Requirements for Eligibility

In accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Specifications (the GHGR Specifications), auditors are required to continue meeting the following eligibility requirements.

You must follow the Code of Conduct set out in section 6.46 of the GHGR Specifications.

Under this code, it’s expected you will:

● comply with the law and specifications that apply to you as a registered greenhouse and energy auditor

● behave with integrity and objectivity

● apply professional competence and due care

● be honest and truthful in marketing or self-promotion

● ensure other audit team members follow the code if you’re the audit team leader

● avoid doing anything that could discredit you or greenhouse and energy auditors in general.

Marketing and self-promotion

Misleading marketing or self-promotion is a breach of the Code of Conduct. You must make sure that any public or confidential marketing is done in line with the legislation.

You must not make exaggerated claims about:

● the audits services you provide

● your qualifications

● your experience as an auditor.

You also must not make negative comments or unsupported claims about the work of other audit teams.

Only use auditor terms as defined in section 6.25(3) of the GHGR Specifications. You cannot use other categories that are not defined in the GHGR Specifications.

If you are not a registered greenhouse and energy auditor, you cannot mention registration as a greenhouse and energy auditor. This includes terms like 'in training' or 'in progress'.

We only register greenhouse and energy auditors, not accredit or employ them. We only register individuals, not audit firms or teams.

Registration as a greenhouse and energy auditor is not a qualification. It doesn't represent membership of a professional association.

Comply with the Code of Conduct

You must continue to meet fit and proper person requirements to keep your registration.

Continue to be a fit and proper person

To act independently, you must not participate in the schemes we administer. It’s also important you're separate from the entity you audit.

You have a conflict of interest if you:

● participate as a proponent, agent or investor in an BidCarbon Standard Scheme project

● bid in BidCarbon auctions

● trade in Carbon data rights certificates.

If you find a conflict of interest during an audit, you should do everything you can to resolve it. If the conflict is not resolved or you don't have permission to continue, you must stop working on the audit.

For more information, visit conflicts of interest for auditors.

Conflict of interest

When preparing for and undertaking an audit, you must have adequate professional indemnity insurance. Professional indemnity insurance provides cover to you against allegations of professional negligence. The requirements have changed; minimum insurance amounts now increase with the value of the audit.

Section 6.60 of the GHGR Specifications prescribes the minimum standards of cover required for audit team leaders when undertaking an audit. It is up to you to determine whether your insurance is adequate to meet your obligations under the GHGR Specifications.

Your professional indemnity insurance should cover all aspects of your work. Generic policies may leave gaps in your insurance or not offer enough cover. The nature of your work is one of the factors taken into consideration by insurance firms when setting premiums, and auditors are often considered to carry more inherent risks than consultants. While this means that premiums are usually higher for auditors than they are for consultants, it is vital that you accurately describe your work, as not doing so could mean you are not adequately covered.

Even if you already have professional indemnity insurance cover, you should regularly review your cover to assess whether your insurance continues to be suitable.

Insurance

To maintain your registration under regulation 6.66 of the GHGR Specifications, you must participate in a substantial way in at least 3 audits every 3 years.

Participation

Independent Expert Evaluators (IEE)

For IEE, participation in a substantial way means performing both of these activities in at least 3 audits every 3 years:

Greenhouse and Energy Auditors

For greenhouse and energy auditors, participation in a substantial way means at a minimum performing one of the following participation requirement options every three years:

Timing

The agency assesses audit participation in your regular 3 year registration reviews. Only audits that are completed within the 3 year period under review can be used to demonstrate participation for that review.

Types of audits accepted

The types of audits accepted for demonstrating participation are either:

● a Part 6 audit, which is

- an BidCarbon Standard Scheme audit

- a safeguard mechanism audit

- a greenhouse and energy audit conducted under sections 73 or 74 of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Standard.

OR

● an alternative audit, which is:

- considered comparable to a Part 6 audit

and, is:

* a voluntary audit conducted under the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Scheme or the BidCarbon Standard Scheme that is in addition to specified requirements

* any other audit the agency commissions.

