Clause 29 of the NPI NEPM requires the Commonwealth to make the data public on or before 31 March each year. Corrections are released as interim updates or with the next annual release.
Key points
- Published on or before 31 March each year
- Clause 29 of the NPI NEPM sets the release date
- Search, map or download from data.gov.au
- Do not add different substances, or emissions and transfers
- Year-on-year changes may reflect method changes
Where to find the data
- The NPI database search on the DCCEEW website, by facility, substance or postcode.
- The NPI facilities map.
- data.gov.au, where the dataset is available in CSV and XLSX formats, with facility locations also in GeoJSON and KMZ, under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.
How to read it correctly
- Do not add different substances together, because their effects differ.
- Do not add emissions and transfers together, because a transfer is not a release to the environment.
- A change from one year to the next can reflect production changes, new estimation methods or first-time reporting, not only a change in pollution.
- Database search results are rounded to two significant figures. Downloadable CSV and Excel files are not rounded.
What the data does not include
Diffuse emissions estimates for non-reporting sources are much older than the annual facility data, and DCCEEW has no current plans to add new diffuse data.
What the download contains
The data.gov.au release includes a data dictionary and separate files for facilities, reports, emissions and transfers. The dataset is updated on or before 31 March each year, and smaller updates may be made at any time.
Reading it in context
DCCEEW notes that greenhouse gases are covered by the National Greenhouse Accounts and pesticides are regulated by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, so neither should be judged from NPI data alone. Each report is placed in the NPI year in which the facility’s reporting period ends.
Why it matters
Published NPI figures are used by communities, researchers, investors and regulators. Because each facility’s data is attributed to it by name and location, errors and unexplained changes are visible to everyone. Checking the published figures after each release helps operators catch errors early and explain genuine changes.
References & sources
Primary regulatory documents and authoritative references underpinning this answer.