EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2005 No. 136

 

Minute No. 4 of 2005 - Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources

 

Subject -          Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967

                        Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Occupational Health and Safety) Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 1)

Subsection 157(1) of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters that by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.  Paragraph 157(2)(e) of the Act states that the regulations may make provision for securing, regulating, controlling or restricting the construction, erection, maintenance, operation or use of installations, equipment or facilities.

In accordance with a commitment by the Commonwealth Government, and agreed to by the States and Territories, the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Amendment Act 2003 amended the Act to establish the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) to regulate occupational health and safety in all of Australia’s offshore petroleum activities. 

As part of this, the Act provides in subsection 9(2A) and 11(2A) that prescribes laws of States and Territories will not apply to petroleum facilities in the adjacent area of that State or Territory because they are wholly or substantially laws related to occupational health and safety, and hence overlap with, and duplicate the provisions of, laws that are administered by NOPSA.  Subregulation 34A(1) of the of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Occupational Health and Safety) Regulations 1993 (the Principal Regulations) lists the State and Territory laws that do not apply.

 

The purpose of the Regulations is to amend the Principal Regulations to reflect changes made to Occupational Health and Safety laws in the State of Victoria.  This item will replace the reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985 with reference to the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 from 1 July 2005, as Victoria has revoked the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985 and replaced it with the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.

 

The Act specifies no conditions that need to be met before the power to make the Regulations may be exercised.

 

The Regulations commence on 1 July 2005, and are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

Authority: Subsection 157(1) of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967