Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment (Annual Titles Administration Levy) Regulation 2013

Administered by Department of Industry, Science and Resources

Legislation au F2013L01913 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument No. 239, 2013

 

Subject Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Act 2003

 

Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment (Annual Titles Administration Levy) Regulation 2013

 

Section 11 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Act 2003 (the Regulatory Levies Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of a number of sections of the Regulatory Levies Act, including section 10E which imposes an annual titles administration levy in relation to offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas titles.

 

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (the OPGGSA) provides the legal framework for the exploration and recovery of petroleum and for the injection and storage of greenhouse gas substances in offshore areas.  This Act is administered jointly by the Commonwealth Government and the state and Northern Territory governments and provides for a range of administrative decisions to be made in relation to petroleum and greenhouse gas titles.

 

The Regulatory Levies Act, amongst other levies, provides for the imposition of an annual titles administration levy in relation to offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas titles.  The annual titles administration levy is imposed for each year of a title term and is collected by the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) in order to fund its operations on a cost-recovery basis.

 

The varying amounts of the annual titles administration levies imposed by the Regulatory Levies Act are prescribed in the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Regulations 2004 (the Principal Regulations). 

 

As part of the development of a revised Cost Recovery Impact statement (CRIS), NOPTA has recently reviewed the cost recovery arrangements in relation to its operations, and, more specifically, the current charging structure and levies imposed under the legislation. 

 

NOPTA’s review concluded that while the current levy structure should be retained, the amounts of the varying types of title administration levies should be rebalanced to reduce to as low as possible actual or potential cross-subsidies of any given service by the levies imposed in relation to other offshore petroleum titles.

 

The review also recommended that an annual titles administration levy for a petroleum exploration permit and a special petroleum exploration permit be charged on a flat per permit basis rather than the current on a per graticular block basis.  Although the size of exploration permits do vary significantly, NOPTA has deduced through operational experience that its efforts in administering the exploration permits are not related to the permit size but rather to the monitoring of titleholders’ compliance with the title conditions.

 

NOPTA’s review therefore recommended changing of the charging basis for the annual titles administration levy for a petroleum exploration permit and a special petroleum exploration permit. 

 

Implementing these recommendations  move NOPTA significantly towards an activity based costing approach, providing greater transparency around NOPTA’s operational costs.

 

The purpose of the Regulation is to amend the Principal Regulations to:

  • change the charging basis for the annual titles administration levy for a petroleum exploration permit or a special petroleum exploration permit to a per title basis and prescribe the annual title administration fee of $9 781 for each of these titles;
  • decrease the value of the multiplier, used to calculate the amount of the annual titles administration levy for a petroleum production licence, from $23 265 to $15 500;
  • increase the amount of annual titles administration levy for an infrastructure licence from $15 550 to $22 500; and
  • decrease the amount of the annual titles administration levy for a pipeline licence from $105 to $52 for each kilometre, or part of a kilometre, of the pipeline’s length.

 

The amendments do not increase the overall revenue that would be collected if the current levy structure remained in place.

 

With respect to the adjustment of the annual titles administration levies, NOPTA consulted with the participants of the offshore petroleum industry through a draft CRIS.  No objections in relation to the amendments were raised during consultation. The Regulation reflects the results of those consultations through implementation of the recommended changes.  The CRIS was consequently finalised and approved.

The Department of Industry consulted with the Office of Best Practice Regulation on all measures to confirm that their requirements had been satisfied.

 

The Regulatory Levies Act specifies no conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the Regulation may be exercised.

The Regulation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Regulation commences on the day after it is registered.

 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

 

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment (Annual Titles Administration Levy) Regulation 2013

 

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.


Overview of the Legislative Instrument

An annual titles administration levy is imposed in relation to offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas title.  The levy is imposed for each year of a title term and is collected by the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) in order to fund its operations on a cost-recovery basis.

