Treasury Laws Amendment (Laminaria and Corallina Decommissioning Cost Recovery Levy) 2021

# Laminaria and Corallina Decommissioning Cost Recovery Levy – Plain English Summary ## What it does This bill creates tax rules around a new levy (a type of fee) that oil and gas companies must pay to cover the cost of cleaning up and shutting down the Laminaria and Corallina offshore oil fields. The tax law changes make it clear that companies **cannot claim this levy as a tax deduction** — they have to pay it from their own pocket, not reduce their taxable income. ## Why it matters When oil and gas operations finish, someone has to pay for the environmental cleanup. This bill ensures those costs don't disappear into tax write-offs. It puts real financial pressure on companies to actually fund decommissioning properly, rather than shifting costs onto taxpayers or the environment. ## Key details - **Companies can't deduct it**: The levy is explicitly non-deductible for income tax purposes — a deliberate choice to make it a genuine cost burden, not a tax dodge - **Linked to separate legislation**: This bill only works if the main levy law (the *Offshore Petroleum (Laminaria and Corallina Decommissioning Cost Recovery Levy) Act 2021*) also passes and comes into force - **Applies to major oil operators**: Affects whoever holds extraction rights to these offshore fields — primarily large oil and gas companies operating in Australian waters

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