Recent Changes to Legislation

Offshore Regulatory Reform Legislation – October 2011.

A number of Regulatory Reform Acts were passed in the Australian Parliament on 15 September 2011, and received Royal Assent on 14 October 2011. These included the following Amendment Acts that are of relevance to the regulation of Environmental Management in Commonwealth Waters:

  • The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (National Regulator) Act 2011 (the National Regulator Amendment Act).
  • The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Regulatory Levies Legislation Amendment (2011 Measures No.2) Act 2011.

The National Regulator Amendment Act 2011 expanded NOPSA’s functions to create the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA). It also brought about the inception of a separate organisation responsible for titles administration - the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA). Further information on the establishment of NOPTA can be found here.

As of 1 January 2012, NOPSEMA’s functions include those that were previously conducted by NOPSA (OHS and Well Integrity) along with the new functions of environmental management and certain ‘administrative operations’, such as; the gazetting of safety zones around facilities, the issuing of Directions and the appointment of Petroleum Project Inspectors. These functions were previously held by the relevant State and Territory Designated Authorities.

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Regulatory Levies Legislation Amendment (2011 Measures No.2) Act 2011 provides for NOPSEMA to impose levies on holders of offshore petroleum titles (in respect to environment plans) to recover the costs associated with NOPSEMA’s administration of the Environment Regulations.

Amendments to Regulations – December 2011

On 7 December 2011, four sets of amendments were approved that directly affected the Offshore Regulatory Reform Package.

  • The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations 2011 were amended to replace NOPSA with NOPSEMA (in the regulation of Well Operations) and replace the Designated Authorities with NOPTA.
  • The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2009 were amended to replace the Designated Authorities with NOPSEMA as the regulator, and provided certain transitional amendments. These amended regulations also include provisions for consultation with Government Agencies and notification requirements for new petroleum activities.
  • The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety) Regulations 2009 were amended to replace NOPSA with NOPSEMA.
  • The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Regulations 2004 were amended to provide details on the calculation and application of the new annual titles administration levy and environment plan levy.

The amended regulations commenced on 1 January 2012. The amendments and associated explanatory material are available on www.comlaw.gov.au