GrainGrowers welcomes the opportunity to comment on the 2026-27 Safeguard Mechanism Review consultation paper.
GrainGrowers is a national organisation, driven by its vision: “Thriving Australian growers in vibrant communities.” Australian growers are at the heart of all that GrainGrowers does. Guided by grower insights and on-farm experience, GrainGrowers is delivering best practice, future-focused advocacy and development initiatives for the benefit of the grain industry and regional communities.
As Australia continues its transition to a lower-emissions economy, it is essential that emissions reduction policies promote genuine abatement across all sectors while maintaining the productivity and competitiveness of Australian agriculture. GrainGrowers supports the role of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) in supporting emissions reduction, innovation and additional income opportunities for growers, particularly where ACCU activities can coexist with productive agricultural land use. However, the design of the Safeguard Mechanism must ensure that incentives remain focused on driving direct emissions reductions and insetting within covered industries, rather than relying on agricultural land-based carbon removals to offset emissions generated elsewhere in the economy.
In this submission, GrainGrowers outlines opportunities to strengthen industrial decarbonisation while maintaining confidence in carbon markets and preserving investment certainty for agricultural carbon projects. GrainGrowers also comments on proposed Border Carbon Adjustment (BCA) arrangements, noting the importance of avoiding unintended costs and regulatory burdens on Australian agriculture, maintaining the competitiveness of grain production and supply chains, and ensuring any future expansion of a BCA appropriately considers impacts on critical agricultural inputs and downstream users.
GrainGrowers looks forward to working with the Safeguard Mechanism Taskforce on this topic.