Key opportunities for innovative investment in Australia’s First Nations must be recognised in the 2024 Federal Budget if the country’s energy transition is to have legs on the global stage.

The United States’ Inflation Reduction Act has garnered global attention for its significant set aside for Tribal Nations of literally $100s of billions for the clean energy transition. Canada has followed suit with similar legislation directing substantial funding to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples.

Policymakers in both countries increasingly realise that a just transition from fossil fuels requires addressing the priorities of First Nations communities, and these investments are a starting point for building sustainable, globally competitive economies that work for everyone.

So will Australia's Federal Budget have a similar commitment? Can we expect significant First Nations investment in clean energy initiatives from a household to nation-level next week?

SPEAKERS: Hon Chris Bowen MP, Simon Duggan, Kirsty Gowans, Travis Thomas, Cissy Gore-Birch (Facilitator)

Australia’s energy transition - the bedrock of Australia’s economic future - will only happen at the pace and scale required when our First Nations voices, interests and aspirations are a genuine part of development and planning systems. 

Elders, councils, and elected bodies represent the rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the ACT. The ACT sources its electricity from renewable generators, such as solar and wind. Since 2020, all electricity in the ACT has come from renewable sources.

Download the briefing note or read the text below

Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Policy Overview: First Peoples and Clean Energy (May 2024)

This report has been prepared to provide background and context for the Federal Governmentʼs consultation on the First Nations Clean Energy Strategy.

Three areas are covered in this report:

• demographic overview,
• Aboriginal land estate, organisations and governance,
• energy policy

This report has been prepared to provide background and context for the Federal Governmentʼs consultations as the First Nations Clean Energy Strategy is being developed. Thanks to researchers Heidi Norman, Kathryn Ridge, Kate Evans and Jeremy Moss at the University of New South Wales (Indigenous Land and Justice Research Group and, Climate Justice Research program) for assisting to compile this overview.

Information in this document should not be relied upon as legal advice. Each situation will be different and you should obtain and rely on legal advice for your own situation.

Executive Summary

Energy landscape in the ACT

The ACT sources its electricity from renewable generators, such as solar and wind. Since 2020, 100% of electricity in the ACT has come from renewable sources.

Total renewable electricity generation significantly increased between 2015–16 and 2017–18, rising from 20% to nearly 50% of electricity generated.

Gas is the other major source of energy in the ACT. The ACT aims to complete a transition away from gas by 2045, moving to focus on battery storage, and increasing incentives to transition to Electric Vehicles, and other electrification measures which is a focus of the ACT Climate Change Strategy 2019–2025.

First Peoples population and demographics in the ACT

In the 2021 Census of Population and Housing (2021 Census), 9,000 people in the ACT identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, representing 2% of the ACT population. Most people identified as Aboriginal (94.1%), with 2.6% identifying as Torres Strait Islander and 3.4% identifying as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

In 2021, the median age for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT was 24 years old, with half of the population (50.4%) under 25 years of age. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged over 75 years represented a much smaller part of the community, at 1.3%.

The 2021 Census found that 30.5% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lived in the Tuggeranong district, followed by Belconnen and Narrabundah-Weston. Most Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households were family groups (76.0%), followed by people who lived along (16.6%) and group households (7.4%).

According to the 2021 Census, 90.7% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in the ACT lived in housing defined as suitable for the number of residents, that is, housing that was not overcrowded. Households were owned with a mortgage (32.8%), rented through a real estate agent (23.7%), rented through a state or territory housing authority (17.9%) or owned outright (11.1%).

Aboriginal land estate, organisations and governance

Elders, councils, and elected bodies represent the rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the ACT.

Representative bodies

The Ngunnuwal people are the Traditional Owners of the lands that the ACT overlays. The United Ngunnawal Elders Council advises the ACT Government on heritage and land matters for the Ngunnawal people. The Council is made up of representatives of Ngunnawal family groups.

The Ngambri people as Traditional Owners, also represent land interests on their country south-west of Weereewaa (Lake George).

The Elected Body

The ACT was the first jurisdiction in Australia to enable a democratically elected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to government. The ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body (ATSIEB) represents the needs and priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities who reside in Canberra by influencing local government policy and services. As the only ACT group member of the Coalition of Peaks, a national representative body of more than 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations and members, ATSIEB also has a responsibility to help shape the national agenda to ʻClose the Gapʼ.

ATSEIB is comprised of seven members who serve for a three-year period. Each member is democratically voted in by Canberraʼs Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Voting and running for representation with the elected body is open to resident Aboriginal and/ or Torres Strait Islander people. Elected representatives have portfolio responsibilities that mirror the ACT Government portfolio responsibilities, which is said to direct involvement in key agreements, policies and programs for community.

The ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2019–2028 (Agreement) guides the work of ATSEIB. The Agreement acknowledges ʻthe land known as the Australian Capital Territory had been occupied, used and enjoyed since time immemorial by Aboriginal peoples in accordance with their traditionsʼ (p. 1) and the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the Canberra region and that the region remains a significant meeting place. The ʻcore areasʼ of focus in the Agreement are children and young people, cultural integrity, inclusive community, and community leadership, while ʻsignificant areasʼ include economic participation and housing. There is no mention in the Agreement of Native Title or other land rights and interests, climate change, or energy.

In March 2024 the Elected Body presented on community hearings conducted in 2023. The identified priorities arising from that process focus on justice issues, service delivery, improved education and health services and the desire for community control of assets including Boomanulla Oval and Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm. The hearings did not identify energy transformation or land rights and interests.

Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health & Community Services (WNAHCS) is a long-standing Aboriginal community controlled primary health care service operated by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community of the ACT.

The ACT justice system includes the option to hear sentencing matters by a Magistrate, alongside a panel of respected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders. These two ʻCircle Sentencingʼ courts are Galambany for adults and for young people.

The ACT Wellbeing Framework 2022 announces the intention of the ACT Government and community to ʻwork partnership to li the quality of life of all Canberrans, particularly those with lower wellbeing than averageʼ. ATSIEB provided input which informed the Framework.

The Framework identifies the following as part of its aspiration in the area of identity and belonging:

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a strong voice, are decision makers on issues that impact them, and lead in the achievement of positive life outcomes.”

The Framework identifies “valuing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and recognising our Traditional Custodians” as an indicator for the area of identity and belonging, and states that the ACT Government intends to commence reporting on wellbeing for groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Land justice in the ACT

The Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986 (Cth) (the Act) provides for grants of land in the Jervis Bay Territory of the ACT.

The Act establishes the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council (the Council), a body corporate which holds title to Aboriginal land. The Council exercises its powers as owner of land protect and conserve natural and cultural sites on Aboriginal land, and manage and maintain Aboriginal land for the benefit of members of the Community, provide community services, conduct business enterprises for its economic or social benefit, and act in relation to the social needs of the community in relation to housing, social welfare, education, training or health needs (s 6).

Initially, 403 hectares of land surrounding the Jervis Bay Village was returned to the Council, followed by about 6,300 hectares, including areas of sea, in 1995. The community leased the Jervis Bay National Park and Botanic Gardens back to the Director of National Parks and Wildlife for a 99-year term, which provides a revenue stream to the Council. The Park and Gardens, which were renamed 'Booderee National Park and Gardens', are now jointly managed by the Council and the Australian Department of Environment and Heritage, with Aboriginal traditional owners the Board of Management.
ACT land is leasehold, meaning ʻownershipʼ of land is conferred by a lease from the Crown. A more detailed tenure history may reveal opportunities for recognition of Aboriginal relationships with the land beyond symbolic recognition. Where land rights recognition develops in the ACT, this could lead to land restitution, access and land use arrangements, and basis for negotiating equity in developments, including renewable energy.(1.)

Native title in the ACT

There are no determinations of native title in the ACT. Native title applications lodged in ACT have all been struck out, discontinued or dismissed.

What are key and recent issues relating to economic development and First Nations in the ACT?

Procurement Policy

The ACT Government adopted an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Procurement Policy (ATSIPP) in May 2019, which aligns with the objectives set out in the Agreement, and includes focus area of employment and economic participation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Canberra Region. The ATSIPP includes a target for 2.0% of the ACT Governmentʼs addressable spend over the 2023-24 financial year to support the objectives of the Agreement. It identifies two target areas that the ACT Government views as offering the greatest opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enterprises, being:

• small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have the capacity and capability to deliver individually; and
• enterprises as sub-contractors on large projects.

The ATSIPP instigates a cultural change within the ACT to reduce some of the barriers to government procurement encountered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enterprises. Each Territory Entity is required to identify and act upon opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enterprises in its procurement activities, supported by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Enterprise List devised under the policy to assist finding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sub-contractors in the Canberra Region

Are there other points that might be of relevance to First Nations outcomes in the ACT?

The ACT Government is also currently developing their next Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (2023 – 2025), which includes actions relating to developing commercial relationships with First Nations businesses.(2)

Energy security, access and justice issues

The ACT experiences temperature extremes, being hot in summer and cold in winter. Particularly harsh energy poverty arises as a result. In 2021, only 63% of public housing tenants in Canberra rated the temperature comfort of their home as meeting their needs (compared with 73% nationally), and only 60% rated the energy efficiency of their homes as meeting their needs (compared with 77% nationally) - the lowest rates of satisfaction in the country.(3) Due to lower socio-economic conditions,(4) and lower baseline health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately impacted by unmet energy needs.

Australian Government data shows that in the five years between December 2017 and December 2022, electricity prices for households in the ACT have increased by 24.7%, compared to 2.3% nationally, and gas prices have increased by 24%.(5) Over the last 20 years, electricity prices have increased by 20%, and gas prices have doubled.(6)

Increasing energy prices have disproportionate impacts, as people on low incomes spend a greater proportion of their incomes on essentials, including energy bills. In Canberra in 2015-16, the bottom 40% of income earners spent 4.0-4.4% of their disposable incomes on energy costs, compared with only 2.2-2.4% for the top 40%.(7) Across Australia, the number of utilities hardship customers has been increasing.(8)

The ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) says that vulnerable Canberrans, including low-income households, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and community organisations, face numerous structural and economic barriers when it comes to transitioning away from gas and creating more energy efficient homes, including because lower socio-economic sectors of the ACT community are not eligible for funding.(9) If the ACT fails to address these barriers, as well as rising inequity and disadvantage as the effects of climate change worsen, it will be stuck on an increasingly expensive gas network and face increasing risks to health and wellbeing.(10)

In its report titled “Supporting a fair, fast and inclusive energy transition in the ACT”,(11) ACTCOSS states:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities have contributed little to climate change but are disproportionately impacted by climate effects. First Nations cultures point the way to humanity living within its ecological limits, and all Australians should look to this wisdom. Nevertheless, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleʼs health, lands and cultures are well understood in the literature to be at particular risk from climate change. Due to Australiaʼs historic and ongoing colonialism, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have much poorer baseline health.(12)

This includes higher rates of medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, renal failure, cancer, etc. which make them especially vulnerable to heatwaves. Disruption to ecosystems from climate change also puts further pressure on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, which are closely entwined with these ecosystems. Australiaʼs colonial history also means Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have fewer economic resources with which to adapt to a changing climate, including by upgrading heating and cooling systems in their homes. Climate change adaptation and transition measures which do not intentionally focus on assisting First Nations people are likely to contribute to the health gap.(13)

Energy policies

The ACT sources its electricity from renewable generators, such as solar and wind. Since 2020, 100% of electricity in the ACT has come from renewable sources. Total renewable electricity generation significantly increased between 2015–16 and 2017–18, rising from 20% to nearly 50% of electricity generated.

Gas is the other major source of energy in the ACT. The ACT aims to complete a transition away from gas by 2045, moving to focus on battery storage, electric vehicles, renewable energy innovation, and other electrification measures.

The ACTʼs future energy strategies are outlined in the ACT Climate Change Strategy 2019–2025.

ACT’s current energy mix

Electricity demand in the ACT is relatively stable, despite population growth, due to reductions in electricity consumption per capita.

