# facility-core 0.1.0

- Kind: Sourcing protocol: a declared way of looking (draft, not yet approved)
- Status: draft, not yet reviewed or approved
- As of: 2026-10-21
- Content: ecc3fa2ddc03314399691692177d7d02aba4ac645cb79964d1b5ec8ffd6a4778
- Address: https://www.plot.eco/protocols/facility-core@0.1.0

One facility or site in Australia (a data centre, plant, terminal, mine, landfill or major project). Initial jurisdiction: VIC.

A protocol declares, before anything is searched, which questions a place record tries to answer, where PLOT looks for each and in what order, and when it stops. Channels are a search order, not a ranking of truth.

## Sourcing questions (14)

### F01.identity_and_location: What and where

What is this facility, exactly where is it, and who operates it?

- Look, in order: 1. Regulatory records; 2. Structured datasets; 3. Official documents; 4. Company reports
- Stop when: location from regulatory|official AND operator from regulatory|company_filing AND place_link human_confirmed
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T1, KMGBF-T14

### F02.lifecycle: Stage of life

What stage is it at (proposed, approved, built, operating, closing, closed or being cleaned up) and since when?

- Look, in order: 1. Regulatory records; 2. Official documents; 3. Company reports; 4. Leads (news, web)
- Stop when: stage dated from regulatory|official|company; leads used only to find
- Refresh: P6M
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T14

### F03.approvals_and_conditions: Permissions and conditions

What permissions does it hold, under which laws, and with what conditions?

- Look, in order: 1. Regulatory records; 2. Official documents
- Stop when: EPBC portal AND state EPA permissions AND council planning queried by operator+address; each permission: issuer, date, conditions_ref
- Refresh: P6M
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T1, KMGBF-T14

### F04.nature_here_and_nearby: Nature on and around the site

What habitats, species and protected areas are on the site or next to it?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets
- Stop when: computed: site footprint/point x map release layers x containing/adjacent place records; distance stated
- Refresh: P1Y (sensitive: extra rules apply)
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T1, KMGBF-T4

### F05.land_and_vegetation_change: Clearing and land change

Has native vegetation been cleared or habitat changed for this facility, and how much?

- Look, in order: 1. Regulatory records; 2. Structured datasets; 3. Company reports
- Stop when: EPBC referral AND state native vegetation removal/offset records checked; land-cover change computed for footprint if footprint known; gross before net
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T1, KMGBF-T2

### F06.emissions_and_pollution: What it releases

What does it release to air, water and land?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Regulatory records; 3. Company reports
- Stop when: NPI AND NGER queried for facility; EPA annual performance statements if licensed; facility vs corporate kept separate
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T7

### F07.water_and_energy: Water and energy use

How much water and energy does it use, and where does it come from?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Company reports; 3. Official documents
- Stop when: NGER energy AND company site-level figures; corporate-only => recorded as not_split_by_site; no apportioning
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T11, KMGBF-T7

### F08.contamination_and_cleanup: Contamination and clean-up

Is the land or groundwater contaminated, and who has to clean it up?

- Look, in order: 1. Regulatory records; 2. Official documents; 3. Company reports
- Stop when: Victoria Unearthed: Priority Sites Register AND EPA Environmental Audits AND Environmental Audit Overlay checked (VIC); state equivalents elsewhere
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T7

### F09.offsets_and_credits: Offsets and credits

What offset obligations, credits or restoration payments are tied to this facility?

- Look, in order: 1. Regulatory records; 2. Company reports
- Stop when: EPBC conditions AND NVCR/BOS/RCH/ACCU registers checked; obligation | credits_bought | credits_delivered | outcome_observed separate
- Refresh: P6M
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T15, KMGBF-T19

### F10.compliance_and_enforcement: Breaches and enforcement

Has a regulator or court found a breach here, or taken action?

- Look, in order: 1. Regulatory records; 2. Official documents; 3. Leads (news, web)
- Stop when: EPA compliance & enforcement register AND EPBC compliance AND court decisions, 10y, operator+site; allegation | finding | penalty separate
- Refresh: P6M (sensitive: extra rules apply)
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T14, KMGBF-T7

### F11.liabilities_set_aside: Money set aside for damage and closure

What has the operator set aside or guaranteed for rehabilitation, clean-up or closure of this site?

- Look, in order: 1. Company reports; 2. Regulatory records
- Stop when: latest audited FS: provisions + contingent liabilities naming site; regulator financial assurance checked; group-only => not_split_by_site
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T15

### F12.public_money: Public money to this site

What public money goes to this facility: grants, contracts or concessions?

- Look, in order: 1. Official documents; 2. Regulatory records
- Stop when: GrantConnect AND AusTender AND state equivalents by ABN, 5y; committed vs paid
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T18, KMGBF-T19

### F13.community_and_country: Community and Traditional Owner views

What have the community, local groups and Traditional Owner organisations said about this facility?

- Look, in order: 1. Official documents; 2. Practitioners and community; 3. First Nations organisations
- Stop when: council planning decisions AND VCAT/tribunal decisions checked; first_nations: own published statements only
- Refresh: P1Y (sensitive: extra rules apply)
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T22

### F14.promises_and_records: What it promised, and what records show

What has the operator promised for this site, and do public records show it happened?

