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The Australian Government has made it easier for businesses to sell energy-efficient appliances such as air conditioners, fridges and televisions through the passing of the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Amendment (Administrative Changes) Bill 2023 (GEMS Bill) on 20 September 2023.

These changes enhance and modernise the GEMS Act 2012 by making it easier for businesses and industry to comply with the regulations and provide flexibility to introduce more energy efficient products in the Australian market.

The changes improve a regulation that has already made significant contributions to Australia’s effort to address climate change. In the 10 years since the GEMS Act was passed, it has reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by between 40 and 60 mega tonnes of CO₂. It has also saved Australian households and businesses between $11.8 billion and $17.8 billion in reduced energy bills.

The improvements include:

• Businesses only need to register a custom GEMS-related product when the product has been produced and is ready to supply to the buyer.
• The GEMS Regulator will be able to make a product exempt from a specific rule in a requirement, rather than making them exempt from the entire requirement.
• The GEMS Regulator can recognise new and updated testing methods that are at least equivalent to Australian standards and remove the need to conduct testing specifically for the Australian market.

These updates also support the National Energy Transformation Partnership by helping Australia meet its international commitments to climate change and reach Net Zero by 2050.

Read more about the changes in the GEMS Bill.

The changes will be incorporated into the GEMS Act 2012 shortly, visit the Federal Register of Legislation - Australian Government compilations area for more information.