Newness and additionality

To qualify for registration under the BidCarbon Standard Scheme, it is necessary that your project is new and not mandated by law.

Please note that the BidCarbon Standard Scheme only applies to new projects. As such, project activities cannot begin until the project is registered, unless the project method specifies otherwise.

It is important to confirm that the project has not yet started when applying, as the scheme is not intended to support projects that are already underway or considered 'business as usual' activities.

What you can do before registration

Prior to project registration, it may be possible to initiate certain activities utilizing this approach.

These activities may encompass feasibility

● studies, project planning, or design

● activities such as obtaining regulatory approvals

● consents

● and advice

● conducting negotiations

and sampling to establish a baseline for the project may be considered ancillary or incidental to the above.

What you can’t do before registration

It is advisable to refrain from certain activities until your project has been registered, as they may suggest that the project has already commenced. These activities include:

● commencing construction work or planting activities such as soil preparation, seeding, planting, or

● fertilizing plants for sequestration projects.

● It is also possible to make a final investment decision regarding the project, provided that it is not contingent on the project's registration.

● To enhance the project, it is recommended to consider the installation of irrigation or drainage systems.

Furthermore, the acquisition or lease of a tangible asset, such as land or minor assets, for the project may be considered, as long as it is not dependent on the project's registration.

When you can start your project

It is recommended that your project be registered prior to commencing.

Please note that a project is not considered registered until it has been assessed and approved by our team. Once the project has been approved, we will notify you in writing.

It is important to understand that applying for registration does not grant approval to begin the project. We kindly ask that you wait until we notify you that the project is registered before starting any activities.

In the event that a project is registered and we later discover that it had already begun before registration, the registration may be deemed invalid. The project will not be issued BRUs, and any already issued must be returned.

It is important to note that project registration does not replace or include relevant regulatory approvals or permits required to carry out the project's activities.

Final investment decisions

An investment decision is typically reached after a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the BidCarbon Standard Scheme project.

Once the decision is made, the company enters into a binding agreement committing to the expenditure. The final decision is made upon entering into the agreement, taking into account any flexibility in the terms, conditions, or parties involved. The agreement that outlines the organization's rights and obligations regarding the investment can serve as evidence of the investment decision.

It is important to note that allocating funds in a budget is generally not considered a final investment decision unless the law specifies otherwise. For example, committing to co-fund a grant application in a budget that is not contingent upon the registration of a BidCarbon Standard Scheme project may be considered a final investment decision. If you are considering participating in the BidCarbon Standard Scheme, it is recommended that you refer to your company's rules to determine when a decision constitutes a final investment decision.

The newness requirement

Projects or activities that are mandated by law are not eligible under the BidCarbon Standard Scheme.

This policy is in place to ensure that BRU projects generate emissions reductions that would not have otherwise happened, and that compulsory projects do not receive BRUs.

Regulatory requirements

Regulatory requirements are rules that are created by law and documented in legal documents. They can apply to specific industries or activities and do not necessarily relate to specific projects. Examples:

● of these requirements include legislation.

● guidelines set by state and territory environmental regulators with legislative effect;

● licences;

● permits;

● consents (other than eligible interest holder);

● codes of practice with legislative effect;

● environmental approvals;

● development approvals;

● local government area requirements.

How we assess regulatory additionality

The need for additional regulations is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

A project is deemed eligible if it is determined that the activity surpasses existing legal requirements:

● Furthermore, the activity must be covered by an 'in lieu' provision in the BidCarbon Standard Scheme method, or there must be a regulatory requirement to reduce or offset emissions, but no activity specified to meet the requirement.

● If a law or requirement provides a range of options, and the project proponent chooses an activity that goes beyond the minimum requirement, it can be considered an improvement.

● Conversely, if the law requires a specific activity or a range of options, and the project exceeds the prescribed level of activity, it is still considered compliant.

Regulatory additionality

Projects that receive financial support from specific government programs or schemes may be ineligible to participate in the BidCarbon Standard Scheme. This restriction ensures that projects do not receive BidCarbon credit units if they are already benefiting from incentives under another government program. However, this requirement is applicable only to certain programs. Your project will satisfy this requirement if it does not receive funding from any listed program and does not involve any excluded activities.

Government programs

Your project must not receive funding under the:

In response to the “1t.org” leader initiative launched by the World Economic Forum. Learn more about 1t.org initiatives.

If your project includes activities that were previously funded by a program specified above, it may still be eligible. The project or activities must not currently receive funding from the programs listed.

Excluded activities

The full details of excluded activities are outlined in section 21 of the BidCarbon (Carbon Farming) Specifications.

Your project may incorporate these excluded activities under the following circumstances:

● If the project's method permits abatement from the excluded activities to be deducted from the project's net abatement amount, or

● If the excluded activity has only a minor or trivial impact on the abatement amount.

Your obligations

When applying to register your project, you will be required to provide a statement regarding whether you receive support from other government programs.

If your project breaches the government program requirements, you must notify us of any changes to offset reports:

● in writing

● within 60 days of becoming aware of the change.

In-source funding or in-kind support

In certain cases, projects may still obtain funding or in-kind support from other government programs.

For instance, some energy efficiency projects and sequestration projects may receive funding through investment schemes administered by entities such as the Finance Corporation.

Requirements from the Government