Green Aluminium Production Credit

Question

1. Design consultation on the $2 billion Green Aluminium Production Credit closed on 6 November 2025, with final program guidelines expected in early 2026. As of June 2026 the final design has not been publicly released. a. Have the final program guidelines been published? If not, why has it taken more than seven months since consultation closed, and when will they be released? b. Has the legislation to establish the credit been introduced to Parliament? If not, when will it be? c. The credit is available from 2028-29. How can a smelter commit to a renewable energy investment program without knowing its credit rate? d. The consultation confirmed credit rates will be based on individual facility circumstances. Will each smelter's rate differ, and will the per-tonne rates be publicly disclosed or treated as commercially confidential? 2. The Government committed $1 billion directly to the Boyne Smelter through the 25 March 2026 support package, described in Budget Paper No. 3 as the ''Low-Carbon Aluminium Credit for the Boyne Smelter,'' separate from the Green Aluminium Production Credit. a. Is the Boyne Smelter also eligible for the Green Aluminium Production Credit? b. If Boyne is eligible for both the direct support package and the credit, is there any cap, offset or clawback to prevent double recovery? c. The Boyne package is matched by $1 billion from the Queensland Government and the credit is Commonwealth-only. Can Boyne access both streams simultaneously? d. Are the Tomago, Portland and Bell Bay smelters eligible for the credit? Has the Government discussed eligibility with their operators, and can Tomago access credits at the same time as its unexecuted Scheme Financial Vehicle arrangement with the New South Wales and Commonwealth governments? 3. The Department has estimated the credit will cover 30 to 40 per cent of the additional cost of using renewables instead of conventional power. a. Who bears the remaining 60 to 70 per cent, the smelter operator, the state government, or another mechanism? b. The credit is a per-tonne production credit while the Boyne package is an energy price-gap subsidy. Are these two different approaches to the same problem, and if so, why does Boyne receive both? c. A review of the credit is scheduled for 2030, only one to two years after credits commence in 2028-29. What criteria will the review use, and can credit rates or program design be changed mid-stream? d. A smelter receiving both the credit, which runs to 2036 or 2044 at the latest, and the Boyne package, which runs to 2040, could access support continuously for up to 20 years. Has the Government assessed total government support per tonne of aluminium across all programs combined? 7 4. The Green Aluminium Production Credit does not appear as a named measure in Budget Paper No. 2 for 2026-27; it was appropriated in the 2023-24 Budget. a. Is $2 billion in previously appropriated funding currently held without a finalised program framework? b. Budget Paper No. 3 (p.102) confirms $50 million flows to Queensland for Boyne in 2029-30 under the direct package. Can the Department confirm whether Boyne will be assessed for credits at the same time it receives the energy price-gap payment, and whether any mechanism prevents double recovery?

Answer

See attached response.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• BI-028_Liddle_Green Aluminium Production Credit_DISR.pdf (opens in a new tab)