 

The purpose of the Regulation is to amend the Principal Regulations to:

  • change the charging basis for the annual titles administration levy for a petroleum exploration permit or a special petroleum exploration permit to a per title basis and prescribe the annual title administration fee of $9 781 for each of these titles;
  • decrease the value of the multiplier, used to calculate the amount of the annual titles administration levy for a petroleum production licence, from $23 265 to $15 500;
  • increase the amount of annual titles administration levy for an infrastructure licence from $15 550 to $22 500; and
  • decrease the amount of the annual titles administration levy for a pipeline licence from $105 to $52 for each kilometre, or part of a kilometre, of the pipeline’s length.

 

Human rights implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

 

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

Overview

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment (Annual Titles Administration Levy) Regulation 2013 was enacted to amend the existing regulatory framework governing the annual titles administration levies on offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas titles, as established under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Act 2003. This regulation aims to ensure that the charging structure for these levies more accurately reflects the activities of the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) and minimises potential cross-subsidies between different types of titles. The amendments were made in response to a review conducted by NOPTA, which recommended changes to the levy structure to align more closely with the costs incurred in administering different types of titles. The policy objective of these amendments is to enhance transparency in NOPTA's operational costs and to refine the levy structure to better reflect the actual administrative activities and costs involved. The regulation was enacted by the Commonwealth Parliament and involves adjustments to the charging basis and amounts of the annual titles administration levies for various types of offshore petroleum titles. The changes include switching the levy for petroleum exploration permits and special petroleum exploration permits to a per title basis, adjusting the multiplier for petroleum production licence levies, increasing the levy for infrastructure licences, and reducing the levy for pipeline licences. These adjustments were made after consultations with industry participants and were approved without objections. The regulation maintains the overall revenue collected under the current levy structure, ensuring that the changes do not result in increased financial burden on the industry.

Scope and Application

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment (Annual Titles Administration Levy) Regulation 2013 applies to the administration of the annual titles administration levy for various offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas titles, as prescribed under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Act 2003. This Act governs the collection of levies by the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) to fund its operations on a cost-recovery basis. The regulation specifically pertains to the imposition of an annual titles administration levy for each year of a title term, which is collected to support NOPTA's administrative functions related to offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas titles. The regulation applies to various entities, including petroleum exploration permit holders, production licence holders, infrastructure licence holders, and pipeline licence holders within the Commonwealth of Australia. It does not introduce any new exclusions or exemptions beyond what is already specified in the Regulatory Levies Act. The regulation extends the application of the principal regulations by amending the levy amounts and the basis of charging for different types of titles, moving towards an activity-based costing approach. The regulation is a legislative instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 and commences on the day after it is registered.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment (Annual Titles Administration Levy) Regulation 2013 (the Regulation) amend the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Regulations 2004 (the Principal Regulations). These amendments include changing the basis of the annual titles administration levy for petroleum exploration permits and special petroleum exploration permits from a per graticular block basis to a per title basis, setting the annual title administration fee at $9,781 for each of these titles (regulation 4). The regulation also decreases the multiplier used to calculate the annual titles administration levy for a petroleum production licence from $23,265 to $15,500 (regulation 5). Additionally, it increases the annual titles administration levy for an infrastructure licence from $15,550 to $22,500 (regulation 6) and decreases the levy for a pipeline licence from $105 to $52 for each kilometre, or part of a kilometre, of the pipeline’s length (regulation 7). These changes are aimed at reducing potential cross-subsidies and moving towards an activity-based costing approach. The obligations and requirements imposed by the Regulation on the relevant parties are primarily related to the payment of the adjusted annual titles administration levies. Titleholders with petroleum exploration permits, special petroleum exploration permits, petroleum production licences, infrastructure licences, or pipeline licences are required to pay the revised levies as prescribed by the Regulation. This includes ensuring timely payment of the fees to the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) to fund its operations on a cost-recovery basis. NOPTA is required to collect these levies according to the new prescribed rates and to ensure that the adjustments do not result in an increase in the overall revenue collected if the current levy structure were to remain unchanged. The Regulation does not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance with the new levy requirements. However, the failure to comply with the payment obligations could potentially lead to enforcement actions under the broader Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Act 2003. Typically, non-compliance with levy payment requirements could result in the imposition of additional fees, interest, or penalties as stipulated under other relevant legislation or administrative regulations. The exact penalties would depend on the specific circumstances and the applicable provisions of other relevant laws.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.