Armoobilla Regeneration Project

Armoobilla Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located roughly 90km southeast of Quilpie in South West Queensland. It was registered in August 2015 and covers an area of 44,836.67 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent, even-aged native forests by changing land management practices to allow for assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers. To meet the standard requirements for this methodology, the land must have been cleared of vegetation and subjected to regrowth suppression for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing. The primary project activities on this site involve the cessation of mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth and the careful management of the timing and extent of livestock grazing.

The Quilpie region is traditionally utilised for pastoralism, particularly the grazing of cattle and sheep on native pastures in mulga country. The environment is characterised by a semi-arid climate with low and highly variable annual rainfall, averaging around 350mm. Soils in this part of western Queensland generally consist of red and yellow massive earths (Kandosols) and self-mulching cracking clays (Vertosols).

The project is currently operated by Ninal Ventures Pty Ltd and Lanin Holdings Pty Ltd following participant variations between 2021 and 2022. Armoobilla Regeneration Project has notably been a major source of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) for Coles, which purchased credits from the site to offset processing and transport emissions for its "Coles Finest" carbon-neutral beef range. However, the project has attracted significant public scrutiny. Industry experts, including the former head of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee, Andrew Macintosh, criticised the project's integrity, claiming that woodland coverage on the site had actually declined by over 5,300 hectares between 2015 and 2021. In response to this commentary, the project developer, Corporate Carbon, publicly defended the site, maintaining that its projects are accurate and meet the scheme's rigorous requirements. Woodside Energy has also retired credits from this project to offset its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions.