Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Titles Administration and Other Measures) 2021

# Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment Bill 2021 ## What it does This bill updates the rules for managing offshore oil, gas, and carbon storage projects in Australian waters. It modernises how the government handles paperwork and approvals when companies change ownership, tightens rules around who's responsible for cleaning up after projects end, and gives regulators better tools to gather information and make decisions. ## Why it matters These changes affect what happens when oil and gas companies sell their operations or go out of business—making sure someone's actually liable for the mess left behind, rather than it becoming a taxpayer problem. The bill also speeds up how government approves new projects by allowing digital processes instead of paperwork. ## Key details - **Change of control**: When a company that holds an offshore petroleum licence gets bought or changes hands, the new owner must meet the same safety and environmental standards as the old one - **Trailing liability**: Companies can't dodge responsibility for cleaning up their sites after they finish operating—the government can now track and enforce these obligations more effectively - **Digital processes**: Removes outdated requirements for physical documents and in-person approvals, allowing faster online lodgement and decision-making for applications

🔒 Voting closed — this bill has been decided by parliament