Summary

Amends the: National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 to create safeguard mechanism credit units (SMCs) and provide for related registration, transfer and compliance arrangements consistent with the treatment of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs); Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to provide that SMCs receive the same tax treatment as other specified units; Australian National Registry of Emissions Units Act 2011 to: provide ownership and transfer arrangements for SMCs; require the publication of information about holdings and cancellations of SMCs; and provide for the making of legislative rules to increase transparency of information on unit holdings or allow for the voluntary surrender of units; Clean Energy (Consequential Amendments) Act 2011, Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011 and National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 to: provide that protected information includes all information held by the Clean Energy Regulator regardless of when it was obtained; and make consequential amendments; and Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 to: enable legislative rules to prevent the regulator from entering into carbon abatement contracts that reduce covered emissions of facilities covered by the safeguard mechanism; require the regulator to consider the safeguard mechanism when assessing the regulatory additionality of proposed offsets projects; and make a consequential amendment.