The Administrator acknowledges the shared responsibility that Signatories, the Code and other stakeholders have to uphold and enhance the reputation of Australia’s carbon industry. The Administrator’s approach to compliance is to prioritise supportive engagement that assists Signatories to understand and meet their compliance obligations, rather than enforcing punitive sanctions that drive Signatories away.
The Administrator has responsibilities including undertaking compliance audits and initiating enquiries into compliance, investigating complaints and breaches, enforcing sanctions, suspensions and removals and referring cases to the Code Review Panel.
The Administrator will seek to deter, detect, and respond to non-compliance in a consistent and fair manner. This approach has been developed to align with the below guiding principles to:
- Encourage transparency and trust between Signatories and the Administrator;
- Encourage Signatory accountability and alignment with best practice;
- Educate on and advocate for consumer protection;
- Prioritise guidance, education & engagement with Signatories where best practice is not demonstrated;
- Have regard to Signatories’ demonstration of efforts and endeavours to align with best practice;
- Exercise discretion when assessing cases of non-compliance; and
- Implement a staged approach to enforcing compliance, raising industry standards, increasing expectations and improving consistency over time.
The Administrator’s Education, Monitoring and Enforcement Approach guidance document below details the responsibilities of the Administrator, Code Review Panel and Signatories, as well as more specific information on decision-making around education, compliance monitoring and enforcement of sanctions.