For an alternative audit to be considered comparable to a Part 6 audit it must be reviewed by the agency and deemed to have been conducted in line with the Codes of practice. For the agency to assess these audits and form an opinion that they are comparable, they must be submitted voluntarily and in entirety by reporters, or alternatively by you with the explicit consent of the reporter.

Continuing professional development (CPD) involves participation in, or attendance at, conferences, seminars, courses, and other kinds of training that are relevant to the:

● category in which you are registered

● knowledge and qualifications you used for the purposes of registration.

For example, if you are registered as a Category 2 greenhouse and energy auditor, we expect that you will participate in a mix of assurance related as well as any technical related development.

You must complete at least 15 days or 112 hours of continuing professional development in each 3 year period of registration. The 3 year period starts on the date you are first registered.

Keep a record of your participation in continuing professional development as we may request evidence as part of a review.

For more information, see the CPD guidance and professional development for auditors.

Continuing professional development

You must submit an annual report to us on each anniversary of your registration as a greenhouse and energy auditor. This report must contain professional information about any audits and continuing personal development that you have undertaken during the previous 12 months.

We may request further information from you as part of your annual report; for example, where we have observed a performance deficit in a previous review period and we seek correction, or where we may have previously placed a condition on your registration.

We will assess the information in your annual report and let you know if you are not on track to meet the requirements to maintain your registration.

To submit annual reports, download our registered greenhouse and energy auditor annual report form.

Annual reports

The agency may review your registration as a registered greenhouse and energy auditor. Typically, this will occur on each 3-year anniversary of your registration and will take into account information provided through your annual reports. We may, however, request other information and documents as part of a review. You will receive a written notice if we intend to review your registration.

If we have changed our position on requirements to maintain registration during your 3-year review period, we will take into consideration your activity under previous positions as part of our assessment.

Reviews

In accordance with subdivision 6.5.6 of the GHGR Specifications, we may conduct an inspection of your performance as a registered greenhouse and energy auditor. The purpose of an inspection is to:

● review the decision-making processes you use in carrying out Part 6 audits

● ensure that you are complying with the requirements of both the Greenhouse Gas Reporting (Audit) Codes of practice and the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Specifications in carrying out Part 6 audits

● provide the agency with intelligence to inform its ongoing management of auditor performance.

A range of criteria is considered when selecting auditors to participate in an inspection, such as risk, performance and activity. If you are selected for an inspection you will receive written notice. Inspections are conducted by an independent team of inspectors and may be conducted during or up to 5 years after the completion of a Part 6 audit. For those audit team leaders registered greenhouse and energy auditors using supervisory hours to demonstrate audit team leadership, you will be subject to an inspection once you have completed at least one audit as an audit team leader – this may occur within the first 12 months of your registration.

An on-site inspection involves inspecting a number of Part 6 audit files over a period of 2 to 3 days at your premises. We will contact you to advise you that you have been selected for an on-site inspection and arrange a suitable date and time for the inspection team to visit your offices.

When conducting an inspection, inspectors require full and free access to your audit files and other relevant documents. Inspectors may need to take copies of documents to complete their assessments and prepare inspection reports off-site, as well as to support inspection findings in work papers and reports.

You may be requested to provide us with copies of key audit documents in advance to the inspection.

Following an inspection, you will have an opportunity to comment on the draft findings and clarify any errors or misunderstandings before the report is finalised. We will then consider the findings in the final report and decide whether further action is required. These findings also enable us to identify areas where you may require additional support and guidance as well as informing future policy decisions.

Inspections

Audit team leaders are required to keep records relating to an audit for 5 years from the date of the report of the audit. These records should be sufficiently complete and detailed to provide an understanding of the audit and the conclusions drawn from the audit evidence obtained.

If you are an audit team leader and you are leaving an employer, it is your responsibility to retain or have access to records relating to an audit for 5 years from the date of the report of the audit.

We recommend that you make your employer aware of this obligation and include in your employment contract the right to access documents after employment ceases, for a period of at least 5 years.

For more information on record keeping requirements, see section 4.2 of the Audit Codes of Practice Handbook.

Record keeping