Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021

This section applies in relation to fixed or tethered infrastructure (pre‑existing infrastructure) that:

is in the Commonwealth offshore area at the time this Act receives the Royal Assent (the application time); and

is being operated at the application time, or was operated at any time before the application time; and

would be offshore renewable energy infrastructure or offshore electricity transmission infrastructure if this section were disregarded.

Subject to regulations made for the purposes of subsection (3), pre‑existing infrastructure is not offshore renewable energy infrastructure or offshore electricity transmission infrastructure for the purposes of this Act.

This means that a licence is not required to construct, install, commission, operate, maintain or decommission the infrastructure, and that offshore electricity infrastructure levy is not payable in respect of the infrastructure. Most of the other provisions of this Act (such as the safety zone and protection zone provisions in Divisions 3 and 4 of Part 3 of Chapter 4) also do not apply to pre‑existing infrastructure.

The regulations may do any of the following:

provide that specified provisions of this Act apply, or do not apply, in relation to pre‑existing infrastructure;

provide that offshore renewable energy infrastructure or offshore electricity transmission infrastructure constructed, installed or commissioned in connection with the operation or maintenance (including the replacement) of pre‑existing infrastructure is also to be treated as pre‑existing infrastructure;

provide that this section ceases to apply in relation to specified pre‑existing infrastructure (and that such pre‑existing infrastructure is to be treated as offshore renewable energy infrastructure or offshore electricity transmission infrastructure):

at the end of a specified period after this Act commences (which may be the entire life of a project that involves pre‑existing infrastructure); or

in specified circumstances;

provide for an eligible person to apply for a licence in relation to pre‑existing infrastructure;

prescribe any other matters of a transitional nature (including prescribing any saving or application provisions) relating to pre‑existing infrastructure.