Not financial advice. This page provides general information about ACCUs for educational purposes only. Nothing here constitutes financial product advice. Pryleaf Pty Ltd does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and is not authorised to provide financial product advice. Before entering into any agreement to sell or transfer ACCUs, you should obtain independent legal and financial advice from a licensed adviser.
Once ACCUs are in your ANREU account, what you do with them is entirely your decision. This page explains how the ACCU market generally works — who buys credits, how transfers happen, and what kinds of arrangements project holders typically use.
An Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) is a unit created under the Australian Carbon Credit Units Act 2011 (Cth). Each unit represents one tonne of CO₂ equivalent stored or avoided and is registered in the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units (ANREU), administered by the Clean Energy Regulator.
ACCUs are not shares or managed investment scheme interests. They are statutory units created by Commonwealth legislation. Whether a particular transaction involving ACCUs constitutes dealing in a financial product under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) depends on the specific facts and circumstances — this is a legal question that has been subject to regulatory guidance and is evolving.
ACCUs are deposited into your ANREU account after the CER accepts your Offsets Report. They do not expire.
ANREU is the national registry operated by the CER. You need an ANREU account as a project proponent. Transfers between accounts are recorded in the registry.
The classification of ACCU market activities under financial services law is an area of ongoing regulatory development. Get legal advice before arranging any brokered or advised sale.
There are broadly two markets for ACCUs: the voluntary market (buyers choosing to offset) and the compliance market (buyers legally required to offset). Both markets are active, though pricing and accessibility differ.
Large Australian corporations use ACCUs to offset residual emissions as part of voluntary net-zero commitments. This is the largest segment of voluntary demand. Buyers are typically large ASX-listed companies in carbon-intensive sectors.
Facilities that emit above their Safeguard Mechanism baseline must either reduce emissions or surrender eligible offsets. ACCUs are one of the accepted instruments. This is mandatory rather than voluntary demand.
The CER has historically purchased ACCUs through Emissions Reduction Fund auction contracts. Under a contract, you commit to delivering ACCUs at an agreed price over the contract term. New ERF auction rounds are infrequent — check the CER website for current status.
Carbon brokers and traders buy ACCUs to on-sell to end buyers. Some offer forward purchase agreements before your credits are issued. Terms vary significantly — get independent legal advice before entering any forward contract.
After the CER accepts your Offsets Report, ACCUs are deposited automatically. No action required on your part — Pryleaf's submission triggers this.
This is entirely outside Pryleaf's scope. Negotiate directly or through a broker. The price, volume, and timing are a commercial matter between you and the buyer.
Log into your ANREU account and initiate a transfer to the buyer's ANREU account. The CER processes transfers. There is no fee for the transfer itself.
The buyer will either retire the ACCUs (permanently cancelling them to claim the offset) or on-sell them to another party. Once retired, ACCUs cannot be reused.
These descriptions are general in nature. The legal and financial implications of each arrangement differ significantly. Independent advice is important before committing to any of them.
You sell ACCUs you already hold at the current market price. Straightforward — you agree a price, transfer the units, receive payment. No ongoing commitment.
You agree to deliver ACCUs at a future date at a fixed price, before they are issued. This provides price certainty but creates a delivery obligation — you must generate the ACCUs by the contracted date. These arrangements typically require careful legal documentation.
Under a Carbon Abatement Contract with the CER, you deliver ACCUs to the government at a fixed contract price over the contract term. Contracts are awarded through auction. Check the CER's ERF auction schedule for current opportunities.
Pryleaf's role is to get ACCUs issued. We automate the compliance workflow — field data capture, forage data, carbon model runs, report generation, CER submission — so your credits are issued accurately and on time.
What happens to those credits after issuance is your decision. We do not introduce buyers, do not broker sales, and are not party to any ACCU transaction. Your ANREU account is yours.
Pryleaf charges a performance fee calculated on ACCUs issued — not on the sale price. We invoice you separately. We are not involved in any credit transaction.
What Pryleaf does
What Pryleaf doesn't do
For anything related to ACCU transactions, the CER and ANREU are the authoritative sources. We list them here for reference — not as endorsement of any commercial arrangement.
Australian National Registry of Emissions Units
Manage your ANREU account and initiate transfers
Clean Energy Regulator — ACCUs
Official CER guidance on ACCU issuance, transfers, and retirement
ERF Auction information
Current status of government auction rounds and CAC contracts
Carbon Market Institute
Industry body for the Australian carbon market
Before you can sell ACCUs, you need to generate them. Pryleaf handles every step of the compliance workflow that gets them issued.