Canberra consulting on offshore decommissioning reforms

THE FEDERAL Government is seeking feedback on reforms to decommissioning and financial assurance arrangements for the offshore oil and gas industry.

The Department of Industry, Science and Resources, together with the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Australia (NOPSEMA) have reiterated that Australia has up to $60 billion of offshore oil and gas decommissioning activities expected to occur over the next 30 to 50 years. 

“It is important that industry is taking the right steps to prepare for and undertake this work in a safe, timely and environmentally responsible manner,” DISR said.

“While the paper focuses mainly on oil and gas projects, we’re also seeking input on the regulatory regime for decommissioning greenhouse gas storage projects (commonly known as carbon capture and storage).

“Your feedback to this consultation will help us develop these reforms and may also inform related activities.

“There will be future public consultation informed by the responses to this paper. We will also consult on any legislative changes.”

The proposed reforms aim to strengthen the decommissioning framework so industry:

• decommissions in a timely, safe and environmentally responsible way.
• remains responsible for the risks and liabilities of offshore activities.

The consultation paper invites feedback on:

• the existing decommissioning framework in Australia.
• lessons from international and onshore frameworks .
• proposed areas for reform, including:
• decommissioning planning
• financial planning and assurance
• decommissioning and financial capacity risk assessments
• compliance and enforcement tools
• title surrender.

The consultation paper can be found here.

You can upload a written submission and supporting documents, and/or make a general comment at consult.industry.gov.au.

Feedback to the consultation paper is now open and will close on 13 January 2026.