Offshore oil and gas safety review

The review looked at:

• the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety) Regulations 2009
• Schedule 3 (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (OPGGS) Act
• any other matters under the OPGGS Act necessary for a comprehensive review of the safety regime.

The review found that Australia’s offshore safety regime continues to be a leading practice regulatory framework. It identified areas to strengthen to improve offshore worker safety outcomes. The offshore oil and gas safety policy framework addresses these areas through policy amendments, including:

• improving engagement between industry and the regulator in designing offshore facilities
• strengthening the role of health and safety representatives
• recognising the importance of mental health
• increasing regulator oversight of diving operations
• strengthening compliance mechanisms
• streamlining administrative processes. 

The policy framework supports the continuation of the current objectives-based regulatory regime.

We implemented the policy framework by amending legislation. The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Safety and Other Measures) Act 2024 passed into law on 11 June 2024.

Consultation process 

We developed the policy framework through extensive consultation with offshore oil and gas stakeholders.

This included:

• industry
• unions
• the offshore workforce
• the Australian Government
• state and territory governments.

We established a Safety Stakeholder Group (SSG) with representatives from each of these areas. We consulted the SSG throughout the review. 

Draft policy framework

We published the draft policy framework on our Consultation Hub in late 2020. Responses from the public helped us revise and finalise the policy framework.

We developed the draft policy framework based on earlier stakeholder consultations:

• We invited the public to comment on a discussion paper detailing the offshore safety legislation in late 2019.
• We asked offshore oil and gas workers to complete a survey on the safety regime between November 2019 and January 2020.