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2022-2023-2024-2025
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ELECTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2025
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Climate Change and Energy,
the Hon. Chris Bowen MP)
ELECTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2025
GENERAL OUTLINE
The Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 (the Bill) amends the
Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 (Cth) (the OEI Act) to extend the application of
amendments provided for in the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Amendment (Overlapping
Applications) Regulations 2024 (the Amendment Regulations) to apply to feasibility licence
applications received prior to the commencement of the Amendment Regulations.
The effect of the amendments in the Bill is for the regulatory parameters set out in the
Amendment Regulations to apply consistently and fairly to all feasibility licence applications
submitted to the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar (the Registrar) in response to an invitation
to apply for feasibility licences for a declared area under the Offshore Electricity
Infrastructure licensing scheme (OEI licensing scheme).
Background
The Amendment Regulations made on 13 December 2024 clarify the parameters of the OEI
licensing scheme in respect of feasibility licences, amending the Offshore Electricity
Infrastructure Regulations 2022 (the Principal Regulations) by:
• setting out the licence area description requirements that are to be included in a
feasibility licence application (consistent with those previously described in the
Registrar's approved form);
• limiting the Minister's power to grant a feasibility licence to the area described in a
feasibility licence application, or revised as part of the overlapping application group
process;
• if an overlapping application group is formed under section 11 of the Principal
Regulations - limiting the Minister's power to offer or grant a licence to a particular
licence application which overlaps with an overlapping application group, but is not
included in that group only because it is of lower merit; and
• if there are a group of overlapping applications, but an overlapping application group
is not formed - permitting the Minister to offer or grant a licence to the applicant of
highest merit and limiting the Minister's power to offer or grant licences to
applications of lower merit.
The Amendment Regulations came into effect on 14 December 2024.
The application of Amendment Regulations, however, is limited in that they only apply to
feasibility licence applications made on or after the commencement of the Amendment
Regulations. Without legislative amendment, the regulatory framework would apply
inconsistently to feasibility licence applications between declared areas.
Policy intent
This Bill seeks to achieve consistency and fairness in the treatment of feasibility licence
applications across the OEI licensing scheme, by extending the application of the Amendment
Regulations to feasibility licence applications made prior to the commencement of the
Amendment Regulations. This means that the Minister's power and matters that the Minister
is to consider in deciding a feasibility licence application are subject to the same regulatory
parameters for each declared area.
Consultation
The Offshore Infrastructure Registrar was consulted on the Bill. There has been no
community or industry consultation about the amendments proposed in the Bill.
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The Bill will have no financial impact.
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny)
Act 2011.
The full Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is attached to this Explanatory
Memorandum at the Attachment A.
ELECTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2025
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1 Short Title
1. Clause 1 provides for the Bill, once enacted, to be cited as the Electricity Infrastructure
Legislation Amendment Act 2025.
Clause 2 Commencement
2. Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the Bill.
3. In reference to clause 2(1), the table sets out that the whole of this Act commences the
day the Bill receives the Royal Assent.
4. Subclause 2(2) provides that any information in column 3 of the table is not part of
the Act. It also clarifies that information may be inserted in column 3 of the table, or
information in it may be edited, in any published version of the Act.
Clause 3 Schedules
5. Clause 3 provides that legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended
or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other
item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its term. This is a technical
provision to give operational effect to the amendments contained in Schedule 1.
Schedule 1--Main amendments
Overview
6. Schedule 1 to the Bill sets out the amendment proposed to be made by the Bill, which
extend the application of the amendments provided for in the Amendment Regulations
to feasibility licence applications made prior to the commencement of the Amendment
Regulations.
Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021
Item 1 Application of amendments made by the Offshore Electricity
Infrastructure Amendment (Overlapping Applications) Regulations 2024
7. Item 1 inserts a new section 310 into the OEI Act, which provides that the amendments
made by Schedule 1 to the Amendment Regulations apply to feasibility licence
applications made before, as well as on or after, the commencement of the Amendment
Regulations, despite section 165 of the Principal Regulations.
8. Section 165 of the Principal Regulations limited the application of the remainder of
Schedule 1 to the Amendment Regulations by confining it to feasibility licence
applications received on or after the commencement of the Amendment Regulations.
9. If not for new section 310, the effect of section 165 of the Principal Regulations is that
different regulatory parameters would apply to feasibility licence applications
depending on when the Minister invites eligible persons to apply for feasibility licence
applications for a given declared area, and when such applications are made.
Accordingly, the amendment set out in item 1 ensures that the regulatory parameters
provided for in the Amendment Regulations apply consistently to all feasibility licence
applicants, and that the OEI licensing scheme operates in a fair and consistent manner
regardless of when applications are made.
10. The Amendment Regulations clarified arrangements consistent with the understanding
that applicants had of the scheme's operation at the time of applying for Feasibility
Licence applications, and relevant guidance.
11. To the extent this Bill operates to affect the rights and interests of persons, which are
most likely bodies corporate who made feasibility licence applications before the
commencement of the Amendment Regulations -
a. it is necessary and appropriate for the Bill to apply in this manner to ensure that
the OEI licensing scheme operates consistently as intended across all feasibility
licence application rounds; and to provide industry with certainty and clarity on
the regulatory parameters around when feasibility licences may or may not be
granted; and
b. in any event, the rights and interests of such persons will continue to be
safeguarded through the usual principles of administrative law (including being
afforded procedural fairness) if the Minister proposes to make a decision which
applies the provisions of the Amendment Regulations to them.
12. Further, for the avoidance of doubt, item 1 inserts a note clarifying the application of
subsection 13(5) of the Legislation Act 2003 to this Bill. The note provides that
provisions of the Principal Regulations amended by the Amendment Regulations and
any other provisions of the Principal Regulations may continue to be amended or
repealed by the Governor-General in accordance with section 305 of the OEI Act.
While the measures in this Bill are intended to achieve consistency across the OEI
licensing scheme, it is not intended to fix or otherwise prevent the Principal
Regulations from being amended in future.
ATTACHMENT A
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny)
Act 2011.
Overview of the Bill
The Electricity Infrastructure Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 (the Bill) amends the
Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021:
(a) to extend the application of amendments provided for in the Offshore Electricity
Infrastructure Amendment (Overlapping Applications) Regulations 2024 (the
Amendment Regulations) to apply consistently to each declared area;
(b) to ensure that the OEI licensing scheme operates consistently for all feasibility licence
applications, regardless of when the feasibility licence application was made; and
(c) to allow the Minister to make consistent decisions relating to feasibility licence
applications submitted to the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar, regardless of whether
such an application was made before the commencement of the Offshore Electricity
Infrastructure Amendment (Overlapping Applications) Regulations 2024.
Human rights implications
While the effect of the Bill is to extend the application of amendments provided for in the
Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Amendment (Overlapping Applications) Regulations 2024
(the Amendment Regulations) to apply to feasibility licence applications received prior to
the commencement of Amendment Regulations, this does not adversely affect any human
rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3
of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Conclusion
This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms as the Bill does not raise any
human rights issues.
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Climate Change and Energy the Hon. Chris
Bowen MP)