Renewable energy sources now make up 100% of the ACTʼs electricity generation, as follows (see also Figure 1, below):

• Wind farms supply the majority of the ACTʼs renewable electricity, supplying over 70% of total renewable electricity in 2019–20 and 2020–21, significantly increased from 7% in 2016-17 and over 50% in 2018-19 due to procurement of new farms.(14)
• The ACT Governmentʼs mandatory contribution to the national renewable energy target accounts for around 20% of ACTʼs renewable electricity and has remained fairly consistent, increasing by around one per cent per year.(15)
• Solar accounts for around 6% of generation, comprising solar farms (3%) and rooop solar generation (3%). Rooftop solar PV generation continues to be installed in the ACT and has increased its share of renewable electricity generation in recent years.(16)

Figure 1: Sources of renewable electricity generation for the ACT, 2016–17 to 2020–21 (17)

Despite the ACTʼs use of 100% renewable electricity, it remains connected to the national electricity grid, meaning it still receives electricity generated from non-renewable sources which may be consumed at any time. However, the ACT has purchased enough renewable energy to meet its electricity needs. This renewable electricity is available to the national grid and is used in other parts of Australia, offsetting the non-renewable energy consumed in the ACT.

Renewable energy project pipeline

The only renewable electricity generated in the ACT comes from solar farm and rooop solar generation. Large-scale generators in the local area include:

• Mugga Lane Solar Park;
• Williamsdale Solar Farm;
• Royalla Solar Farm.

Some ACT homes and businesses have small rooop solar panels which generate energy.

The bulk of the power from wind farms and the national renewable energy target for the ACT are sourced from outside the ACT. The ACT currently purchases energy from five wind farms – one in South Australia, two in Victoria, and two in New South Wales.

Figure 2: Locations of the ACTʼs wind and solar farms supplying the National Electricity Market (18)

The ACTʼs renewable electricity that is supplied by large-scale generators was selected through a legislated ʻreverse auctionʼ process, where companies are invited to bid to supply renewable energy at the lowest price, resulting in the development of new renewable energy generation. As of June 2021, the ACT Government has run five reverse auctions, resulting in 840 MW worth of contracts, contributing to around three-quarters of the 100% renewable electricity target.

Key energy market institutions in the ACT

Evoenergy is the main electricity and natural gas distributor in the ACT.

Clean Energy Targets in the ACT

The ACT aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the ACT to achieve zero net emissions by 2045. This has been legislated via the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010. Interim targets are to reduce emissions based on 1990 levels by:

• 50 to 60% by 2025,
• 65 to 75% by 2030, and
• 90 to 95% by 2040.

With regards to energy, 100% of electricity in the ACT has come from renewable sources since 2020, which the ACT intends to maintain from now on. While gas remains a major source of energy in the ACT, it aims to complete a transition away from gas by 2045.

Key renewable energy policies in the ACT

The ACT Governmentʼs ACT Climate Change Strategy 2019–2025 includes goals to:

• maintain 100% renewable electricity supply;
• reduce emissions from gas by amending planning regulations, conducting a public education campaign, and developing a plan for zero emissions from gas use by 2045;
• pursue zero emissions homes and buildings, including through energy performance disclosures, requirements and standards, assessment tools and resources, public housing upgrades, solar programs and loans, and other incentives.

The Renewable Energy Innovation Fund aims to support the energy transition. Under the Fund, $12 million has been invested into the ACTʼs renewable energy sector since 2016, with an additional $19 million recently committed. As part of the Fund, the ACT Government facilitates a grants program to offer flexible, early-stage funding for energy innovation projects, initiatives and research. Up to $17 million in grants is available over the next five years to support:

• a broad range of new and emerging technologies;
• solutions to key policy challenges the ACT faces in the transition to renewable energy;
• projects that facilitate ecosystem, and business acceleration, collaboration and investment
  opportunities.

The ACT Government also offers other rebates and incentives for home and business owners, and free advice on solar installations and other renewable options, through the Sustainable Business Program and Sustainable Home Advice Program.

Energy storage policies in the ACT

Key energy efficiency and demand management policies in the ACT

The ACT generally has a reliable supply of electricity and gas. It is connected to the national energy grid, so can source some of its renewable electricity supply from other parts of Australia.

Notable hydrogen policies in the ACT

In 2020, the ACT Government announced its focus on hydrogen to meet its target of net-zero emissions by 2045.

National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) has funded a rage of organisations to establish the ACT Renewable Hydrogen Cluster., which so far has included:

• Australiaʼs first public access hydrogen refuelling station;
• the Evo Energy Hydrogen Test Lab;
• the Energy Change Institute at the Australian National University;
• the Smart Energy Council;
• Hydrogen Australiaʼs Zero Carbon Certification Scheme.

The ACT also has a hydrogen test facility for development of infrastructure, safety and training for the production, storage and use of green hydrogen in the ACT.

Policies for gas

Fossil fuel gas accounts for more than 20% emissions in the ACT. The ACT Government aims to transition away from fossil fuel gas use to renewable electricity by 2045, and has said it will soon begin consultation on the development of a regulation to limit new gas connections.

The ACT Government is also developing an Integrated Energy Plan to set out how the ACT will transition away from fossil fuel gas use, optimise the energy system, engage and support energy consumers, and establish collaborative partnerships with organisations across the ACT. The ACT Government has released a community discussion paper on their Integrated Energy Plan which received 60% support and is expected to release the first Integrated Energy Plan in 2024.

Endnotes

1. Wensing, E (2021) Unfinished business: Truth telling in the ACT about land rights and native title, Australia Institute Discussion Paper, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.16608.61440, p 3, Recommendation 4.
2. Here Action 9
3. Here, p 28
4. Here
5. Here p. 6
6. Here p. 6
7. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), ʻTable 22.2 Household expenditure: Broad expenditure groups, equivalised disposable household income quintiles, ACTʼ, Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2015-16, ABS website, 2017.
8. Australian Energy Regulator (AER), Quarterly retail performance report, October – December 2022, Australian Government, March 2023.
9. Here, p 9
10. Here, p 14
11. Here pp. 14-15
12. D Bowles, ʻClimate Change and Health Adaptation: Consequences for Indigenous Physical and Mental Healthʼ; D Green, U King, J Morrison, ʻDisproportionate burdens: the multidimensional impacts of climate change on the health of Indigenous Australiansʼ, The Medical Journal of Australia, 2009, 190(1):4-5, doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02250.x.
13. D Bowles, ʻClimate Change and Health Adaptation: Consequences for Indigenous Physical and Mental Healthʼ.
14. Indicator HS2: Energy consumption and generation – ACT State of the Environment 2019 (actsoe.com.au) pre-emptive for 2019-2021
15. Indicator HS2: Energy consumption and generation – ACT State of the Environment 2019 (actsoe.com.au) pre-emptive for 2019-2021
16. Indicator HS2: Energy consumption and generation – ACT State of the Environment 2019 (actsoe.com.au) pre-emptive for 2019-2021
17. Office of the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, ʻEnergy Consumption and Generationʼ. Data sourced from: Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. Notes: Figures for 2020–21 are predicted only. Share of national Renewable Energy Target is the component paid for by ACT electricity consumers as part of their normal electricity bills. Greenpower purchases is the total amount of Greenpower purchased by all ACT electricity consumers
18. Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, 2016, Canberra 100% Renewable: Leading Innovation with 100% Renewable Energy by 2020, ACT Government, Canberra.

Thanks for use of the photo by Allan Sharp

Tasmania is one of the few regions globally to have achieved 100% renewable energy generation in November 2020, primarily due to the high contribution of hydropower.

Western Australia has very strong solar resources and nationally competitive wind resources that are largely untapped. There is clearly much potential for the development of clean energy projects on land where First Nations communities hold an interest.

Executive Summary

Land rights, native title and renewable energy resources

Native title over most of Western Australia has been resolved. There have been 135 determinations that native title exists in Western Australia, covering in excess of 1.828 million square kilometres or over 70% of the Stateʼs area. Exclusive native title has been recognised over more than 1 million square kilometres (over 40% of the State).

Nearly 220,000km² of land within Western Australia is held within the Aboriginal Lands Trust (ALT) estate, constituting about 8.7% of the State. There are approximately 12,000 people living on the ALT estate in 142 communities.

In addition to native title and ALT land, the Aboriginal Communities Act 1979 (WA) creates a regime of ʻcommunity landsʼ which are declared by the State (and include most Aboriginal communities in the State). Community councils have the power to make by-laws in relation to the community lands regarding access, use of community lands, building safety, and regulation of conduct.

Western Australia has very strong solar resources, and also high quality and nationally competitive wind resources that are largely untapped, particularly for offshore wind. There is clearly much interest and potential for the development of clean energy projects on land where First Nations communities hold an interest.

Energy landscape in Western Australia

Due to the geographic isolation, the Western Australian electricity network is located outside of the National Electricity Market (NEM) and hosts three primary electricity networks:

• South West Interconnected System (SWIS);
• North West Interconnected System (NWIS);
• Regional Power.

Key high-level Australian government statistics of the energy landscape in Western Australia include:

• renewables had a 17% share of electricity generation in 2022, up from 15% in 2021
• gasʼ share of electricity generation in 2022 was 60%
• WA's share of total Australian gas-fired electricity generation in 2022 was 52%
• Western Australiaʼs share of Australian gas production is 61%
• mining's share of energy consumption is 32%
• 451 gigajoules of energy is consumed per person.

The Western Australian government has committed to an interim 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 80% below 2020 levels, but not a distinct renewable energy target. Notably, the Pilbara mining facilities account for two-thirds of Western Australiaʼs emissions and the state contributes 35% of emissions covered by the national Safeguard Mechanism.

The proposed State Climate Change Bill 2023 opened for consultation in October 2023 and was introduced to Parliament on 30 November 2023. The legislation is set to:

• provide a framework for the state climate response;
• formalise the goal of net zero emissions by 2050; and
• create requirements for emission reduction targets.

The Stateʼs Energy Transformation Strategy is in its second iteration and includes initiatives across four areas through to 2025. In November 2023, the WA Government announced a new government entity PoweringWA to oversee the delivery of transmission, renewable generation and storage in the primary grid. It also includes ʻempowering Aboriginal people and impacted communities to gain opportunities from Western Australiaʼs low-emission, renewable energy transformation'.

The Federal Government is providing $3 billion in concessional finance for transmission projects via the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). These are proposed to occur in the:

• North West Interconnected System (NWIS); and
• South West Interconnected System SWIS).

As stated in the joint media release concerning this funding announcement, there is an intention that “the Australian and Western Australian governments will work closely with First Nations Australians to understand their views on this investment.”

Prepay metering, First Nations, housing and energy

For many First Nations communities, there are significant energy justice issues, especially for people living in social housing, rental housing and remotely - for this cohort, accessing the benefits of rooftop solar is very difficult.

Horizon Power is the main customer supplier in the North West Interconnected System (NWIS), the others (Alinta, BHPBilliton, Pilbara Iron/Rio Tinto and ATCO Australia) primarily supply or

self-supply large users on the network. Horizon Power also provide the broader supply of power to isolated regional towns and remote communities - servicing 53 Aboriginal communities. The geographic scale of the state means there are five interconnected systems being in East Kimberley (Kununurra, Wyndham, Lake Argyle) and in Esperance and Hopetoun. In addition, there are 32 microgrids or isolated power systems for smaller communities.

These remote communities must prepay for power. Horizon Powerʼs Prepaid Power program is enabled via the Horizon Power app and also recharge facilities across the remote community locations. The Horizon Power Uplift rate for the Stateʼs Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme (DEBS) is significant for certain towns ranging up to 55.99c/kWh peak rate, which provides an incentive to switch to renewables (from primarily diesel supply). However, First Nations communities located remotely have a reduced opportunity to benefit from renewable energy as many cannot connect more solar PV due to voltage constraints.

Whilst Horizon Power is the asset owner and operator, the regions are serviced by on-the-ground First Nations organisation service providers, including Kimberley Regional Service Provider (KRSP) for the Kimberley; Meta Maya Services (MMS) for Pilbara, Mid West & Gascoyne; and Ngaanyatjarra Services (NgS) for Goldfields Esperance.

Renewable energy projects

There are 16 utility-scale wind farms operating in Western Australia. Several of these are combined wind and solar or diesel plants. Projects occur either as retailer or distributor-owned projects or as joint ventures with private developers.

Offshore wind is also being developed in Western Australia and the Federal Government announced a community consultation period (from November 2023) for Bunbury to become an offshore wind zone (one of six nationally).

The SWIS Demand Assessment found that the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) may need around an additional 4,000km of new transmission lines and around 50GW of new renewable electricity and storage infrastructure to support increased demand over the next 20 years. Across the SWIS, there are many actions underway such as large scale batteries, renewable energy hubs, community battery and virtual power plant trials. In remote areas, there are community batteries, stand-alone power systems and centralised solar projects underway.

First Nations-led energy projects

Across Western Australia, there are unique partnerships already emerging and many more potential sites that could be viable for First Nations-led and/or partnered clean energy projects.

