Paradise Creek Carbon Project

Paradise Creek Carbon Project is an agricultural soil carbon project located at Paradise Creek Station along Elsmore Road, approximately 30km southeast of Inverell in the New England region of NSW. It was registered in September 2022 and covers an area of 2,341.25 hectares, though a registry variation in July 2025 resulted in the removal of some previously listed project areas.

The project operates under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021) methodology. Soil carbon projects of this type aim to store carbon in agricultural soils by introducing materially different farm management practices. To generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), standard methodology requirements dictate that proponents must establish baseline soil carbon levels and use regular testing or modelling to verify the increases in soil organic carbon. For Paradise Creek, this specifically involves altering the stocking rate, duration, or intensity of grazing to promote soil vegetation cover and improve overall soil health.

The surrounding Inverell and Northern Tablelands region is well-known for its large-scale agricultural operations, particularly high-quality cattle breeding, backgrounding, and sheep grazing. The region is defined by a warm, sub-humid temperate climate that receives summer-dominant rainfall averaging around 700 to 800 mm annually. Environmental conditions are excellent for pastures, supported by highly fertile soils that are predominantly black and red basalts, often mixed with granitic soils on the ridges.

The project proponent is Wyelba Pty Limited acting as the Trustee for The Wyelba Trust, with Carbon Link Operations Pty Ltd acting as the project agent. As an interesting historical note, the Paradise Creek area has ties to famous Australian colonial artists, notably being a landscape location visited by painter Tom Roberts, who was inspired by the New England region to paint some of his iconic works, including 'In a corner on the Macintyre', which depicts an encounter with the bushranger Captain Thunderbolt.