1. What costs are involved in applying for accreditation?

2. What ongoing costs are involved once accredited?

3. Who pays for the audits and how much do they cost?

4. How much can I put into one application?

5. What happens if I don’t want to use the standard wording for my Nomination Form?

6. How long will it take to process my application?

7. When can I start counting the number of certificates I am eligible to make?

8. How much help can IPART give me in preparing my application?

9. What are my ongoing obligations once accredited?

10. Who do I sell certificates to?

11. What is the price of a certificate?

12. How do I trade certificates?

1. What costs are involved in applying for accreditation?

There are two main costs in applying for accreditation:

• A one off application fee of $500 per project
• Potentially an audit of the application. The need for an audit will be assessed by IPART and you will be advised. The cost of the audit depends upon the scope of the audit and the complexity of the material being audited. Generally, a record keeping audit costs between $5,000 and $10,000.

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2. What ongoing costs are involved once accredited?

The two areas of ongoing costs, once accredited, are:

• 15 cent registration fee per certificate, as defined in the legislation
• Periodic audits of the project after accreditation. As a general rule of thumb:
• Projects creating more than 100,000 certificates per annum need to be audited annually
• Projects creating between 50,000 and 100,000 certificates per annum may be audited every two years
• Projects creating between 5,000 and 50,000 certificates per annum may be audited every three years
• Projects creating less than 5,000 certificates per annum may be spot audited randomly at the discretion of IPART.

Please be aware that this may vary based on the specific characteristics of the project and any non-compliance issues arising.

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3. Who pays for the audits and how much do they cost?

All audit costs are borne by the project proponents. The cost of the audit depends upon the scope of the audit and the complexity of the material being audited. Generally, a record keeping audit costs between $5,000 and $10,000.

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4. How much can I put into one application?

This varies based on the specific nature of projects, the number of sites and the calculation method selected. Please contact IPART for further guidance, before submitting your application for accreditation.

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5. What happens if I don’t want to use the standard wording for my Nomination Form?

IPART will need to seek legal advice on whether your words are adequate to meet the requirements of the DSA Rule. The costs of this legal advice will be passed onto you. To date, this legal advice has cost less than $500 and you will be given a quote and the option of using the standard words prior to the advice being commissioned.

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6. How long will it take to process my application?

This varies based on the standard of your application, the complexity of your project, how quickly you respond to requests for additional information and whether an audit is needed. In general, IPART advises people to allow 90 days from the submission date.

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7. When can I start counting the number of certificates I am eligible to make?

Once you have submitted your application to the Scheme Administrator, any energy savings after that date are eligible to create certificates.

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8. How much help can IPART give me in preparing my application?

IPART is happy to meet with you and give you generic advice on applying the DSA Rule to your project and the appropriate calculation method to choose. However, you are responsible for preparing the application and all calculations. IPART cannot review your calculations or documentation before you submit the application.

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9. What are my ongoing obligations once accredited?

Ongoing obligations vary between projects. In general you will be required to submit an annual report and will be subject to an audit regime. As a general rule of thumb:

• Projects creating more than 100,000 certificates per annum need to be audited annually
• Projects creating between 50,000 and 100,000 certificates per annum may be audited every two years
• Projects creating between 5,000 and 50,000 certificates per annum may be audited every three years
• Projects creating less than 5,000 certificates per annum may be spot audited randomly at the discretion of IPART.

Please be aware that this may vary based on the specific characteristics of the project and any non-compliance issues arising.

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10. Who do I sell certificates to?

Benchmark participants are required to surrender certificates as part of their license to supply electricity (in general). A full list of Benchmark Participants is available on this website.

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11. What is the price of a certificate?

IPART does not collect or provide information on certificate prices. There are several brokers in the market who may be able to assist you in this regard.

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12. How do I trade certificates?

All trades occur in the marketplace. IPART does not engage in trading and the Scheme Registry is not a trading platform. Most trades occur either through brokers or bilateral deals. However, the Registry does evidence the transfer in ownership of certificates, once a trade has been completed.

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