Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021

The Minister may, by written notice to a licence holder, cancel the licence if the Minister is satisfied that:

the licence holder has failed to comply with a condition of the licence; or

the licence holder has contravened a provision of this Act, or the applied work health and safety provisions; or

the licence does not meet the merit criteria; or

the licence holder has failed to commence activities under the licence within a reasonable time; or

the licence holder is not an eligible person; or

a person has contravened subsection 91(1) (notification of change in circumstances), 95(1) (change in control must be approved by Registrar), 96(1) (notification of change in control without approval) or 108(1) (avoidance of change in control provisions) in relation to the licence.

For review of decisions, see section 297.

Before deciding to cancel a licence under subsection (1), the Minister must:

by written notice to the licence holder, give at least 30 days notice of the Minister’s intention to make the decision; and

give a copy of the notice to such other persons (if any) as the Minister thinks fit.

The notice must:

set out the grounds for cancelling the licence; and

invite a person to whom the notice, or a copy of the notice, has been given to make a written submission to the Minister about the proposal; and

specify a time limit for making that submission.

In deciding whether to cancel a licence under subsection (1), the Minister must take into account:

any action taken by the licence holder:

to address the circumstances that give rise to the grounds for cancelling the licence; or

to prevent the recurrence of similar circumstances; and

any submissions made as mentioned in paragraph (3)(b).

The Registrar must, by notifiable instrument, give notice of the cancellation. The licence ceases to be in force when the notice under this subsection is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

For remedial directions (including in relation to a licence that has been cancelled), see sections 126 and 127.