Clearly, there is great opportunity for First Nations to play a leading role in the clean energy industry in Western Australia, particularly given the scale of projects proposed and the land access requirements.

A number of native title groups in Western Australia have entered into partnerships, joint ventures and Indigenous Land Use Agreements with clean energy project developers and of note is the Western Green Energy Hub, Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation (YEC) and the East Kimberley Clean Energy Project.

There are other First Nations enterprises participating in the energy transition such as Tjiwarl Katu Power.

When considering clean energy projects, obtaining the right advice is critical, which includes legal and commercial, as is leveraging political and financial capital to ʻbuy intoʼ projects or to have an allocated stake in exchange for land access or other negotiated agreements.

There is also an opportunity for expansion of opportunities relating to the mining projects located on Aboriginal land as the sector consumes 32% of the state's energy and is under pressure to reduce emissions.

Executive Summary

1. Land rights, native title and renewable energy resources 
2. Energy landscape in Western Australia
3. Prepay metering, First Nations, housing and energy
4. Renewable energy projects
5. First Nations-led energy projects

First Nations data and information for Western Australia

1. What is the First Nations population and the demographics in Western Australia?
2. What are the prominent First Nations institutions in Western Australia?
3. How is land commonly held by First Nations groups in Western Australia/what rights and interests do First Nations hold in Western Australia?
4. What opportunities exist to develop projects on tenure held by First Nations?
5. What kind of funding and support do First Nations representative bodies receive?
6. The capacity and capability of First Nations organisations
7. A description of the levers, capacities, and capabilities required to negotiate an equitable benefit for renewable energy projects.
8. Key and recent issues relating to economic development and First Nations and other points of relevance to First Nations outcomes such as special programs or support
9. Existing relationships between First Nations and the renewable energy sector in the jurisdiction?
10. Are there energy security/access/justice issues for First Nations in Western Australia?
11. Is there finance / funding available for First Nations renewable energy projects?
12. Western Australia renewable energy policies and information
13. What are the key renewable energy policies, programs, and initiatives?
14. The electricity network in Western Australia
15. What renewable energy projects are in the pipeline in Western Australia or concluded and of relevance?
16. What rules or policy does Western Australia have for promoting energy storage?
17. Are there any policies or frameworks or programs in the jurisdiction that are relevant or have a focus on First Nations outcomes?
18. Does Western Australia provide any support, funding, or policy levers for community energy projects or social / community housing electrification and solar / storage solutions?
19. Are there barriers to the placement of solar on First Nations housing?
20. Does Western Australia have programs or policies supporting jobs and skills outcomes and business development for First Nations?

First Nations data and information for Western Australia

What is the First Nations population and the demographics in Western Australia?

In the 2021 Census, 88,693 people identified as First Nations in Western Australia (WA). This represents 3.3% of the population and a gradual increase from 3.1% in both prior Census dates of 2016 and 2011. The population represents 11% of the national population and is third to New South Wales and Queensland.

Almost half (47.4%) of WAʼs Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lived in Greater Perth in 2021. Of that group of 88,693 people:

• 95.8% identified as Aboriginal;
• 1.8% identified as Torres Strait Islander;
• 2.3% identified as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander;
• 50% were under 25 years of age.

There are 280 discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across 26 Local Government Areas (LGA). In 2021, the LGA with the highest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations were Swan, Broome and Derby-West Kimberley. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represented:

• 3.5% of the population in Swan (5,302 people);
• 28.6% of the population in Broome (4,847 people);
• 60.3% of the population in Derby-West Kimberley (4,267 people).

The top two LGAs with the greatest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were:

• Ngaanyatjarraku (84.5% of the total LGA population);
• Halls Creek (77.6%).

Notably, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 20 to 24 years who had completed Year 12 or equivalent was 51.2%, up from 29.0% in 2011.

What are the prominent First Nations institutions in Western Australia?

In WA, the Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs) and Native Title Service Providers (NTSPs) are:

• Kimberley Land Council (Kimberley region)
• Native Title Services Goldfields (Goldfields region)
• Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation (Geraldton and Pilbara regions)
• South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (South West region)
• Central Desert Native Title Services (Central Desert region).

The Aboriginal Advisory Council of Western Australia (AACWA) was created under Section 18(1) of the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972 (AAPAA) to advise the WA Government. The Department of the Premier and Cabinet acts as the secretariat, and the group meets up to six times per year to advise on policy.

The Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations has 1,232 entities listed for WA, which is 36% of the national number of registered corporations (pertinent given the scale of population). Less than 4% of those are classified as large entities.

Key entities of relevance to the power industry are the First Nations organisations that act as on-the-ground service providers for electricity under Horizon Power (the state-owned power company). These are:

• Kimberley Regional Service Provider (KRSP) for the Kimberley
• Meta Maya Services (MMS) for Pilbara, Mid West & Gascoyne
• Ngaanyatjarra Services (NgS) for Goldfields Esperance.

The National Native Title Council (NNTC) is the peak body for the native title sector and it operates across Australia (including WA). Through the native title system, the NNTC advocates for the rights and interests of all First Nations people. It is a membership-based non-profit, made up of NTRBs, NTSPs, Prescribed Body Corporates (PBCs) and Traditional Owner Corporations (TOCs).

Other examples of large First Nations corporations in the State are provided below with service themes.

Employment, education and training - eg. Ashburton Aboriginal Corporation; Gumala Aboriginal Corporation; Kununurra Waringarri Aboriginal Corporation; Marninwarntikura Women's Resource Centre; Midwest Employment & Economic Development Aboriginal Corporation; Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation; Ngarliyarndu Bindirri Aboriginal Corporation; Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Corporation; Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation; Winun Ngari Aboriginal Corporation; Wirlu-Murra Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation.

Health care and health promotion - eg. Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service; Carnarvon Medical Service Aboriginal Corporation; Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service Aboriginal Corporation; Derby Aboriginal Health Service Council Aboriginal Corporation; Milliya Rumurra Aboriginal Corporation; Moorditj Koort Aboriginal Corporation; Ngangganawili Aboriginal Community Controlled Health and Medical Services Aboriginal Corporation; Ngnowar-Aerwah Aboriginal Corporation; Ord Valley Aboriginal Health Service Aboriginal Corporation; Puntukurnu Aboriginal Medical Service Aboriginal Corporation; South-West Aboriginal Medical Service Aboriginal Corporation; Wirraka Maya Health Service Aboriginal Corporation; Yorgum Healing Services Aboriginal Corporation; Yulella Aboriginal Corporation; Yura Yungi Medical Service Aboriginal Corporation.

Community services, housing and tenancy, municipal services, tourism - eg. Djarindjin Aboriginal Corporation; Garnduwa Amboorny Wirnan Aboriginal Corporation; Kalumburu Aboriginal Corporation; Kullarri Regional Communities Indigenous Corporation; Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation; Paupiyala Tjarutja Aboriginal Corporation; Pilbara Meta Maya Regional Aboriginal Corporation; The PKKP Aboriginal Corporation; Tjiwarl; Western Australian Family Violence Prevention Legal Service Aboriginal Corporation; Western Desert Puntukurnuparna Aboriginal Corporation; Wungening Aboriginal Corporation.

Land and waters management—caring for country, cultural heritage, mining - eg. Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation; Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal Corporation; Dambimangari Aboriginal Corporation; Jamukurnu-Yapalikurnu Aboriginal Corporation; Karlka Nyiyaparli Aboriginal Corporation; Palyku-Jartayi Aboriginal Corporation; South West Aboriginal Land & Sea Council Aboriginal Corporation; Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation; Yamatji Marlpa

Aboriginal Corporation; Yawoorroong Miriuwung Gajerrong Yirrgeb Noong Dawang Aboriginal Corporation; Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation; Yawuru Native Title Holders Aboriginal Corporation; Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation.

Many other entities under other regulatory structures exist outside of the First Nations Corporation structure. The WA Government Closing the Gap Implementation Plan 2023-2025 was developed with the Aboriginal Health Council of WA, which is the only WA-based formal party that signed the national Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap with the WA government.

For industry, government and other entities, engagement with First Nations structures around renewable energy as per the Aboriginal Empowerment Strategy Western Australia 2021-2029 could include:

• regional Aboriginal representative structures
• peak bodies for Aboriginal community-controlled organisations
• remote community councils (or corporations / associations)
• Traditional Owner bodies.

How is land commonly held by First Nations groups in Western Australia/what rights and interests do First Nations hold in Western Australia?

WA has no dedicated Aboriginal land or land rights legislation such as that which exists in the Northern Territory (see the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth)), New South Wales (see the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW)) or Queensland (see the Aboriginal Land Act 1991).

The First Nations estate in WA largely comprises of native title and the Aboriginal Lands Trust (ALT) (although the two tenure types are not mutually exclusive; native title is regularly recognised to exist over the ALT estate).

Native title over most of WA has been resolved. There have been 135 determinations that native title exists in WA, covering in excess of 1.828 million square kilometres or over 70% of the Stateʼs area. Exclusive native title has been recognised over more than 1 million square kilometres (over 40% of the State).

The ALT is a statutory body corporate created under the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972 (AAPAA Act) (AAPAA). Its functions include:

• using and managing land held by it in accordance with the wishes of the First Nations people living on the land (so far as that can be determined and is practicable)
• negotiating and entering into financial arrangements, contracts, and undertake projects on the land it holds (either directly or in partnership with other entities)
• any other functions delegated to it by the WA Planning Authority.

Nearly 220,000km² of land within WA is held within the ALT estate, constituting about 8.7% of the State. The ALT manages 301 parcels of land including 243 Crown reserves, 47 Freehold, 6 general purpose leases and 5 pastoral leases. There are over 290 existing leasing arrangements which constitute approximately 13 million hectares (or 54%) of the ALT estate. The ALT estate also includes 81 ALT reserves under Part 3 of the AAPAA that have special protections including the need for

non-Aboriginal people to obtain permits to enter the reserve and the need for consent of the ALT

before any leases or other interests are granted. There are approximately 12,000 people living on the ALT estate in 142 communities.

In addition to native title and ALT land, the Aboriginal Communities Act 1979 (WA) creates a regime of ʻcommunity landsʼ which are declared by the State (and include most First Nations communities in the State). Community councils have the power to make by-laws in relation to the community lands regarding access, use of community lands, building safety, and regulation of conduct.

What opportunities exist to develop projects on tenure held by First Nations?

There is significant potential to develop clean energy projects in areas where First Nations communities hold land interests and First Nations organisations are already developing proposals, projects or businesses to participate in the clean energy transition. Those PBCs and other First Nations organisations with significant land interests near water resources, transmission lines or major existing projects are particularly well placed and should consider seeking their own advice about their options.

First Nations communities hold extensive land interests in some of the areas which are most suited to large scale renewables projects in the state. There is a strong interest from industry in developing First Nations partnerships for these kinds of projects and several have already been announced.

There is also a significant opportunity for clean energy projects on First Nations land in mining regions given that the mining sector consumes 32% of energy in WA and mining companies are under increasing pressure to decarbonise their operations.

In addition, there is potential to develop projects for the extraction of critical minerals deemed essential for the national transition to renewables.

On a smaller scale, microgrid, standalone power and embedded network projects are well suited to remote communities and First Nations communities may consider providing land for these projects or developing the projects themselves.

What kind of funding and support do First Nations representative bodies receive?

The Commonwealth Government makes some basic support funding available for PBCs called ʻBasic Support Fundingʼ. This funding is for meeting basic administration and compliance requirements. The Commonwealth Government has also made additional funding available in the form of capacity building grants for PBCs. PBCs must apply for these grants, which can be used on activities to increase the PBCʼs capacity to take advantage of economic opportunities.

The capacity and capability of First Nations organisations

The capacity of First Nations representative organisations in WA varies greatly from organisation to organisation.

The significant impact of mining and resources industries across much of the State means that many PBCs, native title claimants, and native title representative bodies have experience negotiating complex Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) or ancillary agreements to agreements reached under section 31 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). In some cases, these agreements have provided funding and other opportunities to develop capacity and capability.

Some PBCs, Aboriginal corporations and NTRBs in the State have negotiated (and continue to negotiate and enter into) a variety of different commercial arrangements relating to housing, heritage, pastoralism, tourism, resources projects, and emissions reduction projects. Examples include Yawuruʼs Jalbi Jiya Housing program; Wintawari Gurumaʼs Guruma Resources and Yulur Heritage ventures, including Wintawari Guruma Enterprises; Kimberley Agriculture and Pastoral Company; Browse Native Title Agreements; South West Native Title Settlement; and Kimberley Land Councilʼs Savanna Burning Carbon Projects.

