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Good practice Imported

Reef Credits Scheme — Great Barrier Reef Water Quality

Australia · Cairns · See the Australia profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 47% 47/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Queensland farmers earn Reef Credits — each equal to 1 kg of nitrogen prevented from reaching the Great Barrier Reef — in a market administered by Eco-Markets Australia; AU$10M government investment; 50,000+ credits generated by 2024; first buyers: HSBC and the Queensland Governm

3,125 Reef Credits
Pilot-phase credits generated (2018-2019)
50,000+ Reef Credits
Cumulative credits generated (by mid-2024)
50+ tonnes
Dissolved inorganic nitrogen kept from waterways (by mid-2024)
10 AU$ million
Queensland Government investment
6 million Reef Credits
Projected credits by 2030 (projection to 2030)
Reef Credits Scheme — Great Barrier Reef Water Quality

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
GreenCollar / Eco-Markets Australia
Period
2018-present
Keywords
Watershed, water quality, reef, coastal, sugarcane, catchment

Context

The Reef Credits Scheme is a voluntary environmental market mechanism covering the Great Barrier Reef's 1.8 million km² catchment in Queensland, Australia. It incentivises agricultural landholders, mainly sugarcane growers and graziers, to adopt improved land-management practices that reduce nutrient and sediment runoff into the reef. The scheme is administered by the independent not-for-profit Eco-Markets Australia, promoted by GreenCollar, and supported by the Queensland Government.

Objectives

The scheme aims to improve water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef by creating a tradeable Reef Credit, defined as one kilogram of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) prevented from entering waterways, or 538 kilograms of sediment, which landholders can sell to corporate and government buyers.

Activities

A pilot phase ran in the Tully River Catchment in 2018-2019, followed by a formal credit-generation and verification process. Credits have since been sold to corporate and government buyers, including a first commercial sale to HSBC in October 2020.

Results

The pilot phase generated 3,125 Reef Credits, and by mid-2024 more than 50,000 credits had been generated, representing over 50 tonnes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen kept out of waterways. The Queensland Government has invested AU$10 million in the scheme, and projections suggest up to 6 million credits could be generated by 2030.

Conclusions

The scheme has a strong formal registry and verification standard for water-quality outcomes but does not address carbon sequestration, and its continued growth depends on sustained landholder participation and corporate buyer demand.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — The Queensland Government has invested AU$10 million to date; ongoing costs are largely borne by participating landholders and credit buyers — categorised as medium cost.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — The pilot ran 2018-2019, the scheme has operated since 2020, and projections extend to 2030, spanning over a decade — categorised as long.
Staffing & skills
Eco-Markets Australia — independent administrator, GreenCollar — scheme promoter/developer, Queensland Government — government partner and investor

Conditions for success

  • Verified methodology for quantifying DIN/sediment reductions
  • Independent registry and administrator (Eco-Markets Australia)
  • Corporate and government demand for credits (e.g. the HSBC purchase)

Common failure modes

  • The scheme does not address carbon sequestration (scored 0/3 by Evidoria)
  • Reliance on continued voluntary landholder participation and corporate buyer demand

Where it fits

Governance type
voluntary market mechanism with independent administrator and government co-investment
Scale
catchment-wide (1.8 million km²), landholder-level participation
Income level
high-income (Australia)

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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