Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021

The holder of a licence for which there is a management plan must, at all times while the licence is in force, provide the Commonwealth with financial security sufficient to pay any costs, expenses and liabilities that may arise in connection with, or as a result of:

the decommissioning of licence infrastructure; and

the removal of equipment and other property from the licence area or a vacated area; and

the remediation of the licence area and vacated areas, and any other area affected by activities carried out under the licence.

The purposes for which the financial security may be used are not limited to the matters in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) (see subsection 119(2)).

The regulations may provide for the Regulator:

to refuse to approve a management plan for a licence unless the licence holder has provided the financial security required by subsection (1) in relation to the activities to be carried out under the licence in accordance with the management plan; or

to refuse to approve a revised management plan for a licence unless the licence holder has provided the financial security required by subsection (1) in relation to the activities to be carried out under the licence in accordance with the management plan as revised.

The regulations may provide for the financial security required by subsection (1):

to be required to be provided in a form acceptable to the Minister; or

to be required at different times in relation to particular licence infrastructure, so long as the financial security that relates to particular infrastructure is provided before that infrastructure is constructed or installed in the licence area; or

to cease to be required in relation to particular licence infrastructure, property or remediation activities if the Minister is satisfied that no further costs, expenses or liabilities are likely to arise in relation to that infrastructure or property or those activities.

The regulations may prescribe:

arrangements that may be treated as financial security for the purposes of this section; and

arrangements that are not to be treated as financial security for the purposes of this section; and

methods for working out the amount of financial security that a licence holder must provide under subsection (1) (which may take into account costs, expenses and liabilities that might arise from emergencies or unexpected circumstances); and

circumstances in which the Minister may accept a reduced amount of financial security.