Some community corporations have experience in delivering services and facilitating or maintaining smaller infrastructure projects.

Despite this, there are many First Nations organisations that have limited access to the key resources they need to develop their organisational capacity. Particular challenges can be cash flow, meeting competing organisational priorities, and finding staff or advisors with the right skills who understand the unique legislative framework that PBCs operate in and which the organisations can afford to engage.

It is important that any third party approaching a First Nations organisation to undertake activities on Country is prepared to fund the provision of independent legal, commercial and other expert advice to ensure that the First Nations organisation and the people it represents can properly participate in any negotiations. Independent, expert advice is critical to obtaining free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).

A description of the levers, capacities, and capabilities required to negotiate an equitable benefit for renewable energy projects.

Development approvals

Public submissions in relation to proposed projects are usually invited and community members can make submissions in support of a project or to oppose all or some aspects of a project.

This can present an opportunity for First Nations communities to talk to clean energy companies proposing projects in their region.

Native title land

If a clean energy project will require a Crown licence (including for the purpose of an access road, etc) over land where native title rights and interests have been recognised or a registered native title claim has been made, that licence should only be granted if it falls into one of the categories of future acts that are valid under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).

In many cases, a project proponent is likely to need to negotiate an ILUA with any registered native title claim group or PBC. An ILUA sets out how a proposed activity or activities may occur and can provide compensation or other benefits for the native title party. In these cases, there will be very strong opportunities for the negotiation of equitable benefits by the PBC or native title claim group.

There will be times when proponents may not need an ILUA because other future act provisions in the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) will apply. Whether this is the case will depend on the purpose of the licence, the past use of the land and any native title existing in the land, amongst other issues. In those circumstances, the proponent and/or the State Government will need to follow the requirements of the relevant parts of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). These requirements may

involve notifying or consulting with the PBC or native title claim group or providing for public notification of the particular acts, in order to give potential native title parties an opportunity to lodge a native title claim within a certain timeframe and exercise procedural rights on behalf of the potential native title holders. Even if an ILUA is not required, PBCs can use this as an opportunity to start discussions regarding mutually beneficial opportunities.

Key and recent issues relating to economic development and First Nations and other points of relevance to First Nations outcomes such as special programs or support

Employment rates in WA are the second lowest in Australia, being 46% for WA First Nations Australians aged 15–64 in 2021. There has been a large shift in youth education levels, with 7.4% of people aged 18-24 years attending university or higher education institutions in the 2021 Census, up from 4.3% in 2011. In 2021, 78.8% lived in appropriately sized (not overcrowded) dwellings.

The 2023-24 WA State Budget increased funding to support Close the Gap outcomes by $281.5 million. Notably, up to 70% of Aboriginal wellbeing initiatives are delivered by First Nations organisations solely or in partnership. The Budget hosts many significant socio-economic programs including:

• $42.6 million for Essential and Municipal Services Upgrade for Aboriginal Remote Communities
• $77 million for funding for Local Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Services
• $31.1 million for the Aboriginal Community Connectors Program
• $27.5 million for the Wadjemup Burial Ground and repairs on Rottnest Island
• $18.3 million for South West Aboriginal Medical Service Health Hub
• $11.8 million for the Kimberley Juvenile Justice Strategy
• $8.3 million for Geraldton Aboriginal Short Stay Accommodation
• $6 million for the Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation Peak body and the Aboriginal Health Council of WA
• $5.8 million for the Driving Access and Equity Program
• $5.8 million for additional Aboriginal Mental Health Workers
• $5.4 million for youth Psychiatric Services in the East Kimberley
• $2.3 million for the Warmun airstrip.

Existing relationships between First Nations and the renewable energy sector in the jurisdiction?

The renewable energy sector operates across many levels in the WA context. This includes government-owned, private projects, and increasingly, joint ventures. There are many examples of partnership projects in First Nations communities via Horizon Power which are outlined in the latter sections.

Three large and unique First Nations and renewable energy developer project partnerships in the pipeline for WA are:

• Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH)
• Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation (YEC)
• East Kimberley Clean Energy Project.

Located on the lands of the WA Mirning People, the Western Green Energy Hub is proposed to generate around 50 gigawatts (GW) via solar and wind and enable 3.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year. The WA Mirning People have a stake in the project via the following actions:

Shareholdinginthecorporateentity–MirningGreenEnergyLimited(MGEL)holdssharesin WGEH and can appoint a person to be a director on the WGEH board. The Mirning Traditional Lands Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC is the sole member of MGEL.

• A shared corporate charter with principles of the project including creating shared wellbeing on a healthy planet as well as open, honest and meaningful engagement and information sharing and transparency with the WA Mirning People.
• The project intends to support the development of a Mirning-led First Nations economy and the strengthening of culture and traditions.
• WGEH is currently negotiating an ILUA with the WA Mirning People.

YEC is a partnership between renewable energy developer ACEN and the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation (YAC). The purpose of YEC is advancing major renewable energy projects on Yindjibarndi Ngurra (country), located near major industrial energy users. The partnership has a target of 750 megawatts (MW) combined wind, solar and battery storage. The partnership includes the following attributes:

• YEC includes an ACEN-appointed director and chairman and a Yindjibarndi-appointed director.
• Yindjibarndi approval for all proposed project sites on Yindjibarndi Ngurra.
• Yindjibarndi equity participation of 25% to 50% in all projects.
• Preferred contracting for Yindjibarndi-owned businesses.
• Training and employment opportunities for Yindjibarndi people.

The East Kimberley Clean Energy Project is proposing a 1,000MW solar farm developed on MG Corporation (Yawoorroong Miriuwung Gajerrong Yirrgeb Noong Dawang Aboriginal Corporation) freehold land near Kununurra, WA. The solar energy will be combined with energy from the Ord Hydro Power Plant at Lake Argyle to produce green hydrogen. It will then be piped to Balanggarra Country in Wyndham and converted to green ammonia. The partnership includes the following attributes:

• A partnership between Kimberley Land Council, Balanggarra Ventures Limited, MG Corporation, and project development and investment group Pollination.
• Traditional Owners co-developing, co-deciding and self-determining the project scope with the ambition of economic independence.
• Traditional Owners as shareholders, not just stakeholders.
• De-risking and accelerating project delivery via streamlined processes for heritage, native title, environmental, engineering and approvals.

There are other First Nations enterprises participating in the energy transition such as Tjiwarl Katu Power.

Are there energy security/access/justice issues for First Nations in Western Australia?

Housing tenure is closely related to energy security issues. The most common tenure types for First Nations households in WA are:

• owned with a mortgage (27.8%)
• rented through a real estate agent (19.4%)
• rented through a state or territory housing authority (18.6%)
• owned outright (10.8%).

Of note is the role of government with the high ratio of renters via a state or territory housing authority.

WA has a Uniform Tariff Policy (UTP) for small-scale customers that has a cap on retail pricing which means that all WA customers pay the same price regardless of geographic location. Horizon Power as the regional and remote energy supplier recoups income shortfalls from remote areas via the Tariff Equalisation Contribution and the Tariff Adjustment Payment. In many of these isolated grids, and even ʻedge of gridʼ for the primary SWIS, it is becoming financially viable to switch from entire reliance on diesel generators to solar and battery storage.

In regard to subsidised support, all WA households will receive at least $400 of energy bill relief during the 2023/2024 financial year, with 350,000 households receiving $826 under the Energy Assistance Payment. For financial hardship cases, Hardship Utilities Grant Scheme payments will increase by 10%, ranging between $640-$1060 per household based on remoteness.

In 2009, Horizon Power began installing electricity prepayment meters. There are now 1,300 prepayment meters in remote communities.

Horizon Powerʼs Prepaid Power program is enabled via the Horizon Power app and also recharge facilities across remote community locations. Access issues may occur when bills have not been paid – once a meter is disconnected, the customer does not have access to electricity, even via solar PV.

Horizon Power in 2021 completed network upgrades across 13 First Nations communities to increase the asset management provision and customer service. This included equipment upgrades at a house and community level to bring community infrastructure up to parity with larger population townships and ensure ownership and maintenance schedules were clearly articulated. For the first time, residents were then able to access customer protections under the Small Use Customer Code and to call the fault line for any electrical issue and receive assistance.

A recent paper (Geographies of regulatory disparity underlying Australiaʼs energy transition) has highlighted that there are many energy customers living in remote parts of WA who are not equally protected by consumer electricity retail regulations, with remote and First Nations communities more likely to be underserved on multiple fronts.

This paper mapped five categories of regulatory protection for household electricity consumers in Australia (1) life support protections against disconnection, (2) guaranteed minimum service levels,

(3) mandated disconnection reporting, (4) complaints process clarity and independence, and (5) clear contractual guidelines for rooftop solar connection. The research in this paper demonstrated that remote communities are 18% more likely to receive fewer than four of these five protections compared to urban or regional communities. First Nations communities are 15% more likely to be underserved compared to communities that are not majority First Nations. These groups overlap. Approximately 1 in 5 Australians live in settlements where not all consumers have all five of the protections examined, while all urban and regional settlements are legally required to protect life support customers, guarantee service levels, and report disconnections. Across Australia only 2 of the 631 settlements where prepayment can operate have clearly outlined conditions for prepay customers to connect rooftop solar.

Is there finance / funding available for First Nations renewable energy projects?

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has various funding opportunities of relevance to First Nationsʼ led or co-designed projects including for regional and rural microgrids.

The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) can provide funding and other support for commencing or land or water-based enterprises (such as a clean energy project), undertaking a planning and/or feasibility assessment and building or upgrading infrastructure, plant or equipment.

The 2023-24 WA State Budget announced the following funding streams that may have some direct or indirect relevance to First Nations people or communities in respect of the renewable energy transition and/or climate change adaptation:

• $42.6 million over four years for the Essential and Municipal Services Upgrade for Aboriginal Remote Communities
• $40 million Sustainable Geoscience Investments package to accelerate critical minerals discoveries and to help meet demand for minerals used in new battery technologies (including a boost to the Exploration Incentive Scheme to increase greenfield exploration)
• $20.2 million for Future Drought Fund programs to build farm and regional community resilience
• $93.4 million for the training sector, including new and expanded initiatives that support students in the regions to access training, women to enter apprenticeships in

non-traditional fields and for Aboriginal people to gain employment

• $4.2 million for a $2,000 completion grant and a tool safety equipment rebate of up to $500 for construction apprentices
• $1.86 million to facilitate the development of a co-designed West Kimberley climate change adaptation strategy
• $2 million from the New Industries Fund to support female and Indigenous entrepreneurs in the innovation sector.

In respect of climate change adaptation and Caring for Country, there are community stewardship grants (between $1,000 and $450,000) available from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development for community-based projects that serve to protect and restore the local environment, enabling local community groups to undertake stewardship of natural resources in their local area. The State Governmentʼs “Climate Adaptation Strategy” also contains several commitments relating to First Nations which could provide opportunities for funding.

Further grants are available to communities through State Government and some Commonwealth agencies, and there are also general possible funding opportunities for First Nations available.

Western Australia renewable energy policies and information

What are the key renewable energy policies, programs, and initiatives?

The WA government has committed to a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 80% below 2020 levels as well as the net zero by 2050 goal. It does not currently have a renewable energy target.

The proposed Climate Change Bill 2023 has recently been open for consultation and was introduced to Parliament on 30 November 2023. The legislation is set to:

• provide a framework for the state climate response
• formalise the goal of net zero emissions by 2050
• create requirements for emission reduction targets.

The Energy Transformation Strategy includes initiatives across four areas through to 2025. These are:

• Implementing the Energy Transformation Taskforce decisions
• Integrating new technology into the power system
• Keeping the lights on as the power system transitions
• Regulating for the future.

In November 2023, the WA Government announced PoweringWA to oversee the delivery of transmission, renewable generation and storage in the primary grid.

The Federal Government is providing $3 billion in concessional finance for transmission projects via the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. These are proposed to occur in the:

• North West Interconnected System (NWIS); and
• South West Interconnected System (SWIS).

As stated in the joint media release concerning this funding announcement, there was an intention that “the Australian and WA Governments will work closely with First Nations Australians to understand their views on this investment.”

As part of the SWIS Demand Assessment, $126 million has been committed for network augmentations, network upgrades and internodal works. This includes:

• $2.3 billion for state owned energy retailer and generator Synergy to deliver a 500MW Battery Energy Storage System in Collie, and a second 200MW Battery in Kwinana; and
• $368 million for Synergy to build a new wind farm at King Rocks and a proposed expansion of the Warradarge Wind Farm near Eneabba, with a combined wind capacity of up to 210MW.

