Greenhouse reporting

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007

The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (NGER Act) came into effect in September 2007. The Act makes it mandatory for constitutional corporations to report annually on greenhouse gas emissions, energy production and energy consumption if the thresholds defined in the Act are met or exceeded. Further information on the Act is provided at: http://www.climatechange.gov.au/government/initiatives/national-greenhouse-energy-reporting.aspx.

Given its commitment to streamlining greenhouse reporting, the WA Government does not require constitutional corporations required to report under the NGER Act to report to it under an alternative greenhouse gas reporting scheme.

Some WA Government agencies are constitutional corporations. WA Government agencies that are constitutional corporations and that exceed the thresholds defined in the NGER Act must report under the Act. The Department of Environment and Conservation strongly recommends that public sector bodies seek legal advice to determine if they have obligations under the NGER Act.

WA Government agency reporting under the System for Accounting and Reporting of Government Emissions (SARGE)

The System for Accounting and Reporting of Government Emissions (SARGE) is the Western Australian Government's greenhouse gas emissions reporting framework for Government agencies.

WA Government agencies that are not constitutional corporations and have emitted equal to more than 3,000tCO2-e from stationary energy sources in a given financial year are required to report to SARGE for that financial year.

Information to be reported

Agencies that exceed the threshold defined above are required to report to the SARGE from all their activities in WA:

• total gross greenhouse gas emissions;
• greenhouse gas removals;
• greenhouse offsets;
• greenhouse intensity;
• forecast greenhouse gas emission estimate for the following year by total and intensity;
• abatement (greenhouse reductions) achieved through implementation of projects in the reporting year; and
• strategies developed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the future.

Resources available

The following resources have been developed to assist agencies to prepare their SARGE reports.

• The SARGE Reporting guidelines provide information to help agencies determine if they are required to report to the SARGE program and if reporting is required, how to prepare and submit a SARGE report.
• The SARGE Reporting form has been developed for agencies to use to prepare and submit their reports.

Links to both of these documents are provided below.

Deadline for reporting

Agencies are required to report on a financial year basis, that is, the reporting year will commence on 1 July and conclude on 30 June of the following year. Annual reports must be submitted to the Department of Environment and Conservation's Climate Change Unit within six months after the conclusion of each financial year, i.e. by 31 December of each year.

Further information and assistance

Please contact on (08) 6467 5270 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

SARGE 2010–11 Guidelines Government agency reporting (301.49 kB) 

SARGE Reporting forms 2010-11 financial year (417.94 kB) 

 Greenhouse Reporting Fact Sheet