Clean Energy Finance Corporation Amendment (Protecting Australian Farmland) Bill 2026

Summary

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) — a government agency that invests in clean energy projects — would be prevented from funding renewable energy developments on productive agricultural land, protecting farmland from being converted to solar or wind farms. This amends the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Act 2012 to add restrictions on where the CEFC can invest its money. Farmers and agricultural communities would gain stronger protection against losing productive land to energy projects, while the clean energy sector would need to focus development on non-agricultural sites, potentially slowing some renewable energy expansion in rural areas.

What happens at this stage

The main debate on whether the chamber supports the broad purpose of the bill. Members speak to its overall merits and concerns rather than the fine print. The government outlines its policy intentions; the opposition and crossbench put their case. This is the stage that determines whether the bill proceeds at all.

Next: Consideration in Detail (House) or Committee of the Whole (Senate), where the bill is examined clause by clause