The DER Roadmap was released in 2019 and is valid through to 2024 with a focus on smart grid capability for the SWIS via projects such as virtual power plant trials and community batteries, rather than an expanded mandate to remote communities.

The State Infrastructure Strategy has six key objectives, with four of relevance:

1. value-adding for strategic commodities;

2.approachingthetechnologyfrontier;

• transitioning to net zero emissions technologies;
• promoting and leveraging Aboriginal cultural heritage and enterprise.

The electricity network in Western Australia

Due to the geographic isolation, the WA electricity network is located outside of the National Electricity Market (NEM) and hosts three primary electricity networks:

1. • South West Interconnected System (SWIS);
   • North West Interconnected System (NWIS);
   • Regional Power.

In WA, electricity assets and infrastructure are owned by a mixture of government and private companies.

The SWIS supplies over a million customers, including covering Perth, and from Albany (south) up to Kalbarri (north). Western Power, a government-owned corporation, is the licensed distributor and Synergy is the largest licensed retailer for the network and the only one that supplies

small-scale customers. The Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM) facilitates the sale of generation to retailers within the SWIS. The WEM has similarities to how the NEM works, but also fundamental differences. In particular, the WEM has a ʻreserve capacity mechanismʼ to ensure generators still receive income whether they are generating or not.

The NWIS covers the mining communities across the Pilbara and has over 15,000 retail electricity customers. Horizon Power, a government owned corporation, operates the NWIS and holds around a 25% stake in it. Five electricity companies act as generators, suppliers and retailers within the NWIS:

1. • Horizon Power
   • Alinta
   • BHPBilliton
   • Pilbara Iron (Rio Tinto)
   • ATCO Australia.

Horizon Power is the main customer supplier in the SWIS; the others primarily supply or self-supply large users on the network. The broader supply of regional power to isolated regional towns and remote communities is done by Horizon Power, which services 53 Aboriginal communities. The geographic scale of the state means there are five interconnected systems, being in East Kimberley (Kununurra, Wyndham, Lake Argyle) and in Esperance and Hopetoun. In addition, there are 32 microgrids or isolated power systems for smaller communities.

The WA Department of Communities was previously responsible for providing power and water to 141 remote Aboriginal communities. In April 2023, this responsibility was transferred to Horizon Power and Water Corporation. The transition was funded out of the state governmentʼs $350 million Remote Communities Fund, with $200 million allocated to upgrades including the transition of assets to renewables and enhancing wellbeing outcomes for 12,000 residents across the communities.

Whilst Horizon Power is the asset owner and operator, the regions are serviced by on-the-ground service providers. These are:

Kimberley Regional Service Provider (KRSP) for the Kimberley

• Meta Maya Services (MMS) for Pilbara, Mid West & Gascoyne
• Ngaanyatjarra Services (NgS) for Goldfields Esperance.

What renewable energy projects are in the pipeline in Western Australia or concluded and of relevance?

There are 16 utility-scale wind farms operating in WA. Several of these are combined wind and solar or diesel plants. Projects occur either as retailer or distributor owned projects or as joint ventures with private developers. An example of this is Bright Energy Investments and SynergyRED. Through their partnership, 256MW of renewable generation has been financed including the Warradarge Wind Farm, Greenough River Solar Farm and Albany Grasmere Wind Farm.

Offshore wind is being developed in WA and the Federal Government announced a community consultation period from November 2023 for Bunbury to become an offshore wind zone (one of six nationally). Of note are the following proposed projects:

1. • Leeuwin offshore wind farm: capacity up to 3GW and has received support from the government
   • Myalup Offshore Wind Farm: capacity up to 1.9GW
   • The Southwest, Perth and Wanneroo Arrays: capacity of 1.5GW each.

Three large and unique First Nations and renewable energy developer project partnerships in the pipeline for WA are:

1. • Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH)
   • Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation (YEC)
   • East Kimberley Clean Energy Project.

Global energy companies are also developing on agricultural land. For instance, BP bought Daisy Downs, a 27,000-hectare cropping property north of Mullewa, for $23 million. The proposed project is 10GW of renewable energy to convert to hydrogen and ammonia.

The Shark Lake Renewables Hub delivered in 2022 generates up to 46% of Esperanceʼs electricity. It includes:

1. • a 4MW solar farm
   • two new wind turbines (9MW)
   • a battery energy storage system
   • a new 22MW highly efficient gas power station.

The Mid West & Remote Towns Integrated Resource Planning project by Horizon Power was a 2021 Commonwealth funded feasibility study to transition nine towns to 100% renewables.

Communities included Cue, Meekatharra, Mt Magnet, Sandstone, Wiluna, Yalgoo and Norseman. Future communities were proposed to be Gascoyne Junction, Laverton, Menzies and Nullagine. The study found that a 100% renewable transition was not currently feasible but steps could be made towards that outcome.

The current South East Region Hydrogen Hub & Spoke Model Feasibility Study is assessing the feasibility of:

1. • producing green hydrogen from the Shark Lake Renewables Hub in Esperance

storing,transportandusingthehydrogeninthecommunitiesofHopetounandNorseman.

As part of the State Government's WA Recovery Plan, Horizon Power invested more than $75 million in regional WA. The projects are:

1. • Denham Hydrogen Demonstration Plant was commissioned in 2023 and includes a solar farm generating enough equivalent energy to power over 100 homes.
   • Battery Storage in Regional Towns ($30.8m), deploying battery storage systems in the towns of Broome, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Marble Bar, Wiluna, Yalgoo, Yungngora.

Additional Horizon Power projects of relevance include:

1. • The Exmouth Power Project which includes a battery (installed 2022) and solar farm (yet to be installed).
   • Renew the Regions - Aboriginal Community Embedded Networks: ($3.8m project) which includes upgraded electrical infrastructure in remote communities throughout Bell Springs, Emu Creek, Mud Springs, Munthanmar, Koongie Park, Mardiwah Loop, Joy Springs, Gillarong, Karnparrmi, Loanbun, Woodgamia, Buttah Windee, and Marmion Village.
   • Renew the Regions - Stand Alone Power Systems: Up to 50 standalone power systems installed across the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne and Goldfields-Esperance regions.
   • Remote Communities Centralised Solar Project which delivered in 2022 a project in Kalumburu with the Kalumburu Aboriginal Corporation - a 929kW solar farm and 1.78MWh battery for the community of 400, supplying 64% of Kalumburuʼs electricity needs and reducing community reliance on diesel-powered generation. A Community Energy Fund (a first for the utility) will return $15,000 per year for 10 years to the community to invest in its own renewable energy projects.

A remote site funded under the Australian Renewable Energy Agencyʼs (ARENA) Advancing Renewables Program is the Agnew Renewable Hybrid Microgrid. This is the first Australian mine to be powered by a wind, solar, battery and gas microgrid and was completed in June 2023.

Another project of note is the Western Australia Distributed Energy Resources Orchestration Pilot (Project Symphony) which is trialling demand management of rooftop solar, batteries and major appliances across Perth.

Horizon Power has a project for 98 Electric Vehicle charging stations spread across 49 locations along major WA transport routes.

Plico Energy has formed a Virtual Power Plant of over 1,600 solar and battery customers.

What rules or policy does Western Australia have for promoting energy storage?

Funding has been allocated and trials have been deployed for energy storage to-date, including:

1. • $2.3 billion has been allocated for Synergy to deliver a 500MW Battery Energy Storage System in Collie, and a second 200MW Battery in Kwinana to support the SWIS. The State Government and AEMO recently ran a tender for battery supply and the Non-Co-optimised Essential System Services (NCESS) contract was awarded to Neoen.
   • Western Power and Synergy partnered in 2018 on the PowerBank community battery project and installed three community-scale batteries utilising Tesla technology. They have run three stages of trials across 12 locations with more than 350 residents with solar participating directly via a subscription.

Battery Storage in Regional Towns ($30.8 million), deploying battery storage systems in Broome, Carnarvon, Exmouth, Marble Bar, Wiluna, Yalgoo and Yungngora. Gascoyne Junction and Menzies were removed from scope – awaiting further work.

Private companies such as Alinta are building a 100MW two-hour battery energy storage system adjacent to their 380MW gas and diesel-fired power plant at Wagerup.

Are there any policies or frameworks or programs in the jurisdiction that are relevant or have a focus on First Nations outcomes?

The WA government's commitment to Outcome 9 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap – that First Nations people secure appropriate, affordable housing that is aligned with their priorities and needs has a focus on First Nations outcomes. The complimentary Aboriginal Empowerment Strategy 2021-2029 is also of relevance with regard to the high-level direction for future government actions over the next eight years. The Aboriginal Advisory Council is the strategic partner in the cross-government development of implementation plans.

The Aboriginal Empowerment Strategy 2021-2029 puts forward the important role of land and negotiated agreements into the future such as via:

1. • Traditional Owners as empowered negotiators
   • increased funding and capacity development for First Nations corporations
   • land tenure that supports commercial aspirations and cultural priorities
   • use of natural resources commercially by Traditional Owners
   • Traditional Owner corporations as vehicles for economic development
   • provision of essential and municipal services and infrastructure in remote communities.

The Strategy also refers to the need for focus on enabling place-based engagement in First Nations communities.

The State Infrastructure Strategy, Foundations for a stronger tomorrow released in 2022, has a focus on delivering opportunities for First Nations people with priority on ʻinfrastructure opportunities that will improve the empowerment and self-determination of Aboriginal peopleʼ, with ʻpromoting and leveraging Aboriginal cultural heritage and enterpriseʼ being one of six key strategic objectives.

In November 2023, the WA Government announced PoweringWA to oversee the delivery of transmission, renewable generation and storage in the primary grid. The mandate states:

It will identify, reduce and manage the impact of infrastructure developments, including on native forests, endangered habitats, areas of cultural significance and other community impacts such as farming, fire and bio-hazard risks. This includes empowering Aboriginal people and impacted communities to gain opportunities from WAʼs low-emission, renewable energy transformation.

Does Western Australia provide any support, funding, or policy levers for community energy projects or social / community housing electrification and solar / storage solutions?

The WA Government Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme (DEBS) is an export payment for customers that encourages usage in the middle of the day (peak rates) and exporting to occur later in the day (off-peak rates):

electricityexportedbetween3-9pmearns10centsperkilowatt-hour(kWh)acrossboth Horizon and Synergy.

• electricity exported between 9-3pm earns 2.25 cents per kWh on Synergy and 3 cents per kWh on Horizon Power.

The Scheme has been established to enable purchasing of exported energy from rooftop solar PV systems, batteries and electric vehicles. There is a slight uplift in rates across Horizon Power areas as the cost to generate is higher and particular towns receive bespoke DEBS rates. Many communities on the Horizon Power network have reached saturation of rooftop solar and Horizon Power is not able to offer DEBS to further customers ʻat this timeʼ (for example Sandstone, Yungngnora, Onslow), however Horizon Power states they are working on a range of solutions such as:

1. • improving capacity constraints
   • installing battery storage
   • open public releases of solar capacity (homes and business can register to receive updates on solar releases in their community, such as the recent 250kW release for Esperance).

The Horizon Power Uplift rate is significant for certain towns (although many may be solar constrained), ranging up to 55.99c/kWh peak rate.

In November 2023, the WA and Commonwealth governments announced plans for the Federal Government election commitment to Community Solar Banks. The $19.9 million co-funded program will be focussed on remote and regional households with two key programs:

1. • the Kimberley Communities Solar Saver program supporting over 400 households in five First Nations communities
   • expanding the Horizon Powerʼs Sunshine Saver program to support 1,600 renters and low income households.

The Sunshine Saver program is a pathway to reduce bills by approximately $30 per bill via a $1 subscription levy that provides 5 units of power per day and then a discount on further units. Eligible homes are those that cannot get solar installed and participate in the DEBS program.

Solar Rewards is another program available under Synergy. Customers receive a $100 Synergy credit and ongoing electricity credits by granting access for Synergy to manage their rooftop solar in order to stabilise the grid.

The Community Energy program launched in July 2023 is a program under Synergy that will share excess solar in the SWIS network to ʻfinancial hardshipʼ customers without solar. The customers will receive free electricity between 9am and 3pm. The program is estimated to save households $500 per year while supporting energy system stability by shifting use on the network.

Are there barriers to the placement of solar on First Nations housing?

For many First Nations people living in social housing, rental housing and remotely, accessing the benefits of rooftop solar is very difficult.

