$9.0 billion
Green Treasury Bonds on issue
The Australian Government green bond program enables investors to back public projects that drive Australia’s transition to net zero by 2050 and support environmental objectives. Green Treasury Bonds attract green capital to Australia by increasing transparency around climate outcomes and the scale of green investments available.
The green bond program is managed by the AOFM in partnership with the Treasury.
Green Bond Framework
The Green Bond Framework sets out the Australian Government's key climate change and environmental priorities and outlines how green bonds finance Eligible Green Expenditures. This includes the basis for identifying, selecting, managing, and reporting on expenditures financed with green bonds.
The Framework has been developed in accordance with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green Bond Principles 2021 and is informed by the Climate Bonds Initiative’s Taxonomy.
The Framework includes:
- Australia’s climate and environmental priorities
- The types of projects and expenditures eligible for financing through green bonds
- Processes for project evaluation and selection of eligible projects and expenditures
- How proceeds of green bond issuance will be managed
- Ongoing reporting arrangements for the allocation of proceeds and the impact of projects
- Details of the external review of the Framework and ongoing reporting.
Sustainalytics, an independent ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analytics firm, provided a Second-Party Opinion on the Framework’s environmental credentials and confirmed that it is credible and impactful and aligns with the four core components of the Green Bond Principles 2021.
What Green Treasury Bonds will finance
Green Treasury Bond proceeds will be used to finance government programs that drive Australia’s net zero transition and deliver broader environmental benefits. Eligible Green Expenditures must align strongly with one or more of the Australian Government’s three key Green Goals:
- Climate change mitigation
- Climate change adaptation
- Improved environmental outcomes.
Some Eligible Green Expenditures that may be financed by Green Treasury Bonds can be found in the list of projects below.
What Green Treasury Bonds won’t finance
In recognition of the Government’s priorities and market expectations, projects in the following sectors are excluded from consideration as Eligible Green Expenditures:
- nuclear energy
- arms and ammunition manufacturing and chemical weapons
- manufacture, production or sale of alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs
- manufacture or retail sale and distribution of any products and services that are prohibited by any commitments under an international convention or treaty instrument to which Australia is a signatory
- gambling
- development, refining and transportation of fossil fuels, as well as programs that predominately assist Australia’s highest greenhouse gas emitting facilities.
An indicative list of Eligible Green Expenditures to be financed through Green Treasury Bonds is below. Treasury, informed by the Green Bond Committee, is responsible for annually reviewing and updating the list of Eligible Green Expenditures.
Sustainalytics conducted a Pre-Issuance Review that confirms all projects listed below comply with the use of proceeds eligibility criteria outlined in the Green Bond Framework.
This list was last updated on 11 October 2024.
| Climate Change Mitigation | |
| Rewiring the Nation | Providing low-cost financing to upgrade Australia’s electricity grid to integrate increasing renewable energy generation |
| Renewable energy investments by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation | Providing financing to drive investments that add value and develop capability in renewables and low-emission technologies |
| National Reconstruction Fund Corporation | Investing in renewables and low-emission technologies |
| Advancing Renewables Program | Financing R&D projects for renewable technology |
| Regional hydrogen hubs | Supporting green hydrogen industrial hubs |
| Snowy 2.0 | Providing dispatchable, on-demand generating capacity and large-scale storage to the National Electricity Market |
| Hydrogen Headstart | Providing revenue support for large-scale renewable hydrogen projects |
| Community batteries | Deploying community batteries across Australia |
| Household Energy Upgrades Fund | Providing low‑interest loans for energy‑saving home upgrades |
| Electric Passenger Rail Projects | Financing the construction of core electric transport infrastructure |
| Driving the Nation | Supporting electric vehicle charging infrastructure |
| Climate Change Adaptation | |
| International climate finance projects | Supporting developing countries’ mitigation and adaptation plans |
| Improved Environmental Outcomes | |
| Urban Rivers and Catchment Program | Addressing natural resource management problems such as vegetation loss, soil degradation, introduced pest weeds and animals, water quality changes and flows and fire regime changes |
| Saving Koalas Fund | Supporting the recovery of Australia’s unique plants, animals and ecological communities |
| Reef 2050 | Investing to protect the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef |
| Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure Program | Investing in rural water use, management and efficiency |
| Murray-Darling Basin Plan | Recovering environmental water for the Murray-Darling Basin |
Allocation and Impact Reports detail the allocation of green bond proceeds to Eligible Green Expenditures, and the environmental impact of those expenditures.
The Australian Government is committed to providing regular and transparent reporting to investors.
Annual allocation and impact reporting details:
- the allocation of green bond proceeds towards Eligible Green Expenditures.
- the climate and environmental impacts of those expenditures, and social co-benefits where possible.
The Green Bond Committee oversees the development of allocation and impact reporting.
Reporting is subject to external audit and verification.
The Green Treasury Bond Allocation and Impact Report 2025 outlines the allocation of proceeds from Green Treasury Bond issuance in 2023-24 to Eligible Green Expenditures in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) conducted a limited assurance of the 2025 allocation reporting.
ISS Corporate Solutions, an independent ESG expert, reviewed the 2025 impact reporting. ISS Corporate Solutions found that the impact reporting was in line with the commitments set out in the Green Bond Framework and, where applicable, followed the core principles and key recommendations listed in International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) Harmonised Framework for Impact Reporting.
Exchange-traded bonds offer a convenient and readily accessible way for retail investors to access Australian Government Bonds.
Exchange-traded Green Treasury Bonds are expected to be available by the end of 2025.
