Has your corporation registered for NGER? Do you even need to register? Do you know what NGER is? There are now less than 2 weeks to comply with the registration deadline – if your corporation needs to report but is not NGER ready, you will need to take action quickly to avoid potential significant penalties.
What is NGER?
“NGER” is short for National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting, required under the NGER Act 2007 (Cth). The NGER Act requires certain companies to report energy consumption, energy production and greenhouse gas emissions to the Greenhouse and Energy Data Officer (GEDO) appointed under the legislation.
Do you need to register?
You will need to register to report on the 2008/2009 financial year if:
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you are a “controlling corporation” (ie a constitutional corporation that does not have a holding company incorporated in Australia) and meet the threshold of 125,000 tonnes of CO2-e emissions or 500 TJ of energy production or use; or
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you are a member of a controlling corporation’s group which has operational control over a facility that meets the threshold of 25,000 tonnes of CO2-e emissions or 100TJ of energy production or use.
To identify whether your corporation will need to register for NGER, you should consider:
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what corporate entities comprise the controlling corporation’s group;
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whether the controlling corporation or any of its members have operational control of a “facility” (refer to the NGER Regulations and Guidelines for details of “operational control” and “facility”);
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whether any such facility exceeds the facility based threshold, or the controlling corporation’s group activities trigger the corporate based threshold.
What do you need to do?
To register, you will need to:
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identify the controlling corporation responsible for reporting and the members of the corporate group. Where relevant, elect an entity responsible for partnerships, joint ventures, unit trusts or the like;
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post it to the GEDO before 31 August 2009.
Once received, the GEDO will process the application, and, if all necessary information is provided, the corporation will be added to the National Greenhouse and Energy Register. Upon registration, the primary contact will receive a login for the online data collection tool for recording energy, waste and greenhouse data (Online System for Comprehensive Activity Reporting (OSCAR)). OSCAR automatically calculates your greenhouse emissions from the energy and emissions data entered, and it is mandatory for registered corporations to use OSCAR to submit their NGER reports.
What are the deadlines?
If you meet the reporting thresholds, you must:
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register before 31 August 2009 for the 2008-2009 financial year; and
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submit to the GEDO your report on energy production, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 31 October 2009.
What happens if you don’t?
Under the NGER Act, you may be liable for civil penalties of up to $220,000 for non-compliance and $11,000 per day for each day after the deadlines that:
In addition, your CEO is personally liable for these civil penalties unless you can demonstrate that the CEO too “all reasonable steps” to prevent the contravention. Further, the corporation and the CEO may be liable for pecuniary penalties or the subject of criminal proceedings for non-compliances under the NGER Act.
If you need any assistance in understanding your obligations under the NGER Act, please contact
Jane Robins