Horizon Powerʼs Uplift rate for the Distributed Energy Buy Back Scheme (DEBS) is significant for certain remote towns, ranging up to 55.99c/kWh peak rate which provides an incentive to switch to renewables (from primarily diesel supply). However, First Nations communities located remotely

have a reduced opportunity to benefit from renewable energy as many cannot connect more solar PV due to voltage constraints.

The State Infrastructure Strategy acknowledges the poor living conditions and environmental health experienced in some remote First Nations communities and the importance of access to safe, good-quality housing in achieving outcomes in health, education and employment. The Strategy refers to the urgent need of housing and living standards to be improved across remote First Nations communities.

Does Western Australia have programs or policies supporting jobs and skills outcomes and business development for First Nations?

The Aboriginal Empowerment Strategy 2021-2029 describes pathways to expand First Nations economic opportunities through government action such as procurement and human resourcing. It includes requirements for agencies to:

1. • support First Nationsʼs employment and business aspirations
   • connect First Nations with employers and markets
   • expand markets for First Nations businesses
   • set government employment targets, including regional targets
   • First Nations procurement targets (per agency, project, and/or region)
   • incentives for contractors to employ and procure from First Nations people
   • increase opportunities for small First Nations businesses to tender
   • engage local First Nations businesses for services and infrastructure in remote communities
   • promote industries with strong potential for First Nations participation
   • expand opportunities for funded, culturally-driven on-country work including environmental services.

The Solid Futures Aboriginal traineeship program provides support, formal training, and paid employment to complete a Certificate III in Government. They match agencies with trainees across metropolitan and regional areas.

The Aboriginal Community Connectors Program provides support and access to services including local employment opportunities via service contracts in remote areas.

The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has established the Aboriginal Empowerment Unit (AEU) to support the delivery of the Aboriginal Empowerment Strategy. The AEU will establish teams on:

1. • Aboriginal Engagement (including regional officers)
   • Aboriginal Procurement
   • Cultural Responsiveness
   • Aboriginal Outcomes.

Horizon Power, under its Reconciliation Action Plan, has targets for First Nations workforce levels as well as increasing procurement levels.

Information in this document should not be relied upon as legal advice. Each situation will be different and you should obtain and rely on legal advice for your own situation.

A review of Federal and State government approaches to transmission reveals inconsistency and a lack of accountability for ensuring commitments to First Nations outcomes. Despite all government’s stated ambition for First Nations participation in Australia’s energy transition, there is presently a lack of commitment to embedding First Nations outcomes in transmission planning prior to decision-making.

With grateful thanks for use of the photo by Nikola Johnny Mirkovic.

Executive Summary

All Australian governments, Federal and State and Territory, have put in place strategies, policies and legislation to facilitate the transition to a renewable future and to support the development of new energy infrastructure.¹

New transmission infrastructure is essential in this transition, and there are significant opportunities for First Nations to benefit from and participate in Australiaʼs new priority transmission infrastructure investments should it be done in accordance with international law, and avoid the hard lessons of recent natural resource² and mining negotiations with government, and industry.³

Certainty, community acceptance and social licence are essential to delivering the transmission infrastructure required to support a rapid renewable energy transition.

First Nations people have extensive rights and interests, including Traditional Ownership rights, and hold the cultural knowledge required to ensure the necessary infrastructure is appropriately sited, and that its construction and operation deliver multiple and mutual benefits for communities. With First Nations as genuine partners in projects, these benefits will also flow through to investors. First Nations people also enjoy inherent rights and have mutual obligations to their lands, and waters.

Australia can learn from other nations who have acted on the climate challenge before us, to ensure that the transition to a renewable energy future is just, de-risked and that all parties' interests are aligned early to support investment and timely construction of critical transmission infrastructure.

Key outcomes from Europe, United States and Canada transmission and renewable energy transitions are that co-ownership (equity) and strategic participation (free, prior and informed consent) underpin successful transmission infrastructure.⁴

Australia can build the transmission infrastructure we all need in the right way, to support our future economy, and climate, while ensuring that this transition creates shared economic prosperity. It will require consistency and benchmarking to ensure that the benefits are equitable for First Nations people.

Recommendations

Thanks to Kathryn Ridge (PhD candidate, University of Technology Sydney, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research) for leading the drafting of this working paper, and to others who have provided comments and suggestions in its development.

Contents

• Executive Summary
• Recommendations
• Introduction
• Transmission and the intersection with First Nations
• Australiaʼs transmission network
• Government transmission initiatives
• Building the transmission capacity required with First Nations
• Regardless of tenure, First Nations rights, interests and responsibilities in land cannot be ignored
• Transmission infrastructure on Native Title and statutory Land Rights land - the need for clarity
• Native Title - the right to negotiate should apply regardless of whether a project is public or private
• Land Rights schemes
• Underwater Cultural Heritage
• Conclusion and recommendations
• Appendix A: Australiaʼs energy market explained
• Appendix B: Review of Australian government transmission approaches and First Nations outcomes
• Appendix C: Transmission infrastructure arrangements involving First Nations in North America

Introduction

This paper seeks to understand and develop additional thought about the opportunities available to First Nations people in Australiaʼs new transmission infrastructure - ownership, planning, design, build - to ensure the impact of policy instruments on those affected are recognised and optimised for First Nations benefit.

To do this, we have examined:

• Energy system governance: the policies, frameworks, and institutions that govern the energy system and how they support and uphold fundamental human rights.
• Respect for First Nations rights: Defining what they are, and the ways in which energy system participants understand and implement their roles with regard to First Nations rights and interests.
• Other jurisdictions that have been early movers in the transition to a rapid and just renewable energy future.

In developing this paper we are aware that the federated nature of the National Electricity Market (NEM) means that even reforms with broad support can take time to progress and implement.

By including and embedding First Nations as co-owners in systems required to give effect to the transition, and the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in policy, legislation and projects, and by requiring special measures⁵, the transition to renewable energy can be fair and just, occur at the pace necessary (avoid lengthy disputes), and will deliver mutual cultural, social, economic and environmental benefits to people, and the country.

Transmission and the intersection with First Nations

There has been considerable focus on generation in Australiaʼs energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Another key feature of our clean energy future is the design, construction, and operation of new transmission infrastructure. As has become a common utterance as Australia transitions its energy system away from coal and gas: “there is no transition without transmission.”

Australia is in the midst of an energy revolution. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) reports that we need to build over 10,000 kilometres of new electricity transmission before 2030 - an expansion of our power system at a scale not seen for decades.⁶

The lack of progress in building the required transmission capacity to expand our energy system and decarbonise is emerging as a strategic challenge for Australia.

To meet this challenge, governments urgently need to:

• Provide certainty for investment by ensuring strategic planning is done with First Nations people, obtaining their FPIC;
• obtain social licence by meaningfully engaging, communicating and planning with impacted communities, understanding their local socio-economies and environment and community priorities; and
• ensuring that the rules for the development of transmission infrastructure incentivise First Nation outcomes, including genuine partnerships.

The rights, interests and responsibilities of First Nations people⁷ will play a critical role in facilitating the success of Australia to meet emissions reductions targets, including the construction of necessary new transmission infrastructure.

Governments have a choice about increasing equitable outcomes for First Nations

Although the regulation of Australiaʼs energy system is complex with many interrelated aspects⁸, the reform of the regulatory framework that underpins our energy system is a key aspect of Australiaʼs energy transition to clean energy.

As this system is examined and adapted to facilitate the energy transition, governments have choices available to them, and a strong guiding hand in how these choices are exercised.

Providing incentives for First Nation outcomes will accelerate the clean energy transition by providing certainty, in turn reducing risk and cost.

Australia’s transmission network

Transmission infrastructure moves electricity from where itʼs generated, such as from a solar or wind installation, to an electrical substation. From there, the distribution network – the “poles and wires” – takes the electricity to households and businesses.

Australiaʼs ageing transmission network largely consists of high-voltage towers and cables (both above and below ground) which criss-cross the country and are connected to transformers⁹. Grid infrastructure is largely concentrated on Australiaʼs east coast, interconnecting Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Western Australia and the Northern Territory have their own grid infrastructure, although these are not connected across the country.

Figure 1: Australia’s Transmission Networks

Source: ARENA

New transmission infrastructure is necessary for connecting new renewable energy resources and zones to the electricity grid. Upgrades to existing interconnectors between the States and Territories are required, and new interconnectors and intrastate transmission must be built if we are to transition to renewable energy sources, making the grid cleaner and more resilient.

Government transmission initiatives

The Federal governmentʼs $20 billion program, Rewiring the Nation¹⁰ is designed to make clean energy accessible and affordable across Australia by modernising the electricity grid and infrastructure (i.e. to build new transmission infrastructure).

Substantial funding has already been committed to various transmission projects under this program:

• $4.7 billion to New South Wales
• $2.25 billion to Victoria
• $3 billion to Western Australia

When it comes to First Nations outcomes of these major funding commitments, only the Western Australian announcement includes any reference to First Nations, with media releases¹¹ stating that “the Australian and WA Governments will work closely with First Nations Australians to understand their views on this investment and support their participation in the stateʼs clean energy transformation.”¹²

Aside from this statement about First Nations and Western Australia, none of the other Rewiring the Nation funding announcements listed above include any commitment, or legislative or policy framework, as to how First Nations outcomes are embedded in these significant investments of public money.¹³

Our review of State government transmission approaches and First Nations outcomes reveals both inconsistency, and a lack of accountability for ensuring that commitments to First Nations outcomes, such as participation, co-design and co-ownership occur prior to decision making.¹⁴

Governments have a key role in ensuring consistency of rules to facilitate equitable outcomes for First Nations people. Being in charge of the rules and regulation of the energy system, and a major contributor to the funding, means that First Nations-related outcomes can be achieved both in the ways that projects are funded (through concessional finance such as is available through the Clean Energy Finance Corporationʼs (CEFC) administration of the Rewiring the Nation fund),¹⁵ and through linking social and economic outcomes for First Nations throughout those rules determining how the planning, investment, construction and operation of transmission (monopoly) assets occurs.

Extending benefit sharing to First Nations people and communities via transmission infrastructure planning, investment and execution will ensure that First Nations people are both participating in and benefiting from Australiaʼs energy transition, whilst also ensuring that projects are more likely to be developed at the pace required with risk minimised.

Building the transmission capacity required with First Nations

Discussions about First Nations involvement in new transmission infrastructure in Australia must move urgently beyond check-box-type consultation to rights-based conversations about genuine partnership and participation in all stages of the necessary transmission infrastructure build-out, including benefit sharing, partnerships, equity and ownership.

Given the CEFC’s Investment Mandate provides the CEFC with direction on how it will invest budget allocations of $20.5 billion for Rewiring the Nation, the Household Energy Upgrades Fund and the Powering Australia Technology Fund, this is a significant deficiency in the ability of the CEFC to positively contribute to First Nations outcomes.

To facilitate these outcomes, the First Nations Clean Energy Network has developed a set of Best Practice Principles for clean energy developers, proponents, governments and communities.¹⁶

The Principles place First Nations people and their communities at the centre of the development, design, implementation and benefit-sharing of small, and medium to large-scale clean energy infrastructure developments. The Principles provide a framework for governments, project proponents and regulators to consider how to engage with First Nations communities in the development of new transmission infrastructure.

Building on the Principles, following are key opportunities for governments and the entities that construct, operate and maintain the transmission network - the transmission network service providers (TNSPs) - to explore in the development of our nationʼs new transmission infrastructure backbone.

Regardless of tenure, First Nations rights, interests and responsibilities in land cannot be ignored

First Nations Land Rights and Native Title rights and interests are typically only able to be realised legally over land where the State has not undertaken a prior tenure act (such as a grant of freehold, lease) which thereby ʻalienatesʼ the land from First Nation peopleʼs ownership. If such a previous tenure act has occurred, it means those lands are not ʻclaimableʼ by First Nations groups. This in turn means that First Nations people are not able to enjoy potential or actual wealth creation from those lands, despite being Australia's first inhabitants, due to those previous acts of dispossession by the State.

This distribution of land from First Nations people to settlers has resulted in an ongoing financial and economic disadvantage that has denied First Nations Australians their fair share of intergenerational wealth.

The construction of new transmission infrastructure accordingly presents an opportunity to correct past dispossession and to facilitate First Nationsʼ self-determination and participation in clean energy infrastructure.

