On 8 November 2011, the Australian Senate passed the ‘carbon tax legislation’ in relation to the government’s clean energy proposal, including a mechanism for pricing carbon. The legislation was effective from 1 July 2012. Under the legislation approximately 500 of the largest emitters in Australia would be liable to purchase and surrender carbon units for every tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent they produce. The carbon pricing scheme had an initial price of $23 per tonne of emissions. On 17 July 2014 legislation to abolish the carbon tax was passed by the Senate and received the Royal Assent.
At the time the legislation was passed, and subsequently repealed, there was no accounting standard governing the accounting treatment for emission schemes.
Access the websites of the International Accounting Standards Board and Australian Accounting Standards Board and report on the development of accounting standards governing the accounting treatment for emission schemes. Access the most recent financial report of one of the largest Australian companies and report on its accounting policy and disclosures in relation to carbon emissions.