About public reporting – Emissions from Australian Government Operations
To support transparency, all Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies are required to report in their annual reports, the emissions from their operations in Australia or Australia’s external territories. This is providing a picture of emissions from operations across all Commonwealth entities and companies, and helping to prepare for the phased implementation of the Commonwealth Climate Disclosure initiative. Non-corporate and corporate Commonwealth entities started emissions reporting in the 2022-23 financial year, with the reporting requirement expanded to include Commonwealth companies from the 2023-24 financial year.
There are currently multiple approaches to reporting emissions. While each approach has merit, none are entirely fit-for-purpose when applied in context of reporting on emissions from Australian Government operations. The Department of Finance, supported by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, has developed an emissions reporting framework including tools and guidance to support entities in measuring and reporting on the emissions from their operational activities. This framework is detailed in the Net Zero in Government Operations Strategy and on the website.
In addition to entity annual reports, the Department of Finance aggregates emissions data and publishes a whole-of-Australian-Government Annual Progress Report each year. Data reported in the Annual Progress Report for 2022-23 formed an initial baseline for emissions associated with electricity, natural gas, fleet vehicles, domestic flights and other energy. Future publications will track progress towards the APS Net Zero by 2030 target.
