Armoobilla Regeneration Project

Armoobilla Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located in the Quilpie Shire, approximately 80km southeast of Quilpie in South West Queensland. It was registered in August 2015 and covers 44,836.67 ha.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent native forests by changing land management practices to allow native trees to naturally regenerate, typically aiming to reach at least 20% forest canopy cover and 2 metres in height.

The Quilpie area is known for extensive cattle and sheep grazing operations. The region is considered a semi-arid environment with low and highly variable rainfall, and soils are generally red earths, sandy loams, and clay plains.

This project aims to establish permanent native forests from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers, on land that was cleared of vegetation and where regrowth was suppressed for at least 10 years prior to commencement. To achieve this, the project activities include ceasing the mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth and managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing.

Notably, Armoobilla has been a highly controversial carbon project. It was heavily utilised by Coles supermarket to offset their certified "carbon-neutral" beef brand. However, the project faced intense public scrutiny when industry experts, including former emissions reduction assurance committee head Andrew Macintosh, alleged a 5,383ha decline in woodland coverage between 2015 and 2021, labelling the project a "greenwash". Despite the criticism, the corporate proponents and Coles have maintained that the credits are genuine and meet the rigorous requirements of the government's carbon standard.