The NOPSEMA Advisory Board provides advice to the Commonwealth Minister and State and North Territory Ministers on policy and strategic matters relating to occupational health and safety of offshore petroleum operations. It also gives advice and recommendations to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NOPSEMA about operational policies to be followed by the Authority.

Section 654 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 sets out the functions of the NOPSEMA Advisory Board.

The Minister for Resources and Energy in February 2010 issued a Statement of Expectations setting out the role of the NOPSEMA Advisory Board.

Annual Reports

NOPSA Advisory Board Annual Report 2009-10

NOPSA Advisory Board Annual Report 2008-09 as contained in the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism's Annual Report

NOPSA Advisory Board Annual Report 2007-08 as contained in the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism's Annual Report

NOPSA Advisory Board Annual Report 2006-07

NOPSA Advisory Board Annual Report 2005-06

NOPSA Advisory Board Annual Report 2004-05

Board Members

The Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism, the Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP, has appointed the following members to the Advisory Board of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA). Secretariat services to the Board are now provided by NOPSEMA.

The Board members have been appointed for terms of up to three years, as recommended by the Ministerial Council on Mineral and Petroleum Resources.

Mr Keith Spence (Chair)

With over 30 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, including 18 years with Shell, Mr Spence has a broad knowledge of the industry. Mr Spence retired from Woodside Petroleum in 2008 after a 14-year tenure in top executive positions in the company.  Mr Spence held many roles during his period with Woodside, including Chief Operating Officer, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Director Oil Business Unit, Director Northern Business Unit and Exploration Manager North West Shelf. Most recently, he was Executive Vice President Enterprise Capability.

Mr Spence is a member of the National Carbon Capture and Storage Council.  He is a member of the Board of Skills Australia and chairs the Board of the Australian Institute of Management (WA), the State Training Board of Western Australia and the Industry Advisory Board of the Australian Centre for Energy and Process Training. He is a Non-Executive Chairman of Clough Limited and Geodynamics Limited and a Non-Executive Director of Verve Energy.

Dr Lynne Chester

Dr Chester, an economist, currently researches and teaches at the University of Sydney.  Previously she has held positions at the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University, and the University of New South Wales. She has written extensively on the Australian electricity sector and energy security.  Her current research focus includes energy issues and the environment, electricity generation capacity, energy affordability, electricity and carbon derivatives, and markets for goods and services previously provided direct by government. She has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses in economics, public policy, risk management, infrastructure provision and research methods.

Dr Chester has been a consultant to the Asian Development Bank, a senior executive with two of Australia’s largest utilities (Energy Australia and Sydney Water), Chief of Staff to Federal Government Ministers, and an economic adviser to the South Australian Premier. With over 25 years’ experience in the public sector, her expertise includes the process of decision-making and policy implementation, accountability, governance and regulatory regimes. She was an independent member of the Federal Government’s 2011 Energy White Paper Reference Group, is currently a member of the Advisory Board for the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics and Chair of AGL’s Customer Council.

Mr Anthony (Tony) Pooley 

Tony Pooley is recognised as one of Australia's most respected risk management specialists. He is a Director of the risk consulting firm, Principle Seven and an adjunct Associate Professor on risk management in the Human Factors and Safety Management Systems masters course at the University of South Australia.

Mr Pooley was a member of the Newcrest Mining Executive Committee until the end of 2008 and prior to that was an advisor to a portfolio of resource companies including BHP Billiton, Exxon-Mobil, Rio Tinto and Santos. In 1992 he formed the Qest Consulting Group, Australia's first local consultancy providing quantified risk assessment services. In that capacity he was involved in assisting BHP Petroleum complete Australia’s first offshore safety case, as well as leading teams working on three early onshore safety cases undertaken in Victoria.

Dr Michael (Mike) Ollis 

Until his 2008 retirement from the role of Vice President Asset Team Leader, Australia Operated, Dr Michael Ollis was responsible for all BHP Billiton Petroleum’s operated exploration, appraisal, production and project development in Australia, including the FSPO Griffin Venture (WA), Buffalo Venture (NT), the Minerva Gas plant (VIC) and the Stybarrow FPSO development (WA).

He has extensive international experience in the offshore petroleum industry, having worked in the USA, UK, Brunei, Tunisia and the Netherlands in both management and operational positions. He spent 10 years working for Shell International before commencing a 17-year tenure with BHP Petroleum.

Mr Kym Bills 

Kym Bills is the CEO of WA: ERA, an energy and CO2 geosequestration research alliance between the CSIRO, the University of Western Australia and Curtin University.

From 1999 to 2009 Mr Bills was foundation Executive Director of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Prior to the ATSB position, Mr Bills was head of the Commonwealth Maritime Division from 1994 when he was on the Board of ANL Limited and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

In July 2009, Mr Bills completed several major reports as the Commonwealth’s expert panel member for the Inquiry into Offshore Petroleum Safety Regulation and as an Inspector under WA legislation investigating the Varanus Island gas explosion.  He subsequently spent 21 months as Project Director for the National Mine Safety Framework, tasked by Commonwealth and State Ministers to develop nationally consistent mine safety legislation and regulation.

Mr Bills is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Energy, the Safety Institute of Australia, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, the Australian Institute of Management, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Dr Jan Hayes

Dr Hayes has 25 years’ experience in safety and risk management.  Her experience covers a range of industries including offshore oil and gas, onshore petrochemicals, gas pipelines, mining, manufacturing and transportation (including air traffic control).  She began her career in 1983 in oil and gas process plant operations, and then moved to detailed design.  She was involved in the initial Australian oil industry response to the Piper Alpha incident in 1998 and has been working almost exclusively in industrial safety since then. 

Jan was a director and part owner of Qest Consulting Pty Ltd (one of Australia’s best known industrial risk and safety consultancies) between 1991 and 2004.  Holding a number of operational roles, she managed up to 50 staff and was personally responsible for projects ranging from technical safety studies (such as safety cases, HAZOP studies, QRAs and reliability studies) or organisational psychology reviews and human factors studies.  She now holds a Senior Research Fellow appointment at the Australian National University where she is Program Leader for research on public safety for the Energy Pipelines Co-operative Research Centre.  Her research interests include operational decision making, safety in design, engineering professionalism, use of standards and safety indicators.

Mr Michael Large 

Mr Large has more than 50 years’ experience as an engineer.  From 1986 he served as Chief Engineer for a number of companies across the maritime and offshore petroleum industry. Over this period, he spent time on diving and trenching projects, pipe carrying / laying vessels, dynamic positioning, and supply and anchor handling vessels. He was also closely involved in the successful installation of outlets for the Sydney Outfalls (sewerage) Project. 

Throughout his years of experience in the maritime and offshore petroleum industry, Mr Large has maintained and encouraged a culture of safety in the workplace and was instrumental in the production of the Port Lincoln Ship Yard Safety Policy and Procedures Manual. Mr Large retired from full-time seagoing duties in November 2006, but remains active in the industry.

Mr Gerard Early

Mr Early retired as Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth Environment Department in October 2010, having spent more than a decade responsible for Commonwealth policies and regulation of Australia’s biodiversity, both terrestrial and marine.  He also acted for extensive periods as Secretary of the Department.  Previous Commonwealth appointments include Deputy Chief Executive of the Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Deputy Director of the Australian Heritage Commission, Commonwealth Deputy Commissioner on the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and member of the Environment Committee of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. He has also served on the Board of Trustees of the Japanese based Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.

Mr Early has led Australian delegations and represented Australia at the UN, the OECD and other international, regional and national forums.