Firms that submit audited data to the Department of Climate Change by Friday 18 September 2009 will be considered for inclusion in the second tranche of draft regulations for the Government's emission-intensive-trade-exposed assistance (EITE) program.

The Government released the first tranche of draft regulations in relation to the EITE program on 19 June 2009 and is seeking public comment on the these draft regulations by 14 August 2009.

The Government intends to release the second tranche of draft regulations in late October 2009.

The Government will endeavour to bring forward the assessment process and final decisions regarding the eligibility and allocative baselines for any industries wishing to provide audited data earlier than 18 September 2009.

Firms that require more time to submit data will be accommodated in further tranches of draft regulations if required.

To date, a total of 25 activity definitions under the EITE program have been released to allow firms to provide audited data.

The Department of Climate Change is continuing to engage with industry and receive advice on further definitions through intensive workshops.

The Government continues to value the advice received from the Government's expert advisory committee chaired by Mr Dick Warburton on the implementation of the EITE assistance program.

The activity definitions approved for data collection are published on the Department of Climate Change website: http://www.climatechange.gov.au/whitepaper/assistance/index.html