[1] Legal establishment came with the passing of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency Act 2011 (ARENA Act),[2] which passed parliament in November 2011 with the support of the Australian Greens and the Liberal and National Coalition opposition as well as the governing Labor Party.

[1] ARENA was established in 2012 as an independent statutory authority to manage the government's renewable energy programs,[3] and commenced operations on 1 July 2012.

Provision will also be made to manufacturers of other components needed to create renewable energy, and the scheme is part of a plan to provide jobs for those workers currently employed in the coal industry.

The new industries will be created in Portland and the Latrobe Valley in Victoria, and Wollongong and the Hunter Region in NSW.

In the 2013 budget the Labor government deferred $370 million of the agency's funding, extending the timeline to 2022.