The independent Climate Change Authority has released its review of the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme legislation, finding the Scheme is "robust" and "remains fundamentally sound and important to Australia's climate policy framework."
The Government welcomes these findings and remains committed to providing stable and predictable policy settings for the ACCU Scheme which underpin Australia's high-integrity carbon market.
The Authority's review builds on previous reviews of the Scheme and on the Chubb Review. The Government has made strong progress on implementing the recommendations from these previous reviews.
The Carbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) Bill 2026, currently before Parliament, will deliver further improvements to the Scheme. The Authority has acknowledged that "these reforms should be given time to mature".
The review also examined how carbon projects can work alongside agriculture and found no "material conversion of high-value agricultural land at the national scale to date" and importantly has concluded that "sequestration and the value of agricultural production can grow in tandem rather than directly compete".
The Government will carefully consider the Authority's 2026 review recommendations and prepare a response for tabling in Parliament.
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson
"Australia's carbon market is one of the largest, most effective and highest-integrity schemes of its kind. The independent Climate Change Authority's review again confirms the ACCU Scheme is fundamentally sound and effective.
"The review highlights the importance of the Albanese Government's work to continuously improve and reform the Scheme. We have engaged widely with stakeholders and listened to the experts, including through successive Climate Change Authority reviews and the Chubb Review, and will deliver key reforms in the Bill currently before the Parliament. These reforms will further strengthen this high-integrity Scheme and provide stability for the vital function our carbon market makes as it continues to grow and mature."