Such First Nations outcomes could be realised, regardless of tenure arrangements by facilitating equity ownership of transmission infrastructure by Traditional Owner groups and their representative organisations by actions such as:

• establishing rules for the planning, construction and operation of transmission infrastructure projects that incentivise TNSPs to establish benefit-sharing arrangements with Traditional Owner groups and their representative organisations
• incentivising TNSPs to partner with Traditional Owners and their representative organisations in order to access concessional government finance (e.g. Rewiring the Nation program funding)
• a top-up to the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporationʼs Land Account, to enable Traditional Owner groups whose land is now covered by transmission infrastructure (but who are not able to access the substantial compensation payments made to current landowners) to acquire and manage adjacent land, where possible.

Exploring innovative measures like those listed above is no different to the special measures that have already been announced and which are directed towards landowners, such as:

• NSWʼs Strategic Benefit Payments Scheme¹⁷
• Victoriaʼs Landholder Payments scheme¹⁸
• Queenslandʼs Supergrid Landholder Payment Framework¹⁹ (which also includes payments to properties adjacent to new transmission infrastructure).

These schemes, which are paid in addition to compensation payments for acquisition of easements to host transmission infrastructure, are payments overwhelmingly directed towards non-First Nations landholders, on areas of land dispossessed from Traditional Owners.

First Nations are excluded from these payments despite retaining spiritual affiliation and ongoing rights and responsibilities to manage lands and water, notwithstanding past dispossession.

In other jurisdictions, including Canada²⁰, the interaction between this past dispossession and the need to provide specific pathways has been understood to ensure more equitable outcomes are achieved for First Nations people in the clean energy transition. The Canadian experience focuses on the meaningfulness of co-ownership of infrastructure, requiring both a sustainable revenue share and participation in decision making²¹, as well as underpinning environmental, social and governance (ESG) outcomes and de-risking projects for the co-ownership partners.

Also in Canada, where the demonstrated benefit of co-ownership to community and projects is well proven, state jurisdictions have fast-tracked equity shares for Indigenous people through legislative and innovative pricing and policy measures such as mandated equity shares, feed-in-tariffs and other incentive arrangements.²²

As a result, it is not uncommon for First Nations to own significant equity shares in transmission infrastructure in Canada.²³

Transmission infrastructure on Native Title and statutory Land Rights land - the need for clarity

In Australia, some First Nations groups are able to claim title to their lands under Native Title or via Land Rights and will be in a similar position to other landowners in being able to negotiate specific benefits associated with transmission infrastructure set for their land.

These groups have a key role in being able to provide the certainty (consent) TNSPs require from local communities. Transmission infrastructure should only be constructed where the FPIC of Traditional Owners has been obtained.²⁴

As the First Nations Clean Energy Network has advocated, FPIC is a foundational, mandatory principle that must exist in all policy and legislative frameworks concerning First Nations and access to lands and waters.

Current legal frameworks in Australia for Native Title and statutory Land Rights do not meet the international benchmarks for FPIC and nor do they provide opportunities for First Nations to fully participate in the economy as owners of assets.

In other natural resource sectors, such as mining, the United Nations Human Rights Committee have concerningly found that Australiaʼs legislative processes have failed to meet international human rights benchmarks for effective participation in decision making.²⁵

Native Title - the right to negotiate should apply regardless of whether a project is public or private

Depending on whether proposed transmission lines are public or private, either section 24KA of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (general public) or section 24 MD of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth)(private) will apply.

If the transmission line is private (an asset that provides a company a benefit) or the area of land for the transmission line is to be compulsorily acquired, section 24MD of the Native Title Act 1993, and ʻSubdivision P - Right to Negotiateʼ applies.

If the transmission line is public, then the native title holder is given the same procedural rights as an agricultural leaseholder, or freehold owner, and is able to have native title rights considered, if the procedural rights allow for matters to be considered.

In either pathway, compensation is payable, and if compulsory acquisition occurs, any non-native title interests in the land must be acquired as well.

To provide greater certainty to all stakeholders, the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) should be amended to clarify that the right to negotiate provisions of the Act will apply regardless of whether the transmission project is public or private, as transmission is a monopoly asset.

Land Rights schemes

There are a number of State and Territory Aboriginal Land Rights Acts²⁶, each with different provisions regarding the ability of First Nations groups to acquire or affect granted lands.

In most States and Territories, First Nations lands are typically inalienable²⁷, meaning they cannot be sold, leased or mortgaged.

In NSW, for example, if land has been granted under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW), the land cannot be compulsorily acquired, except by an Act of Parliament.²⁸ It can however be sold, leased or mortgaged with NSW Aboriginal Land Council approval.

These restrictions, along with the inordinate delay in processing land claims and native title claims, make it difficult for First Nations to participate fully in the economy as owners of assets, and thus from having access to capital.

These factors place First Nations at a significant competitive disadvantage when it comes to opportunities to raise capital to participate in equity positions and other commercial opportunities with transmission infrastructure (because of difficulty in accessing loans and competitive capital offered by the markets because land cannot be used as loan/investment collateral).

Equitable participation of all First Nations people in the energy economy must be supported, for example through a hypothecated section of the Community Benefits Sharing schemes, similar to British Columbiaʼs First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund.²⁹

Underwater Cultural Heritage

New transmission infrastructure required to connect energy generated from offshore wind to the existing grid poses risks to First Nations underwater cultural heritage.

Large areas of Australiaʼs continental shelf were dry landscape for tens of thousands of years of First Nations occupation. Many First Nations communities have both tangible and intangible cultural heritage extending into Sea Country well beyond the coastline. Resourcing is required for these communities to conduct heritage surveys and marine spatial planning.

Furthermore, the Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 (Cth), which fails to protect First Nations cultural heritage, requires wholesale reform to include provisions for defining, identifying, and protecting First Nations underwater cultural heritage in line with international standards.

Conclusion and recommendations

As has been widely reported³⁰, in order to decarbonise our energy system by 2050 Australia will need to build more than 10,000 kilometres of new high-voltage transmission lines to carry clean energy from newly established renewable energy zones and new projects. This will obviously require access to significant areas of land.

To assist with the challenging social licence aspects of new transmission infrastructure, governments in Victoria³¹, NSW³² and Queensland³³ have begun to offer additional financial incentives for the impact of transmission infrastructure.

Notwithstanding the potentially significant impacts on Country, for many First Nations, however, there may be limited opportunity³⁴ to shape and influence, benefit from and manage the risks associated with transmission infrastructure.

Further, from a justice perspective, that additional payments are now being offered to current landholders for transmission infrastructure with no recognition of past dispossession provides a different perspective on the emerging compensatory schemes.

In developing this paper, we are looking to explore how these emerging risks and opportunities can be better managed, and whether there are policy, program and funding initiatives and changes that should be prioritised.

In that regard, we have developed a series of draft recommendations that will guide our approach to reforms.

Appendix A: Australia’s energy market explained

The National Electricity Market

The largest electricity grid in Australia is part of the National Electricity Market (NEM), and covers Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

The NEM has five state-based transmission networks linked by interconnectors that enable electricity to flow between states, including the distribution network (poles and wires). Western Australia has the worldʼs biggest

standalone electricity grid and the Northern Territory is also separate from the NEM.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) operates the NEM and is responsible for selecting the lowest cost electricity generation to run through the transmission networks, and also for national transmission planning.

Several states in Australia have either partly or fully privatised transmission networks. In Victoria, AEMO decides on transmission investments. In other jurisdictions, that role rests with transmission companies.

AEMOʼs Integrated System Plan³⁵, a 20+ year roadmap for developing the NEM, shows that Australia will need to develop

10,000km of new transmission infrastructure by 2050³⁶ to move energy from new renewable projects around the NEM, locally and interstate.

Transmission infrastructure in Australia

The entities that construct, operate and maintain the transmission network are called transmission network service providers (TNSPs).

In Australia, TNSPs are state-based and comprise a mixture of publicly and privately owned businesses:³⁷

TNSPs in each state were originally established as statutory authorities under state legislation. Although some TNSPs have now been privatised, all are still governed by specific state legislation. TNSPs must comply with the legislation applicable to their jurisdiction and any other related regulations, codes of practice or guidelines.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is responsible for the regulation of TNSPs.

Transmission companies are monopoly providers and in Australia their activities are heavily regulated

- the strong role of governments in making the rules

TNSPs fund and build capital assets, and earn income from these assets over their lifetime, in a similar way to owners of other long-lived assets such as toll roads. Equity shareholders in transmission infrastructure require adequate returns to incentivise them to invest.

Energy networks create “natural monopolies” because there are such high barriers to entry and start-up costs that prevent any rivals from competing. Accordingly, and particularly to protect consumers from network owners from exploiting monopoly power, natural monopolies are often heavily regulated, with governments having a strong hand in regulating (setting and applying the rules) transmission infrastructure.

This is done by the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) which develops the rules by which the market must operate. The National Electricity Rules (NER) set out the regulatory framework for electricity networks. The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) enforces the rules and makes judgements on the regulatory proposals of monopoly network operators.³⁸

How the rules work to determine what TNSPs can charge consumers

The revenue most energy networks are allowed to earn (and therefore the prices they charge to consumers) is governed by the AER and is set every five years. Western Australia has a similar structure regulated by its Economic Regulation authority.

The NEMʼs regulator (the AER) must set a ceiling on the revenues or prices that a TNSP can earn or charge during a regulatory period. In particular, the AER determines the efficient costs of providing electricity network services.

This is known as incentive-based regulation, because once the regulated revenue is set for a period, TNSPs have an incentive to provide services at the lowest possible cost because their returns are determined by the actual cost of providing services. If a TNSP reduces its actual costs to below the regulatory estimate of efficient costs, the TNSP retains a share of the savings in future regulatory periods.

Put simply, this means the Commonwealth government, through the AER, effectively sets the price for transmission via its regulatory structure, and consumers pay for returns to equity shareholders through their electricity bills (transmission and distribution costs comprise about 50% of consumersʼ costs).

Appendix B: Review of Australian government transmission approaches and First Nations outcomes

As the energy transition challenge is nationwide, it is shared between Commonwealth and State governments. The Commonwealth has developed a strategy - the national Integrated System Plan (ISP) through AEMO, which flags the need for over 10,000 km of new transmission.

Each State Government has prepared its own energy strategy, including through supporting legislation, and their own approach to the participation of First Nations in the design, planning, building, owning, and operating of the new transmission infrastructure.

In Table 1, for the purpose of understanding the impact on First Nations participation, we examine a range of legislative and policy documents against the following key criteria:

1. Strategic Land Use Assessment including resourcing for First Nations peopleʼs effective participation in design and planning of transmission (REZ and Transmission)
2. Ownership of transmission for First Nations people
3. Human Rights protected through transmission decision-making
4. Free Prior and Informed Consent to proposed areas, and specific routes
5. Cultural Heritage appropriately identified and protected
6. Benefit Sharing required and incentivised.

Our analysis reveals significant deficiencies in state policy and legislative frameworks

As can be seen through the analysis of each Stateʼs scheme (in Table 1), while the principles have been identified, each leaves a substantial amount of the work regarding First Nations participation in the design, planning, building, owning and operating of transmission to a later phase, or to policy rather than legislation - missing out on significant opportunities for First Nations outcomes.

Meanwhile, long term transmission infrastructure decisions are being fast-tracked, as are renewable energy developments based on the transmission network design which will dictate infrastructure locational requirements.

Further, notwithstanding good intentions, implementation failure of policy is a real concern. Mining, agricultural, conservation and water planning sectors have all been reformed repeatedly over the past 50 years and each time, the government policy documents all note good intentions and commitments to First Nations people. Even so, the outcomes for First Nations typically fail to be delivered.³⁹ This implementation failure must not occur with the renewable energy transition.

Table 1: Comparison of jurisdictional legislation and policy concerning new transmission infrastructure

Appendix C: Transmission infrastructure arrangements involving First Nations in North America 

End Notes

¹ See further Appendix A.

² E.g. water, fisheries, biodiversity.

³ See further Appendix B - analysis of state energy regimes against First Nations outcomes.

⁴ See further Appendix C - examples of First Nations co-ownership of transmission infrastructure.

⁵ Australian Human Rights Commission, Special Measures.

⁶ AEMO, 2022 Integrated System Plan, June 2022.

⁷ First Nations people are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a spiritual relationship with particular lands, referred to as Country. In this discussion paper, the phrase is used both generally (all First Nations people), and specifically in the context of speaking for culture and heritage of particular places.

When used specifically, only the First Nations people with a direct spiritual affiliation for Country are intended to be involved.

⁸ See Appendix A.

⁹ Transformers are an electrical device that changes a given input voltage (such as High Voltage) to a different output voltage suitable for commercial and domestic users.

