AusNet Gas Services Pty Ltd

AusNet Gas Services Pty Ltd is a gas supply facility operated by AusNet Services Holdings Pty Ltd in VIC. Like all covered facilities, industrial operations generate significant emissions. Under Australia's Safeguard Mechanism, AusNet Gas Services Pty Ltd must keep its annual emissions below a stepping-down baseline — or purchase carbon credits to cover any overage.

In 2023–24, AusNet Gas Services Pty Ltd reported emissions of 188 kt against a baseline obligation of 187 kt — an overage of 637 t. The facility covered the 637 t overage by purchasing 637 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) — credits generated by carbon abatement projects elsewhere in Australia such as soil carbon farming, avoided land clearing, and landfill gas capture.

Purchasing credits is legal and intended by the Safeguard Mechanism's design — the policy deliberately allows facilities to choose between cutting on-site emissions or funding abatement elsewhere in the economy. Whether credit purchases represent genuine long-term decarbonisation depends on whether the facility's absolute emissions are trending down over time. The chart above shows the trajectory since reporting began. This question applies to all covered facilities under the Safeguard Mechanism, not AusNet Gas Services Pty Ltd specifically.

Across the gas supply sector, 3 of 5 covered facilities reported emissions above their baseline in 2023–24. The table below compares AusNet Gas Services Pty Ltd with other gas supply facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism.