On 6 May 2026, the NSW Government introduced the Energy Legislation Amendment (Prioritising Renewable Energy) Bill 2026 (Bill) to parliament. The Bill proposes changes to NSW planning laws that would, if passed, remove some obstacles facing renewables projects in their dealings with public authorities and objectors.

08 May 2026

Emissions are rising due to military activity, damage to energy infrastructure, disrupted shipping routes and fuel volatility. Over the next 6 to 24 months, these dynamics are likely to translate into higher carbon exposure - particularly in Scope 3 – along with greater scrutiny of emissions disclosures and sharper tests of whether transition plans remain credible under stress.

10 April 2026

The Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credits and Other Measures) Act 2025 (Act), which received Royal Assent shortly before the May 2025 Federal election was announced, established the critical minerals production tax incentive (CMPTI).

13 February 2026

South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and the world’s 13th-largest, is moving fast to reshape its energy and industrial base. Offshore wind, solar and hydrogen are attracting investments and companies are scaling up innovation in green batteries and electric vehicles.

21 January 2026

On 16 December 2025, the government‑backed expert panel chaired by Tim Nelson released its Final Report on wholesale market settings for the National Electricity Market.

17 December 2025

We unpack the key elements of Queensland’s new reforms on battery storage projects and what they mean for industry moving forward.

12 December 2025

n our final insight for 2025, we reflect on the new United States-Australia Framework deal in the context of Australian government initiatives following the May Federal election which are relevant to Australian projects.

18 November 2025

Australia’s role in the global energy transition is critical. But as demand surges for minerals like lithium, cobalt and rare earths, so do the risks of corruption and modern slavery.

07 November 2025

Long-awaited reforms to Australia’s environmental laws are set to be introduced in Parliament this week, promising the clarity and momentum both industry and environmental groups have been seeking.

29 October 2025

A global reassessment of nuclear energy -— termed the ‘"nuclear renaissance"’ —- is reshaping energy policies in the United States and Europe. This shift is driven by energy security imperatives, volatile fossil fuel markets, and binding decarboniszation targets. In the U.S., executive actions aim to quadruple nuclear capacity to 400 GWGW by 2050 through streamlined regulations.

21 October 2025

Australia and Singapore have signed the Cross-Border Electricity Trade Framework (CBET Framework), turning years of policy intent into a practical pathway.

14 October 2025

The Queensland Government delivered the Queensland Energy Roadmap 2025 (Energy Roadmap) on 10 October 2025.

13 October 2025

The Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credits and Other Measures) Act 2025 (Act), which received Royal Assent shortly before this year’s Federal election was announced, established the critical minerals production tax incentive (CMPTI).

24 September 2025

On Monday, the NSW Government announced the Investment Delivery Authority (IDA), a new authority designed to fast track major investment projects in NSW, will be ready to accept Expressions of Interest (EOIs) in the coming weeks.

17 September 2025

Last week, the Federal Resources Minister, Madeleine King, led a roundtable with Australian state and territory resources ministers on, among other things, supporting Australia’s minerals industry, amidst the Federal Government’s current industry consultations on a promised Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve.

17 September 2025

Australia’s energy system is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the rapid uptake of Consumer Energy Resources (CER) such as rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicle chargers and controlled loads, with Australia now having the highest proportion of households with rooftop solar globally.

15 August 2025

For the past several months, an independent, government backed, market review led by Tim Nelson has been considering market reforms to promote investment in firmed renewable generation and storage capacity in Australia’s east coast electricity market.

06 August 2025

M&A opportunities are flowing from the huge capital investment required for Australia’s energy transition and the disruption caused to longstanding businesses.

05 August 2025

Further implementation details for the Guarantee of Origin Scheme were released for consultation on 23 June 2025.

29 July 2025

Cybersecurity considerations are increasingly critical in the management of consumer energy resources.

09 July 2025

In the second instalment of our energy considerations for data centres, we explore the emerging area of colocating battery energy storage systems (BESS), where we unpack the key considerations and opportunities.

07 July 2025

In pockets of Asia, corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are emerging as a transformative tool opening access to renewable energy and driving decarbonisation.

07 July 2025

Malaysia is moving towards a more sustainable energy future as it chases ambitious renewables targets, with increasing initiatives and the gradual rolling out of a liberalised electricity market. Corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) have emerged as a game-changing solution within this framework.

07 July 2025

Data centres are vital to Australia’s digital future, driving essential services, AI platforms, cloud computing and all of the internet connected devices in each of our homes.

11 June 2025

As one of the world’s biggest financial hubs, Hong Kong is decarbonising its economy by playing to its strengths: finance and technology. These are the ‘dual engines’ powering transformation.

05 June 2025

For Japan's energy transition, these agreements are game-changers. In a post-Fukushima context where the country has struggled to balance energy security with decarbonisation goals, corporate PPAs provide a market-based mechanism to finance new renewable capacity outside traditional subsidy schemes. The data centre sector's entrance into this space is particularly noteworthy, as it addresses the dual challenges of powering Japan's digital economy while meeting increasingly stringent corporate environmental commitments.

03 June 2025

Driven by our fast and furious demand for instantaneous data and AI, the development and operation of data centres is placing unprecedented demands on Australia’s electricity network.

02 June 2025

The Productivity Commission is now inviting feedback from industry stakeholders as part of the second phase of its ongoing inquiries into the five pillars of productivity.

21 May 2025

In the dynamic landscape of the Australian energy sector, Letters of Intent (LOIs) are emerging as a key agreement to facilitate negotiations and signal commitment between parties.

15 May 2025

With a resounding majority, Labor returns to government with a clear mandate to continue Australia’s energy transition. The message from voters is clear: the direction of travel is towards renewables.

05 May 2025

In this alert, we unpack the proposed reforms and what they mean for industry going forward.

02 May 2025

On 15 February 2025, Royal Assent was given to the Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credit and Other Measures) Act 2025 (Cth) (the Act).

31 March 2025

Over recent years, the WA Government has started to focus on facilitating decarbonisation in the Pilbara region, which hosts a significant portion of Australia’s mining sector. This push now continues with the release of two further consultation papers on electricity reform in the Pilbara.

21 March 2025

As of Monday 3 February 2025, all wind farms in Queensland will be subject to impact assessable development as a result of legislative changes pushed through on Friday 31 January 2025.

03 February 2025

Australia’s critical minerals sector has been transformed in 2024 by regulatory overhauls, strategic funding initiatives, and shifting global priorities. Critical energy transition minerals (CETMs) have emerged as the linchpin of the energy transition. Australia, endowed with vast reserves of these CETMs, is positioning itself at the forefront of the global energy transition.

16 December 2024

In this insight we take a close look at the CMPTI, to help businesses prepare for additional reporting obligations and potential compliance costs.

11 December 2024

The Guarantee of Origin Scheme will encourage decarbonisation and investment in Australian industry by providing mechanisms to verify low emissions products and to certify electricity generated by renewable sources.

29 November 2024

Offshore wind-powered electricity generation offers efficient and unobtrusive renewable energy, capable of delivering scale without the land use debates characteristic of the onshore industry.

04 November 2024

Over the past week, several positive announcements have been made for Australian listed critical minerals mining companies and critical minerals projects within Australia

03 October 2024

In 2023, the Sapporo 5 (a strategic partnership between the United States, Canada, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom) agreed to collaborate to develop a secure and resilient global nuclear supply chain.

16 September 2024

Consumer energy resources (CERs) are consumer-owned devices that generate, store, or manage electricity.

05 September 2024

The Federal Government’s much-anticipated “Aviation White Paper – Towards 2050” landed on 26 August 2024.

03 September 2024

The strong global push to electrify the world’s vehicle population has in turn created exponential demand for the various components comprising an EV, with the most important being its energy source – the battery. The EV battery (and its supply chain) serves as the single most valuable part of an EV, typically accounting for 30% to 40% of the value of the vehicle[2]. This high cost is mainly attributed to the battery’s composition of several critical raw minerals, including lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel and graphite[3]. As we share below, these minerals are hard to come by and supply is concentrated in the hands of a few countries.

24 July 2024

The Federal Government's commitment to fostering a Future Made in Australia is set to introduce significant incentives for businesses engaged in the critical minerals sector.

22 July 2024

Artificial intelligence, in particular generative AI, is rapidly reshaping our global critical minerals landscape.

16 July 2024

Welcome back to our 5-part series exploring the emerging opportunities and challenges associated with the uptake of CER in Australia from a tech law perspective, with a focus on privacy and data, AI and automation, cyber security and contracting to enable the transition to CER.

