Low Emissions Industry Program

Mining and manufacturing facilities in NSW that reported emissions under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme for the 2024-25 financial year.

Please see the Low Emissions Industry Program funding guidelines for the full list of eligibility requirements.

All NSW mining and manufacturing facilities that

• reported emissions under the NGER Scheme in financial year 2024-25 and
• are not a Safeguard facility.

To be eligible, an abatement project must:

• occur at a facility in NSW that:
  • reported emissions under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme for the 2024-25 financial year
  • is not a Safeguard facility
  • oil and gas extraction facility (ANZSIC group 070)
• reduce the facility’s emissions by at least 1,000 tCO2e per year of scope 1 and/or scope 2 every year of operation
• be fully operational on or before 30 June 2030
• include continuous and proven co-investment by the applicant of at least 50% of the eligible costs (see Appendix C of the Low Emissions Industry Program funding guidelines) of the abatement project*
• align with the facility’s strategy for business operations at or above its current operating capacity beyond 2030
• deliver emissions reduction that does not result from a decrease in production or safety
• deliver emissions reduction that exceeds any applicable legislative requirements
• require NSW Government funding to proceed, significantly shorten the implementation timeframe or increase the scale of the abatement.

*Please note: You must contribute at least 50% of the eligible costs of the project. Higher contributions may strengthen your application’s value for money assessment and may improve competitiveness. Your funding co-contribution could be from a parent organisation or through arrangements with other organisations (under contract). However, you cannot source more than 50% of funding for the project from the NSW Government. If you intend to source funding from other grants (for example ARENA) you must tell us. We may not be able to co-fund your project with all other grant programs.

Please see Low Emissions Industry Program funding guidelines for further details.

Abatement projects that will be operational on or before 30 June 2030.

The project should be started by 1 January 2027 and the project must be completed by 30 June 2030.

Abatement projects that will be operational on or before 30 June 2030 and with minimum emissions reduction by at least 1,000 tCO2e per financial year.

Eligible project expenditures include the following.

• Expenditure on the preparation of contracts entered for the purposes of undertaking the activities required for the conduct of the project. This does not include preparation of the funding deed or any documentation related to the application process, subject to the ineligible expenditure constraints detailed in the ineligible expenditure section.
• Expenditure on engaging external consultant(s) to perform activities directly related to the project.
• Expenditure for plant equipment installed for the project at the full delivered cost of the plant (GST inclusive), less any GST credits the recipient is entitled to claim.
• Expenditure on plant equipment used for the construction of the project, calculated based on hire or lease costs and running costs directly related to the construction of the project, such as rent, power, fuel and repairs and maintenance.
• Labour expenditure, such as salaries and wages, including reasonable on-costs for personnel employed directly on the project. This includes existing staff working on the project and additional staff hired/contracted for the project.
• Administrative expenses, including those incurred on:
  • communications
  • accommodation
  • computing facilities
  • travel
  • recruitment
  • printing
  • stationery, where such expenses are related directly to the project.
• Expenditure on legal, audit and accounting costs related directly to the project.
• Expenditure on activities that directly contribute to, or enable knowledge sharing, including:
  • database development
  • websites
  • applications
• Expenditure such as relevant licence fees or intellectual property purchase costs, where the applicant needs to access specific technology to undertake the project.

The Department may consider supporting any other expenditures not listed above, on a case-by-case basis.

Ineligible applicants include:

• unincorporated associations
• an individual (including sole traders)
• joint applicants without a lead applicant
• insolvent businesses
• NSW state-owned corporations or statutory authorities
• Safeguard facilities

See the Low Emissions Industry Program funding guidelines for guidance on ineligibility.

Ineligible project expenditures include the following.

• Operating costs of the project, post-commissioning. 
• Projects that directly relate to NSW Government planning and assessment processes, such as: 
  • biodiversity studies 
  • heritage studies 
  • noise, air quality and traffic studies 
  • water, waste and hazardous material studies 
  • council and/or government levies/fees. 
• Expenditure on projects that a local, state, territory or Commonwealth Government agency has the responsibility to undertake. 
• Any opportunity costs. 
• Expenditure related to the general operations and administration of the recipient’s organisation that the recipient could reasonably be expected to undertake in the normal course of business. 
• Expenditure undertaken prior to the signing of the funding agreement or after the completion date for the project specified in the funding agreement. 
• Sales or promotional activities that do not directly support the successful completion of the abatement project. 
• Expenditure on the acquisition of land for the abatement project. 
• Interest on loans for new and pre-existing capital items used for the abatement project.  
• Membership fees, donations or any other expenditure that the Department determines does not directly support the successful completion of the abatement project. 
• Expenditure that does not directly support the successful completion of the abatement project. 
• Expenditure related directly to obtaining government approvals to undertake the abatement project. 
• Expenditures associated with preparing a funding application.  

The Department is not liable for any costs, expenses, losses, claims or damages that may be incurred by applicants in connection with the application process. This includes in preparing or submitting an application, providing further information to the Department, participating in negotiations with the Department or signing of the funding deed.

Abatement projects that are ineligible for Low Emissions Industry Program funding could include, but are not limited to:

• pre-deployment projects
• projects that do not have emissions reduction of at least 1,000 tCO2e per financial year
• projects that will not be fully operational on or before 30 June 2030
• a project that requests less than $500,000 in funding
• a project that requests more than $10 million* in funding
• projects that do not align with the facility’s strategy for business operations at or above its current operating capacity beyond 2030.

*Please note: at our discretion we can consider applications for projects that exceed the maximum grant amount under exceptional circumstances.

Abatement projects that this funding could support include, but are not limited to:

• fuel switching projects
• kiln and boiler upgrade projects
• waste heat recovery projects
• heat pump installation projects
• facility retrofits, including insulation, pipework rebuilds and process changes.

You must contribute at least 50% of the eligible costs of the project. Higher contributions may strengthen your application’s value for money assessment and may improve competitiveness. Your funding co-contribution could be from a parent organisation or through arrangements with other organisations (under contract). However, you cannot source more than 50% of funding for the project from the NSW Government. If you intend to source funding from other grants (for example ARENA) you must tell us. We may not be able to co-fund your project with all other grant programs.