- Look, in order: 1. Company reports; 2. Regulatory records; 3. Official documents
- Stop when: each site-named commitment: date, scope, source; paired with register evidence | no_matching_record; no score
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T15

## Source catalogue (24)

Where PLOT may look. "candidate" means a person has not yet confirmed its access, licence and coverage.

- ABN Lookup (Australian Business Register, AU; api; candidate); address https://abr.business.gov.au/ (checked 2026-10-22)
- Area-based ACCU Scheme project mapping (Clean Energy Regulator, AU; download; candidate); address https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/accu_project_mapping (checked 2026-10-22)
- ACCU Scheme project and contract register (Clean Energy Regulator, AU; portal; candidate); address https://cer.gov.au/markets/reports-and-data/accu-project-and-contract-register (checked 2026-10-22)
- Atlas of Living Australia occurrence and species APIs (Atlas of Living Australia, AU; api; candidate), licence: per-dataset (record-level licences vary)
- AusTender (federal contracts) (Australian Government Department of Finance, AU; portal; candidate); address https://www.tenders.gov.au/ (checked 2026-10-22)
- Company annual reports and audited financial statements (The company (audited by its external auditor), AU; document; candidate)
- Voluntary sustainability, TNFD, GRI and CDP reports (The company, AU; document; candidate)
- Council planning permit records and decisions (Local councils, VIC; portal; candidate)
- Court and tribunal decisions (e.g. AustLII) (Courts; AustLII, AU; portal; candidate)
- EPA Victoria licence locations (polygons and points) (EPA Victoria, VIC; map_service; checked), licence: CC BY 4.0 (metadata record; signed off by the owner 22 Oct 2026); address https://metashare.maps.vic.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/api/records/548cdc69-8e4e-47f0-a1d6-0d7d281d085a (checked 2026-10-22)
- EPA Victoria permission information and performance statements (formerly annual performance statements) (EPA Victoria, VIC; document; candidate); address https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/permission-information-and-performance-statements (checked 2026-10-22)
- EPA Victoria public registers (permissions, performance reports, compliance and enforcement, audits) (EPA Victoria, VIC; portal; candidate); address https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/public-registers (checked 2026-10-22)
- EPBC Act Public Portal (referrals, notices, decisions) (Australian Government DCCEEW, AU; portal; candidate); address https://epbcpublicportal.environment.gov.au/all-referrals/ (checked 2026-10-22)
- EPBC public comments and decisions (National EPA (Australian Government), AU; portal; candidate); address https://www.nationalepa.gov.au/epbc/public-comments (checked 2026-10-22)
- GrantConnect (federal grants awarded) (Australian Government Department of Finance, AU; portal; candidate); address https://www.grants.gov.au/ (checked 2026-10-22)
- National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) published data (Clean Energy Regulator, AU; download; candidate); address https://cer.gov.au/markets/reports-and-data/nger-reporting-data-and-registers (checked 2026-10-22)
- National Pollutant Inventory (Australian Government DCCEEW, AU; download; candidate); address https://www.data.gov.au/data/dataset/npi (checked 2026-10-22)
- Nature Repair Market register (Clean Energy Regulator, AU; portal; candidate); address https://cer.gov.au/schemes/nature-repair-market-scheme (checked 2026-10-22)
- Map layers in PLOT's current map release (reserves, protected areas, modelled native vegetation) (DEECA and DCCEEW, as published in PLOT's map releases, AU; download; connected)
- Restoration Contributions Holder public register (restoration actions funded) (Restoration Contributions Holder (statutory office), AU; portal; candidate)
- Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal planning decisions (VCAT, VIC; document; candidate); address https://www.vcat.vic.gov.au/case-types/planning/planning-environment-resource-hub/decisions (checked 2026-10-22)
- Native Vegetation Credit Register (offsets for native vegetation removal) (Victoria DEECA, VIC; portal; candidate); address https://nvcr.deeca.vic.gov.au/ (checked 2026-10-22)
- Victoria Unearthed (priority sites, audits, audit overlay, landfills) (Victoria DEECA, VIC; map_service; candidate); address https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/sustainability/victoria-unearthed (checked 2026-10-22)
- Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (Victoria DEECA, VIC; portal; candidate), licence: Published versions seen under CC BY-NC 4.0 — commercial redistribution needs review

## Before anything is published

- right_of_reply: Before the first account of a company or facility is published, the company is offered a written right of reply with 15 business days (Monday to Friday, less national and Victorian public holidays) to correct facts or respond. The offer, its date and the response (or 'no response') are on the record. An owner override needs a recorded reason.
- human_review: Every claim is checked by a person against its source before publication, as for places.
- no_scores: No ranking, rating or score of a company or facility, and no total across kinds of money. Records sit side by side.
- conflict: Anyone with a financial or employment link to the company declares it and can't review its claims. Stated now; enforced once PLOT has reviewers other than its owner. (stated, not yet enforced)

## Changes

- 0.1.0 (2026-10-22): First draft (follow the money, Prompt 15): 14 questions, conformed to the protocol schema from the 22 Oct 2026 pack.

Cite as: PLOT sourcing protocol facility-core@0.1.0 (draft; content ecc3fa2ddc03), as of 2026-10-21