24Promoting government programs disproportionately to treatment group

24  Promoting government programs disproportionately to treatment group

 (1) The project proponent for the project must not:

 (a) offer goods or services that are funded or supported under:

 (i) a government program or scheme; or

 (ii) another eligible offsets project; or

 (b) advise or facilitate the uptake of goods or services that are funded or supported under a government program or scheme or another eligible offsets project; or

 (c) cause the offer, advice or facilitation to be given;

in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (2).

 (2) The circumstances are:

 (a) the offer, advice or facilitation is given to:

 (i) a greater proportion of the treatment group in a population in the project than the control group in the population; or

 (ii) an equal proportion of the treatment group in a population in the project and the control group in the population, but the basis for choosing which sites receive the offer, advice or facilitation is different for the control group than the treatment group; and

 (b) the goods or services mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) are likely to result in lower consumption of natural gas, or electricity from an electricity grid, at sites in the treatment group than would otherwise have occurred.

 (3) In this section:

government program or scheme means:

 (a) a government program or scheme, specified in legislative rules (if any) made under subparagraph 27(4A)(c)(ii) of the Act, under which an offsets project must not receive funding or support for activities undertaken as part of that project; or

 (b) a government program or scheme that funds or supports an activity that, under legislative rules (if any) made for subparagraph 27(4A)(c)(ii) of the Act, must not be included in an eligible offsets project.