Speech to Connecting Hydrogen APAC 2025 Conference, Melbourne

G’day, and can I say kaya, which is how we say g’day where I’m from which is Walyalup or Fremantle and I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land that I stand on and the land where you meet.

Industry leaders, researchers, policymakers.

Thank you for the opportunity to join you virtually at this year’s Connecting Hydrogen APAC Conference, which is taking place on the land of the Kulin Nation.

I’m sorry I can’t be there in person, especially having seen the impressive program ahead before you.

The breadth of expertise, insights and innovative technologies on display as part of the conference is deeply encouraging.

It’s a testament not only to the momentum gathering behind renewable hydrogen, but to our shared understanding of hydrogen’s critical role in Australia’s clean energy future.

Renewable hydrogen will play a key role in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors of the Australian economy.

This includes ammonia production, iron and alumina refining, and the production of fuels for maritime, aviation and long-haul road transport.

And then there is hydrogen’s potential to power the growth of new industries, create jobs, and help realise the full economic promise of the energy transition.

That’s why we’ve made it an integral part of our Future Made in Australia plan.

And we’ve done that while remaining clear eyed about the challenges ahead.

Renewable hydrogen is still developing at scale, and we know that targeted and sustained support from both government and the private sector is required for the sector to reach its full potential.

The Australian Government is stepping up to do our part by laying the foundations for a globally competitive hydrogen industry.

We’re investing strategically to accelerate the development of the industry under the 2024 National Hydrogen Strategy.

Whether it’s the Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive, the Hydrogen Headstart program, the Regional Hydrogen Hubs or the Australia–Germany H2Global initiative, our investments are looking to speed up production to commercial scale.

The government is also advancing the Guarantee of Origin Scheme through the Future Made in Australia legislative package, which is critical for building trust, attracting investment, and creating a competitive advantage for Australia’s low-emission products, including renewable hydrogen.

The GO Scheme is a voluntary but rigorous emissions accounting framework that enables certification of low-emission products and renewable energy.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re an enterprise in a manufacturing supply chain, or an end consumer – both increasingly demand transparency around products and their carbon footprint.

The GO Scheme will help deliver an essential component of this transparency, and will do so on a characteristically Australian high-integrity basis.

It will empower producers and exporters to credibly demonstrate how their products are made and attest to the emissions footprint these have across their lifecycle.

It will also open access to high-value markets that demand low-emission products and related emissions transparency.

Two types of certificates will be available under the scheme:

• Product GO – or PGO certificates – that certify low-emission products like green hydrogen and green metals.
• Renewable Electricity GO – or REGO certificates – will certify renewable electricity.

PGO certificates will allow producers, exporters and consumers to prove where a product was made, and will detail the emissions involved in its production, transport and storage.

REGO certificates will enable users to make verifiable claims on renewable electricity use by providing information on when, where and how it has been produced. 

Renewable hydrogen will be the first product to be issued PGO certificates, followed by low carbon liquid fuels, green metals and renewable gases.

The GO Scheme will also be the basis for assessing eligibility in relation to government initiatives such as:

• the Hydrogen Headstart program
• the $6.7 billion Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive, and
• the $2 billion Green Aluminium Production Credit.

The government has consulted extensively on the design and development of the GO Scheme, and I want to thank everyone who contributed and continues to contribute to this vital work.

Your insights have been crucial in shaping a scheme that is robust, practical and operable internationally.

That work continues.

Finalising the scheme for launch later this year requires the development of subordinate legislation.

In March, we completed initial public consultation on draft rules covering entry into the scheme, certification of products, and registration of profiles and renewable energy facilities.

We launched a second round of public consultation only last month, seeking your views on the GO Scheme’s:

• methodology for hydrogen produced through electrolysis
• regulations on cost recovery charges, and
• the proposed approach to energy storage in the REGO scheme.

All the consultation documents are available on my department’s website, and I strongly encourage your feedback before consultation closes tomorrow.

We’re also fast-tracking the development of methodologies for other products, including green metals, low-carbon liquid fuels, and renewable gases.

The schedule for developing these products is part of the present consultation.

Additional draft methodologies, informed by stakeholder input, will be released for public consultation later this year and, once again, we’ll be counting on your input.

Step by step, the Australian Government is building the enabling architecture of a clean energy economy and a Future Made in Australia.

The GO Scheme will be central to Australia’s emergence as a renewable energy superpower and as a clean energy powerhouse, generating high-value jobs, assuring product accountability, and helping us to meet our net zero goals.

Developing a new industry like renewable hydrogen from the ground up is no small thing – unlike the hydrogen atom. It takes vision, commitment, persistence, and, above all, collaboration.

That’s why we’re genuinely committed to working with industry and the broader community to help shape a regulatory framework and a set of investment supports to ensure they work well for all.

And right here at this conference, we’re witnessing collaboration in action.

The ideas shared in this forum and the connections made here will no doubt be part of advancing our shared hydrogen endeavour – an endeavour that is key to Australia’s brighter future as a nation that pioneers and benefits from clean energy innovation. 

Thank you for your participation on that basis.