultation paper and have your say by 18 September 2026.
We previously consulted on the direction of the program in 2023.