¹⁰ Australian Government, Rewiring the Nation.

¹¹ Prime Minister of Australia, $3 billion Rewiring The Nation deal to power WA jobs and growth, 29 August 2023.

¹² See Appendix B for a review of State government transmission approaches and First Nations outcomes.

¹³ See footnote 13.

¹⁴ Ibid.

¹⁵ We also note that while the CEFC has a First Nations Investment screening approach, there is no positive requirement or direction in the CEFC’s Investment Mandate to consider First Nations outcomes, or in its governing legislation (unlike the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Act 2023 (Cth) – see ss 17(4)(b), s 75(1)(aa) and s 75(1)(da) – and unlike the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility Investment Mandate).

¹⁶ First Nations Clean Energy Network, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Best Practice Principles for Clean Energy Projects, November 2022.

¹⁷ NSW Government, Strategic Benefit Payments Scheme.

¹⁸ Victoria Government Press Release, Landholder payments for a fairer renewables transition, 24 February 2023.

¹⁹ Powerlink Queensland, SuperGrid Landholder Payment Framework, May 2023.

²⁰ Ontario and British Columbia, legislated targets for Indigenous equity 20–51% First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund, Clean Energy Act 2010 British Columbia and Ontario Feed in Tariff Aboriginal Participation Rules and Large Renewables Long term Procurement.

²¹ Warrier, V., Morrison, L., White, A., Buffalo, S. (2021), Indigenous Ownership of Natural Resource Projects: A Framework for Partnership and Economic Development, Alberta Law Review Volume 59 (2), pp 393 – 425, p 398.

²² Clean Energy Act 2010, First Nations Clean Energy Fund (British Columbia) and Ontario Feed in Tariff and Aboriginal Price Adder, cited in Hoika, Savic, Campney (2021) “Reconciliation through renewable energy”, Energy Research and Social Science, Volume 74 (2021) 101897, pp 1-15, at 3.

²³ See for example the Wataynikaneyap Power Transmission Project which is ʻbringing grid connection to 17 remote communities. This has numerous benefits to all 24 partner communities leading this project, in partnership with Fortis Inc. and other private investors.ʼ

See also Appendix C, which sets out a range of transmission infrastructure arrangements involving First Nations in North America.

²⁴ Tipakalippa v National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (No 2) [2022] FCA 1121, Wunna Nyiyaparli Indigenous People (Ailsa Roy) decision of the United Nations Human Rights Committee dated 15 March 2023 Article 5(4) of the optional protocol (Matter number CCPR/c/137/D/3585/2019). See the case decision and the appeal decision.

²⁵ Ibid. Views adopted by the Human Rights Committee under article 5 (4) of the Optional Protocol concerning communication 3585/2019, submission from Ailsa Roy (Wunna Nyiyaparli Indigenous People), distributed 10 July 2023.

²⁶ Wensing, E. (2019) Land Justice for Indigenous Australians: How can the two systems of land ownership, use and tenure co-exist with mutual respect based on parity and justice? PhD Thesis, Australian National University

²⁷ Ibid. Only 4 of the 25 regimes allow for sale.

²⁸ Section 42B of the Act.

²⁹ British Columbia, First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund.

³⁰ See Asma Aziz and Iftekhar Ahmad, The Conversation, A clean energy grid means 10,000km of new transmission lines. They can only be built with community backing,17 August 2022.

³¹ Premier of Victoria, Press Release, Landholder Payments For A Fairer Renewables Transition, 23 February 2023.

³² NSW government, Strategic Benefit Payments Scheme.

NB. We are currently seeking clarification from EnergyCo, but it appears that the Strategic Benefit Payments Scheme in NSW may exclude Aboriginal Land Rights Act land, because that is classified as ʻpublicʼ land for the purposes of the Electricity Supply Act 1995.

³³ Powerlink, New SuperGrid Landholder Payment Framework an Australian first, 18 May 2023.

³⁴ For a range of factors, including limitations with the leverage provided by s 24KA of the Native Title Act and the disparate, dispersed nature of formally titled land held by Traditional Owners, particularly in more developed parts of the National Electricity Market where transmission infrastructure will likely be built.

³⁵ AEMO, 2020 Integrated System Plan (ISP).

³⁶ See Rewiring the Nation.

³⁷ See Energy Networks Australia - Guide to Australiaʼs Energy Networks.

³⁸ See National Electricity Market.

³⁹ See OʼFairchealleagh, C., A new approach to policy evaluation: mining and Indigenous people, 2022.

⁴⁰ Victorian Transmission Investment Framework, Partnering with Traditional Owners through planning and development, June 2023, page 4.

⁴¹ Victoria Government, Pupangarli Marnmarnepu 'Owning Our Futureʼ, Aboriginal Self-Determination Reform Strategy 2020-2025.

⁴² Victorian Transmission Investment Framework, Partnering with Traditional Owners through planning and development, June 2023, page 12.

⁴³ Ibid.

⁴⁴ Ibid, page 17, see also Community Engagement and Benefit Sharing in Renewable Energy Development in Victoria, page 12 and 13.

⁴⁵ Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources Lily DʼAmbrosio, Landholder payments for a fairer renewables transition, 23 February 2023.

⁴⁶ Queensland Government, 2023 Queensland Renewable Energy Zone Roadmap, July 2023, page 14.

⁴⁷ Ibid, page 9, 52.

⁴⁸ Ibid, page 14.

⁴⁹ NB: no commitment to cultural heritage surveys, which are crucial to identifying cultural heritage.

⁵⁰ NSW Government, NSW Climate and Energy Action, First Nations Guidelines “collaborative and inclusive decision-making under the principles of free, prior, and informed consent”, page 16.

⁵¹ We query whether the First Nations Guidelines comply with the Act: The Minister is to issue guidelines about consultation and negotiation with the local Aboriginal community in relation to relevant projects for the purposes of increasing employment and income opportunities for the local Aboriginal community.

⁵² ElectraNet, Transmission Annual Planning Report, October 2023.

⁵³ PlanSA, South Australia - New South Wales Electricity Interconnector.

⁵⁴ https://sarigbasis.pir.sa.gov.au/WebtopEw/ws/samref/sarig1/image/DDD/MRGMG25.pdf

⁵⁵ Note: Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Bill 2020 s 26.

⁵⁶ South Australian Government, South Australiaʼs Implementation Plan for the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, 29 July 2021, page 9.

⁵⁷ Project Energy Connect, Cultural Heritage Management Plan Framework.

⁵⁸ Government of South Australia, Department for Energy and Mining, Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act, Explanatory Guide to the Bill, 2023, page 8.

⁵⁹ ARUP, Infrastructure Western Australia, Energy – Technical and Policy review, Version 1, 16 March 2021, page 20.

⁶⁰ Western Australia government, Whole of System Plan, Information Sheet, August 2020.

⁶¹ Western Australia government, Aboriginal Procurement Policy Nov 2021, page 7, https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/aboriginal-procurement-policy-report-2021-22. ⁶³ Northern Territory Government, Aboriginal Procurement Policy, Advancing Aboriginal Business.

⁶² Northern Territory Government, Darwin-Katherine Electricity System Plan.

⁶⁴ Tasmanian Government, Renewable Energy Zones.

⁶⁵ Tasmanian Government, About REZ.

⁶⁶ Tasmanian Government, Renewable Energy Development in Tasmania - a Guideline for Engagement, Benefit Sharing and Local Procurement (Draft 2022), page 24.

⁶⁷ Tasmanian Government, Renewable Energy Development in Tasmania - a Guideline for Engagement, Benefit Sharing and Local Procurement (Draft 2022), page 14.

⁶⁸ Climate Council, Territory Trailblazer: How the ACT became a Renewable Energy Capital of Australia, 2016, page 13.

⁶⁹ ACT Government, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Procurement Policy, 31 May 2019. page 70, 71

⁷⁰ Warrier, V., Morrison, L., White, A., Buffalo, S. (2021), Indigenous Ownership of Natural Resource Projects: A Framework for Partnership and Economic Development, Alberta Law Review Volume 59 (2), pp 393 – 425, Appendix A, p 422.

⁷¹ First Nations Major Projects Coalition, The Role of Indigenous People in Major Project Development - Part II - Indigenous Ownership of Electricity Infrastructure: A Case Study, May 2020.

The energy transformation in New South Wales has included a range of initiatives for First Nations people. 

The energy transformation in New South Wales has included a range of initiatives for First Nations people. At present, Aboriginal Working Groups in the Renewable Energy Zones are undertaking the responsibility of negotiating outcomes with renewable energy proponents. The NSW Government has announced ambitious plans to transform the energy system from reliance on coal-fired power to 80% renewable energy by 2030. 

 

What are the prominent First Nations institutions in the jurisdiction? (e.g. land, housing, health, employment, education, economic development)

In NSW a range of structures have evolved to provide local level and statewide Aboriginal representation to government on funding and services.

The NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations (NSW CAPO) seeks to change the way government works with Aboriginal services and sector and is made up of peak Aboriginal community-controlled organisations in NSW:

• the NSWALC
• Aboriginal Legal Services
• the NSW Child, Family and Community Peak Aboriginal Corporation (AbSec)
• First Peoples Disability Network
• Link up NSW
• Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG)
• Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AH&MRC) and
• BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation.

	REZ	Total Area (km2)
	Central West	20983.52
		Area (km2)	Percentage
	Granted	54.67	0.26%
	Incomplete	545.63	2.60%
	Withdrawn	12.22	0.06%
	Refused	168.95	0.81%
	Pending	0.11	0.00%

 

	REZ	Total Area (km2)
	New England REZ	15083.49
		Area (km2)	Percentage
	Granted	39.87	0.26%
	Incomplete	313.46	2.08%
	Withdrawn	5.52	0.04%
	Refused	140.69	0.93%

 

	REZ	Total Area (km2)
	South West	31869.51
		Area (km2)	Percentage
	Granted	2.10	0.01%
	Incomplete	918.51	2.88%
	Withdrawn	1.53	0.00%
	Refused	102.77	0.32%
	Pending	0.02	0.00%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Key Energy Market Institutions

The NSW Government has produced a map of the key energy market institutions delivering the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap (see Figure 3).

There is one transmission network operator and three distribution network operators:

• Transgrid is the operator of the transmission network
• the distribution network is split between three operators:
  • Ausgrid (Sydney and outskirts)
  • Endeavour Energy (South-Coast, North-West of Sydney from Parramatta) and
  • Essential Energy (regional areas).

 

Figure 3: NSW Electricity Infrastructure, Key Bodies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The key entities delivering NSWʼs Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap - 

• Consumer Trustee: AEMO Services Ltd, a subsidiary of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), was appointed as the NSW Consumer Trustee. The role of the Customer Trustee is to plan investment in generation, storage, firming and network infrastructure, including administering tenders for Long-Term Energy Service Agreement
• The Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo): EnergyCo is responsible for planning the location of the REZs and contracting and overseeing the suppliers delivering the transmission network infrastructure to connect the generation built in the REZs to the electricity grid.

 

Key Policies for Local Workforce, Industry and Businesses

Workforce and training - NSW does not have a clean energy training fund or program. However, there are some initiatives associated with the REZs:

• Renewable energy project developers are required to meet employment and training commitments as part of auctions for Long-Term Energy Supply Agreements
• Renewable energy developers are required to make contributions for ʻemployment purposesʼ as part of access fees for the REZs.
• The NSW Government is currently developing a skills strategy for the Central-West Orana REZ.

 Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Manufacturing - There are two major programs:

• $250 million in grant funding to develop components for the renewable energy and electric vehicle sectors.
• $300 million to develop manufacturing of low carbon products and materials

Net Zero Industry and Innovation Plan - There are three investment priorities for the program:

• Priority 1: deploy opportunities to reduce industrial emissions ($200 million);
• Priority 2: accelerate strategic abatement opportunities ($105 million)
• Priority 3: develop low carbon infrastructure and industrial precincts ($55 million)

Key Policies for Low-Income Households

Low Income Household Rebate - Eligible concession cardholders receive a $285 rebate on their electricity bills per financial year. A one-pay $500 payment is available for 2023-24 due to the very high price increases.

Rebate swap for solar and energy efficient upgrades - Low-income households are eligible for a free 3 kilowatt rooop solar system in exchange for not receiving the low-income household rebate for 10 years – which saves money for both low-income households and government. For households not suitable for rooop solar, there is a $4000 rebate for energy efficiency upgrades. Eligible tenants within Land and Housing Corporation properties can also access the rebate swap.

NSW Gas Rebate - Eligible card concession holders receive a $110 rebate for retail gas bills.