Who must comply with Safeguard Mechanism baseline (covered facilities)?
The applicability test for Comply with Safeguard Mechanism baseline (covered facilities) (CER), computed across 35 industries, 9 business structures and 6 size bands.
Short answer: Only if
Applies only if you operate a facility emitting > 100 kt CO2-e (scope 1) a year. Whether it applies turns on a fact that no industry, structure or size settles on its own.
What the obligation is
Facilities >100,000 tCO2-e/year must keep emissions below an annually declining baseline.
The Safeguard Mechanism applies to facilities emitting >100,000 tCO2-e per year. Each facility has a baseline that declines 4.9% per year to 2030. Excess emissions must be offset by surrendering ACCUs or SMCs. Production-adjusted baselines apply to trade-exposed facilities. Multi-year monitoring periods are available.
The applicability test
Applies only if you operate a facility emitting > 100 kt CO2-e (scope 1) a year. Whether it applies turns on a fact that no industry, structure or size settles on its own.
How the regulator frames it: Operators of facilities emitting >100,000 tCO2-e covered Scope 1 emissions per year.
What triggers it: Operating a covered facility.
Jurisdiction: Commonwealth law, so the test is the same in every state and territory.
Which industries are in or out
Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (5 of 35: only if a further fact applies; 30 of 35: no).
| Industry | Answer |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | Only if a further fact applies |
| Mining & resources | Only if a further fact applies |
| Road transport & logistics | Only if a further fact applies |
| Aviation (incl. drones) | Only if a further fact applies |
| Maritime & ports | Only if a further fact applies |
| No | 30 other industries |
Business structure and size
Structure does not change the answer in the 5 industries it can reach: for every structure the answer is "only if a further fact applies".
| Size band | Answer in the 5 industries it can reach, any structure |
|---|---|
| No employees (turnover $100K–$1M) | No |
| 1–5 employees (turnover $100K–$1M) | No |
| 6–19 employees (turnover $1M–$3M) | No |
| 20–99 employees (turnover $3M–$10M) | No |
| 100–499 employees (turnover $10M–$100M) | Only if a further fact applies |
| 500+ employees (turnover $100M–$1B) | Only if a further fact applies |
Worked examples
Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:
- Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Requires a trigger outside this questionnaire.
- Pty Ltd company in manufacturing with 100–499 employees, turnover $10M–$100M: check whether it applies. applies only if you operate a facility emitting > 100 kt CO2-e (scope 1) a year.
When you need to check further
The engine shows this obligation as "check whether this applies" when a business has industry: Mining & resources / Manufacturing / Aviation (incl. drones) / Maritime & ports / Road transport & logistics and consolidated revenue ≥ $100M or revenue 50m maybe. It then applies only if you operate a facility emitting > 100 kt CO2-e (scope 1) a year. That fact is not something Rules Mate can infer from industry, structure or size.
What you must do, and when
- When due
- Annual surrender of ACCUs / SMCs by 31 March.
- Frequency
- Annual
- Evidence to keep
- NGER report, baseline determination, ACCU surrender confirmation, monitoring period elections.
- Status
- Current
- Priority
- High
Penalty for not complying
Maximum penalty: Civil penalties for non-surrender plus loss of multi-year flexibility.
Audit or assurance level
Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.
Obligations with the same applicability test
If this obligation applies to you, so does this one: the engine uses the same rule for each.
Where it sits in the corpus
Rules Mate tracks 14 published obligations tagged "climate", 4 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 0 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated high priority, and is a annual obligation.
Regulator, legislation and tools
Regulated by Clean Energy Regulator.
CER: Administers NGER (greenhouse and energy reporting), Safeguard Mechanism, ACCUs, and renewable energy targets.
NGER Act: Federal greenhouse + energy reporting.
Free tools that help with this obligation:
Questions
- Who must comply with Safeguard Mechanism baseline (covered facilities)?
- Applies only if you operate a facility emitting > 100 kt CO2-e (scope 1) a year. Whether it applies turns on a fact that no industry, structure or size settles on its own.
- Do sole traders need to comply with Safeguard Mechanism baseline (covered facilities)?
- Only if a further fact applies. Looking in the 5 industries it can reach and every size band, the engine's answer for a sole trader is: only if a further fact applies.
- Do businesses with 1–5 employees need to comply with Safeguard Mechanism baseline (covered facilities)?
- No (1–5 employees, turnover $100K–$1M).
- When is "Comply with Safeguard Mechanism baseline (covered facilities)" due?
- Annual surrender of ACCUs / SMCs by 31 March.
Related
Sources
Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine from the published obligation corpus; facts last checked 3 October 2026. Rules Mate is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your position with the regulator source or a qualified adviser before acting.