2026 credit auction report
200 credits were auctioned on 29 April 2026, generating over $4 million in revenue. This money covers the cost of managing the Hunter River Salinity Trading Scheme.
How the auction works
The 2026 auction was run using a web-based auction program developed by the University of Melbourne, Centre for Market Design. This program has been used since 2014.
The 2026 auction program was hosted by First Focus IT Pty Ltd and ran for nine hours from 9 am until 6 pm. Bids were lodged online. Only registered bidders had access to the auction using unique usernames and passwords.
The 2026 auction was conducted in accordance with the rules detailed in the Hunter River Salinity Trading Scheme Credit – Auction Information. It is a Vickrey or sealed-bid auction. Each registered bidder submits one ‘bid schedule’, comprising a group of credits with a specific bid price per credit: for example, a bidder seeking 17 credits could submit a bid schedule consisting of three credits valued at $13,980 each, seven credits valued at the $13,523 each, three credits valued at $6,460 each, and four credits valued at $2,925 each. This indicates that the bidder was willing to pay $167,690 for 17 credits.
When the auction ends, the auction program ranks each bid from the highest to the lowest bid price. The highest 200 bids are the successful bidders. To determine the maximum payable bid price, the program identifies the ‘highest losing bid’, which is the value of the 201st credit. Consequently, successful bidders may pay less than their submitted bid schedule.
The Vickrey auction process has been adopted to safeguard against anti-competitive behaviour. It prevents bidders from acting as they can in conventional auctions, namely withholding serious bids until the very end of the auction.
Participation in the auction
The credit auction was advertised on the EPA’s website for 6 weeks prior to the auction date. Current and potential participants and industry peak bodies were informed of the auction to ensure interested bidders were aware of the opportunity to purchase credits. Any interested party can register to bid, and it is an opportunity for new participants to enter the scheme.
In 2026, 8 organisational representatives from mining and power generation facilities registered for the credit auction. All bidders were current scheme participants. There were no potential new entrants or non-industry representatives.
Results
Of the 8 bidders, 7 successfully obtained credits. The credit allocations and cost to each bidder is shown in Table 1.
Table 1: 2026 credit auction results
| Bidder | Credits allocated | Total cost (ex GST) |
|---|---|---|
| AGL Macquarie Pty Ltd | 150 | $2,759,863 |
| Hunter Valley Operations Pty Ltd | 28 | $700,000 |
| Ravensworth Operations Pty Ltd | 8 | $200,000 |
| Bulga Coal Management Pty Ltd | 5 | $125,000 |
| MACH Energy Australia Pty Ltd | 4 | $100,000 |
| Mount Thorley Operations Pty Ltd | 4 | $100,000 |
| Mangoola Coal Operations Pty Ltd | 1 | $25,000 |
| TOTAL | 200 | $4,009,863 |
The auction raised $4,009,863 (excluding GST); a 60% increase on the revenue raised in the 2024 auction ($2,502,883).
The highest price (therefore the highest losing bid) paid for a credit was $25,000, the average value was $20,049, and the lowest price was $8,061.
Figure 1 shows the distribution of bids in the auction, with participants willing to pay between $65,367 and $4,545 for credits.
A total of 426 credits were sought by both successful and unsuccessful bidders.
Where the credit auction money goes
Revenue from the 2026 credit auction will be used to offset the scheme’s operating and management costs from the 2026–27 financial year onwards.