Authoritative answers about National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) reporting. Covers substance emission thresholds, estimation methodologies, diffuse and point-source data tracking, facility boundary mapping, and mandatory annual submission deadlines under Australia’s National Environment Protection Measures.
National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) reporting. Covers substance emission thresholds, estimation methodologies, diffuse and point-source data tracking, facility boundary mapping, and mandatory annual submission deadlines under Australia's National Environment Protection Measures.
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Yes, ore, waste rock and explosives count towards NPI thresholds. Category 1 substances in mined ore, waste rock and overburden count towards the use…
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Yes. A facility can have to report to the NPI without an EPA licence, because the obligation depends on thresholds and industry coverage, not…
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To lodge an NPI report, use the NPI Online Reporting System, or a paper form where your state or territory agency allows it. Each…
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NPI confidentiality is limited. An occupier can claim information is commercially confidential, and the state or territory agency weighs the claim against the public…
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Diffuse emissions in the NPI are government estimates of emissions from sources that do not report, such as motor vehicles, wood heaters, lawn mowers…
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NPI emission estimation techniques are the approved methods set out in the NPI Guide and industry EET manuals. The four standard approaches are mass…
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The NPI fuel and electricity thresholds sit in Categories 2a and 2b. Burning 400 tonnes of fuel or waste a year, or 1 tonne…
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NPI penalties are set by each state and territory. In Western Australia, failing to lodge within three months or providing false information carries a…
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NPI record keeping means keeping the data needed to verify your estimates and documenting any alternative estimation technique. Retention periods are set by state…
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There are six NPI reporting thresholds. Category 1 is triggered by using 10 tonnes of a substance a year, 1a by 25 tonnes of…
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A facility under the NPI is any building or land, with the plant and equipment used there, including offshore petroleum facilities. It can span…
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The NPI substance list in Schedule A of the NPI NEPM contains 93 substances, each with a threshold category. It includes metals such as…
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For emissions and transfers in the NPI, an emission is a release of a substance to air, land or water. A transfer is the…
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The main difference between NPI and NGER is what they cover. The NPI covers 93 pollutants, reported facility by facility to state and territory…
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The National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) is Australia's free public database of emissions and transfers of 93 substances that can harm human health and the…
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The NPI report due date is 30 September each year for the reporting period 1 July to 30 June. The NPI NEPM requires reports…
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The latest NPI review is the third review of the NPI NEPM, published in April 2022. It made seven recommendations, including modernising the substance…
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NPI data is published on or before 31 March each year for the previous reporting year. It can be searched by facility, substance or…
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NPI transfers to mandatory destinations, such as landfill, tailings storage or an off-site sewer, must be reported for each Category 1, 1b or 3…
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Who administers the NPI? It is a shared program between the Australian Government and the states and territories. Facility occupiers estimate and report their…
Beyond a glossary
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Book a friendly callThe National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) is Australia's free public database of emissions and transfers of 93 substances that can harm human health and the environment. Industrial facilities that exceed reporting thresholds report each year, and governments add estimates for diffuse sources such as motor vehicles. The NPI was set up under the National Environment Protection (National Pollutant Inventory) Measure 1998.
Diffuse emissions in the NPI are government estimates of emissions from sources that do not report, such as motor vehicles, wood heaters, lawn mowers and small businesses below the thresholds. The NPI NEPM calls them aggregated emissions data. State and territory governments prepare them, and the data is much older than the annual facility data.
NPI confidentiality is limited. An occupier can claim information is commercially confidential, and the state or territory agency weighs the claim against the public interest. National security claims go to the Commonwealth. Some information, such as the type and mass of fuel and waste burnt, is not released without the occupier's consent.
NPI penalties are set by each state and territory. In Western Australia, failing to lodge within three months or providing false information carries a maximum penalty of $5,000. New South Wales allows penalty notices, and Business Queensland lists a maximum of $3,338. An occupier can also be named in the NEPC annual report.
The main difference between NPI and NGER is what they cover. The NPI covers 93 pollutants, reported facility by facility to state and territory agencies by 30 September. NGER covers greenhouse gases and energy, reported to the Clean Energy Regulator by 31 October. The NPI does not include greenhouse gases.
NPI record keeping means keeping the data needed to verify your estimates and documenting any alternative estimation technique. Retention periods are set by state and territory law. Western Australia requires verification data to be kept for 3 years, and New South Wales requires threshold and estimation data to be kept for 4 years.
The latest NPI review is the third review of the NPI NEPM, published in April 2022. It made seven recommendations, including modernising the substance list, thresholds and estimation manuals and upgrading the reporting system. The NEPM has not been varied since 2008, so the current thresholds and substance list still apply.
NPI transfers to mandatory destinations, such as landfill, tailings storage or an off-site sewer, must be reported for each Category 1, 1b or 3 substance whose threshold is exceeded. Substances that trip only a Category 2a or 2b threshold do not need transfer reports. Transfers to recycling or energy recovery are optional.
Yes, ore, waste rock and explosives count towards NPI thresholds. Category 1 substances in mined ore, waste rock and overburden count towards the use threshold, and explosives such as ANFO count as fuel for Categories 2a and 2b. Overburden and waste rock movements are not transfers, but tailings sent to a tailings storage facility are.
A facility under the NPI is any building or land, with the plant and equipment used there, including offshore petroleum facilities. It can span adjacent sites run by the same person. The NPI Guide treats sites less than 2 kilometres apart as one facility, unless homes lie between, and sites over 10 kilometres apart as separate.