What is NGER, and who does it apply to?
The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme is Australia's mandatory framework for reporting greenhouse gas emissions, energy production and energy consumption. It was established by the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth) and is administered by the Clean Energy Regulator.[1][4]
Obligations sit with the controlling corporation of a corporate group — usually the top Australian entity — and are triggered when that group, or a single facility it has operational control over, crosses a threshold in a financial year.[1]
What the thresholds actually mean
Three separate numbers matter, and crossing one does not automatically mean you cross the others.
- Facility threshold: 25,000 t CO₂-e, or 100 TJ of energy produced or consumed.[1]
- Corporate-group threshold: 50,000 t CO₂-e, or 200 TJ of energy.[1]
- Safeguard Mechanism threshold: facilities above 100,000 t CO₂-e of covered (scope 1) emissions must keep net emissions under a declining baseline.[2]
Reports are due by 31 October each year, with no provision for extensions.[3]
Scope 1, 2 and 3 — what counts
Scope 1 is direct emissions from sources you control — diesel in equipment, gas in boilers, coal in a process. Scope 2 is indirect emissions from the grid electricity you buy; state grid factors vary widely, from about 0.15 kg CO₂-e/kWh in Tasmania to about 0.79 in Victoria. Scope 3 is everything else in the value chain; NGER does not require scope 3 reporting.[1]
The schemes in numbers — results to date
The Safeguard Mechanism covers Australia's highest-emitting industrial facilities across mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, transport and waste. Under the reformed scheme, covered facilities' baselines decline at a default rate of 4.9% each year, aligned with Australia's targets of 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050.[2][7]
Grid-connected electricity generators are managed together under a single sectoral baseline of 198 million tonnes CO₂-e. In 2023–24, total reported scope 1 emissions from grid-connected generators were 136.8 million tonnes CO₂-e — below that cap.[7][8]
Reducing your footprint to improve the numbers
For most mining and heavy operators, diesel is the single largest source of scope 1 emissions — often 60–80% of combustion, at roughly 2.7 tonnes CO₂-e per kilolitre burned. Practical levers, staged:
- Short term: idle-reduction and telematics (5–15% savings), right-sizing the fleet, tyre-pressure and load management, operator training.
- Medium term: renewable diesel (HVO) drop-in fuel, trolley-assist on graded haul roads, route optimisation, hybrid light vehicles.
- Longer term: battery-electric haul trucks for shorter cycles, haul-road electrification, hydrogen for larger units.
For grid electricity (scope 2), on-site solar, power purchase agreements for renewable supply, and simple efficiency (lighting, motors, compressed air) all move the number down.
What is NatHERS, and what do the stars mean?
The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme rates the thermal performance of a home's shell on a scale of zero to 10 stars — the more stars, the less heating and cooling the home needs to stay comfortable.[10]
- 6 stars: good, but not outstanding.
- 7 stars: the minimum for new homes under NCC 2022.
- 10 stars: comfortable with little or no artificial heating or cooling.[10]
The rating looks at layout, the construction of roof, walls, windows and floor, and how window orientation and shading suit the local climate. It does not count hot water, lighting or appliances — those fall under the Whole of Home score. Star bands are set per climate zone, so a 7-star home in Darwin and one in Hobart are each measured against their own local extremes.[10]
7 stars and Whole of Home — the NCC 2022 standard
Since NCC 2022, new houses and apartments must meet two linked requirements. First, the shell must reach the equivalent of 7 stars on the NatHERS scale (up from 6). Second, a separate Whole of Home score from 0 to 100 covers the home's major energy uses — heating, cooling, hot water, lighting and any solar or battery — and new homes must reach at least 60, where 100 represents a net-zero-energy home.[10][12]
For context: homes built around 1990 averaged about 1 star, and before national regulations arrived in 2003 fewer than 1% of Australian homes reached 6 stars. Seven stars is now the everyday standard for new builds.[10]