20 June 2024

On 14 May 2024, the Petroleum Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (WA) received Royal Assent (the Act).

19 June 2024

Following the recent announcement of the 2024 Federal Budget and the upcoming Future Made in Australia Act, the Federal Government’s end-to-end energy transition focus is clear. As highlighted in our earlier insight, Minister for Resources Madeleine King has indicated that critical minerals funding will be vital in building the foundation of the Future Made in Australia Act, which was reflected in the 2024 Federal Budget announcements.

31 May 2024

The vast majority of AI systems are trained and deployed on power-hungry servers housed in large data centres that use enormous amounts of electricity and water, amplifying the effects of climate change that are already being felt around the world.

23 May 2024

The Government has provided some details regarding its recently announced Future Made in Australia package.

14 May 2024

On 9 May 2024, the Federal Government released the Future Gas Strategy, which will guide the Australian Government’s policymaking to support Australia’s economic transition to net zero.

14 May 2024

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has shed more light on how the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) will operate in Western Australia’s Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM), with the release of a Western Australia Design Paper (Design Paper) on 12 April 2024.

02 May 2024

As the global energy transition continues to develop, change is on the horizon. Global critical mineral supply and demand, technological development, and the clean energy transition will continue to drive investment as government and industry stakeholders look for opportunities.

01 May 2024

Victoria’s Minister for Planning has gazetted changes which enable accelerated assessment of planning applications for renewable energy facilities, utility installations, and associated subdivisions, to unlock investment and help Victoria meet its legislated emissions reduction, renewable energy, and net zero targets.

23 April 2024

As Australia transitions to a low-carbon economy, we see carbon markets play an increasing role to help achieve net zero ambitions. Staying on top of deadlines and developments is essential.

26 March 2024

has held the pen when it comes to deciding what carbon farming projects can be carried out and what boxes those projects must tick under the relevant methods to be eligible.

12 February 2024

The long-awaited renewal of the China Certified Emission Reductions (CCER) market is expected to drive trading activity, develop the market and spur innovation. This is a critical step towards China reaching its ‘30.60’ decarbonisation target: peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.

26 January 2024

The South Australian Government has passed an important legislative reforms for the regulation and licensing of hydrogen production and renewable energy facilities, expected to make it a ‘first mover’ among Australian State and Territory jurisdictions in 2024.

19 January 2024

The way that energy is generated, distributed and consumed in Australia is changing and technology is a key enabler of this change.

15 December 2023

The reality of the ground we need to cover to reach global decarbonisation targets is driving policies, investment and innovation. To do this effectively and within desired timeframes it’s critical that we embrace collaboration by working together, sharing knowledge and simply connecting people.

24 November 2023

In our country chapters, we look at initiatives to encourage the transition to a net zero economy – across emissions reduction targets, carbon markets, financing, transport, housing and buildings, and agriculture. Here is a brief snapshot. More detail and examples are in the country chapters.

24 November 2023

On Friday 20 October, the Commonwealth Government announced its proposed updates to the Australian Government’s Climate Active certification program.

02 November 2023

After four weeks of consultation on an exposure draft in June, the Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Bill 2023 (the Bill) was introduced to Parliament this week to enshrine the commitments from the Plan into law.

26 October 2023

The National Electricity Market (NEM) is transitioning from a dependency coal to a system which will run at times entirely on renewable energy.

25 October 2023

Nickel is set to become one of the most important critical minerals in the net zero transition, reaching a predicted global market of almost US$60bn within 5 years. Future industry growth will be driven by the dramatic increase in demand for lithium-ion EV batteries – of which nickel is a key component. Given the exponential growth in demand, there is still a high risk that supply will fall short in the coming decade.

12 October 2023

On 10 October 2023, the ACCC authorised Brookfield and MidOcean’s proposed acquisition of Origin Energy Limited (Origin) (Proposed Acquisition).

10 October 2023

The voluntary carbon markets present a range of opportunities for business to execute its decarbonisation strategy. Under Australia’s predominant carbon market, the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme administered by the Clean Energy Regulator, more than 13 million ACCUs were transacted in the first quarter of 2023. This is over half the number transacted in 2022, and more than the total transacted in 2020 and 2021 combined.[1]

05 September 2023

On 7 August 2023 the Queensland Government initiated consultation on proposed amendments to State Code 23 (Wind Farm Code) and its associated guidelines for onshore wind farm development projects.

