Health and Safety

Overview

A summary of the law applying to occupational health and safety in offshore petroleum operations may be found in the document Offshore OHS Legislative Framework - Information Paper.

NOPSA was legally established by amendments that were made to the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 of the Commonwealth (the PSLA 1967) by the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Amendment Act 2003. Specifically, Part IIIC was added to the PSLA 1967 to establish NOPSA, set out its governance arrangements, and define its functions in relation to petroleum activities in Commonwealth waters. The Offshore Petroleum Act 2006 (OPA 2006) replaced the PSLA 1967 and the OPA 2006 was subsequently replaced by the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGSA 2006).

Most States (including the Northern Territory) have made corresponding amendments to their PSLA 1982, so as to confer equivalent functions on NOPSA in relation to petroleum activities in State and NT designated coastal waters. An exception is WA where the regulation of OHS in WA's Designated Coastal Waters is regulated by the WA Department of Mines and Petroleum.

Schedule 3 to the Act

Schedule 3 to the OPGGSA 2006 establishes a modern occupational health and safety regime for petroleum and greenhouse gas activities at facilities (including pipelines) located in Commonwealth waters. The main features of the regime are:

Duties of Care
Specific categories of persons (operators, employers, etc) who are involved in offshore activities at facilities are required to "take all reasonably practicable steps" to protect the health and safety of the facility workforce and of any other persons who may be affected.
Consultation Provisions
Mechanisms are set out that will enable effective consultation between each facility operator, relevant employers and the workforce regarding occupational health and safety.
Powers of inspectors
NOPSA's OHS inspectors are granted powers to enter offshore facilities or other relevant premises, conduct inspections, interview people, seize evidence and otherwise take action to ensure compliance by parties with legal obligations.

A current compilation of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 is available from the ComLaw website.

Regulations

Section 638 of the OPGGSA 2006 defines the laws that NOPSA and its OHS inspectors will administer and enforce in Commonwealth waters. These laws include Schedule 3 to the OPGGSA 2006, and the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety) Regulations 2009, and Part 5 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations.

State and Northern Territory Laws

The NOPSEMA administered State and Northern Territory OHS laws include:

Victoria:

Schedule 3 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2010. OHS related regulations are located within the Offshore Ptroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage regulations 2011.

Northern Territory:

Schedule 4 to the PSLA 1982, and the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Application of Commonwealth Laws) Regulations 2004. The NT regulations call up the relevant Commonwealth safety regulations.

South Australia:

Schedule 7 to the PSLA 1982 and the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Regulations 2005.

(The mirror laws of Queensland and New South Wales are not yet fully in place.)

Safety Levies

The Offshore Petroleum (Regulatory Levies) Act 2003 of the Commonwealth establishes the cost recovery regime through which NOPSEMA is funded. The Offshore Petroleum (Regulatory Levies) Regulations 2004 set out the methods of calculating the levies and the procedures for payments. In addition to Commonwealth waters, the levies under this Commonwealth legislation relate to State and Northern Territory designated coastal waters where powers have been conferred on NOPSEMA.

For details of other relevant legislation, go to the following web sites:

This page was last updated on 5 January 2012.