Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Safety and Other Measures) Bill 2024

The majority voted in favour of a motion to agree with the bill as it had been amended. This means they can now decide on whether to pass the bill in the House of Representatives.

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest (which is a document prepared by the parliamentary library):

• The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Safety and Other Measures) Bill 2024 seeks to amend the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGS Act) to improve safety outcomes for Australia’s offshore resources sector workforce.
• The Bill makes a range of amendments to the OPGGS Act, including to Schedule 3 which relates to occupational health and safety.
• The Bill implements some recommendations of Offshore Oil and Gas Safety Review which began in 2018. However, the majority of the recommendations will be implemented through the remake of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety) Regulations 2009, which are due to sunset on 1 April 2026. A draft of proposed regulations is not yet available.
• The Bill also proposes to introduce a new section that would preserve approvals made under NOPSEMA’s Endorsed Program authorised by the strategic assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). It would allow the OPGGS Act and associated regulations to be amended, even if this would be inconsistent with the Endorsed Program.
• The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is currently consulting on major reforms to the EPBC Act, as recommended by the Samuel Review, and it is unclear whether or how this proposed section will interface with those reforms. That consultation process is continuing until 30 March 2024.
• The Bill does not directly address issues raised in relation to consultation requirements for offshore oil and gas developments under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2023, for example, through specific amendments that clarify required consultation processes. The Department of Industry, Science and Resources is currently consulting on these reforms, with submissions closing on 8 March 2024.
• The Bill has been referred to a Senate Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 22 March 2024.