10 August 2023

The Federal Government has reformed the Safeguard Mechanism to put Australia’s largest industrial emitters on a pathway to net zero by 2050.

08 August 2023

New rules in the EU that will force large companies to check their value chain for any negative human rights and environmental impacts have inched closer.

31 July 2023

The global appetite for cost-competitive green hydrogen has seen the US, the EU, Australia and others introduce incentives to lure investment and encourage development.

17 July 2023

The Competition and Consumer (Gas Market Code) Regulations was passed on 6 July 2023 (the Code).

12 July 2023

ARENA and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water have published a consultation paper outlining indicative specifications for the program. The consultation paper covers proposed objectives, eligibility criteria and detail regarding the proposed funding mechanism, as well as other features of the program.

07 July 2023

The Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Bill 2023 (SA) (Bill) would, if passed, be the most significant State-level reform in the renewables sector in Australia, by streamlining regulatory processes throughout the life-span of renewable energy and hydrogen production projects. [1]

08 June 2023

The Federal Government has released its proposed Mandatory Code of Conduct for the East Coast Gas Market (Draft Code).

27 April 2023

In March 2023 the Victorian Government released its second Offshore Wind Implementation Statement. This announcement keeps momentum for the developing Victorian industry at a time when proponents are preparing feasibility licence applications in the Gippsland Declared Area, which are due by 27 April 2023.

27 March 2023

When China’s national carbon market launched in 2021, it promised to act as a powerful tool in combatting climate change.

27 March 2023

On 9 February, the Australian Government announced proposed changes to the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM) and requested feedback from relevant stakeholders.

08 March 2023

Offshore wind farms can now be developed in Gippsland, commencing with the feasibility licence application process, following the Commonwealth Government’s declaration of Australia’s first offshore wind area.

21 December 2022

The exposure drafts issued by the Federal Government reflect the establishment of a very broad regulatory framework through which the ACCC can regulate the supply and acquisition of gas.

13 December 2022

Development of the offshore wind sector continues in Victoria with the release of the State Government’s first Offshore Wind Implementation Statement.

22 November 2022

The Singapore government plans to put low-carbon hydrogen at the heart of plans to accelerate its transition to a net zero economy, releasing a National Hydrogen Strategy to build capability in the space.

01 November 2022

The WA Government has released a consultation paper Renewable Hydrogen Target for Electricity Generation in the SWIS (Paper)[ ] in relation to a proposed ‘Renewable Hydrogen Target’ scheme (the Scheme).

31 October 2022

On 18 October 2022 trade ministers in Australia and Singapore signed the Green Economy Agreement (GEA).

20 October 2022

On 10 October 2022, the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) opened submissions on exposure draft legislation to reform the Safeguard Mechanism under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth) (NGER Act).

12 October 2022

On 28 September 2022, the Queensland Government released the ‘Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan’ (Energy Plan). The $62 billion Energy Plan aims to evolve Queensland into a renewables, hydrogen and clean energy superpower.

30 September 2022

In 2020, 85% of China’s primary energy needs were met with fossil fuels and 72% in Australia. This is the base from which China and Australia must transform their energy generation and use.

14 September 2022

Surging demand for exports of iron ore, coal and minerals over the last three decades, much due to China’s growth, has brought significant wealth to Australia.

14 September 2022

Transport is among the most emissions-heavy sectors. In 2019 the sector represented 23% of global energy-related emissions according to the 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Mitigation Report.

14 September 2022

The Australian Federal Government’s Climate Change Bill, which incorporates Australia’s new emissions reduction targets of 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050, is well on the way to becoming law.

29 August 2022

Offshore wind farms are one step closer in Australia following an announcement from the Federal Government on Friday.

11 August 2022

They can be - let us explain.

05 July 2022

This recent decision of the Victorian Supreme Court shows that seasonal intermittent night time noise can be enough to create a nuisance.

28 April 2022

In our full Federal Budget Report, we reflected on the fact that Australia remains a ‘lucky’ country in having a stable political environment, vast natural resources and low unemployment. The challenge for the Government will be capitalising on those advantages and being able to smooth short term issues while still ensuring long term prosperity.

30 March 2022