Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations 2025 (the RMA Regulations 2025, or the Regulations) are established under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006. They replace the RMA Regulations 2011.

The RMA Regulations 2025 cover resource management and administration, well operations management plans and well activities, data management and reporting for petroleum and greenhouse gas (GHG) injection and some other regulatory and administrative matters.

The RMA Regulations, enacted in 2011, are due to sunset on 1 April 2026. Without the regulations being remade, a regulatory gap would exist. The RMA Regulations 2025 ensure uninterrupted governance for offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas operations. 

Additionally, updates were required to reflect current practices, to ensure the regulations remain fit for purpose and are responsive to changes in the industry and operating environment.

The RMA Regulations 2025 commence on 31 March 2026, just prior to the previous regulations (RMA Regulations 2011) sunsetting.

Both the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) and the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) have a role in regulating the RMA Regulations.

The Joint Authority makes decisions on Field Development Plans and recovery rates.

Our portfolio agency, the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR), plays an important role in the administration and oversight of the RMA Regulations as the policy owner, including ensuring the regulations remain fit for purpose.

The RMA Regulations 2025 can be found on the Parliament of Australia website along with the Explanatory Statement which identifies the specific changes between the 2011 Regulations and the 2025 Regulations.

The RMA Regulations 2025:

• Improve, clarify and modernise annual titles assessment reports, field development plans and well operation management plans to facilitate monitoring and compliance.
• Revise data management requirements to promote data transparency, align with best practice standards and be technology neutral.
• Simplify the sample analysis reporting requirement to provide a final analysis report to the Titles Administrator, irrespective of where the analysis is conducted.
• Clarify the requirement to submit daily geological reports to the Titles Administrator when undertaking drilling operations in a title area.
• Streamline information requirements for initial and final well completion reports.
• Revise and clarify the list of samples that titleholders must submit to address information gaps.
• Clarify requirements for titleholders to submit interpretation reports and associated non-exclusive data.
• Change the release timeframes for non-exclusive seismic data from 15 years to 10 years.
• Clarify the submission process and reduce the number of release timeframes for disclosable information.
• Make it possible to share greenhouse gas injection and storage information with the Commonwealth agency administering laws to protect the environment.
• Modernise penalty provisions to encourage and support industry compliance.
• Minor amendments throughout to be consistent with current drafting practices.

*Source: Department of Industry, Science and Resources

For the RMA Regulations, most of the changes related to NOPSEMA's regulation are within Part 5. The remake of Part 5 means industry can expect a more transparent framework for managing well integrity and related reporting obligations.

The changes mean:

• Part 5 now explicitly applies to petroleum and greenhouse gas wells
• NOPSEMA is the single regulator for well integrity
• the definition of ‘well’ has been broadened to include well-related equipment (for example, barriers and pressure containment systems)
• modernised Well Operations Management Plan (WOMP) requirements
• roles and competency assurance for employees and contractors
• well integrity standards, control measures, performance standards and acceptance criteria
• matters related to surrender of title
• suspension and permanent abandonment regarding the type of permit, licence or lease
• annual well integrity reporting to NOPSEMA is introduced
• expanded incident reporting for well integrity failures or degraded performance standards.
• new revision triggers including when new or increased risks arise, before significant changes to risk management, before all new well activities not covered by current WOMP and a periodic review required every five years.
• advance notice is required for high-risk activities (drilling, critical equipment changes) that now has a provision for NOPSEMA to request further information.
• an expanded definition of reportable incident and additional reporting and retention requirements for incidents (see below)
• a graduated enforcement regime

Absolutely – we are well advanced in refreshing our guidance material to assist industry. Our updated guidance materials will be consulted on with relevant parties and shared prior to the Regulations commencing.

To support readiness, NOPSEMA will provide guidance and host information sessions. The first industry information session focusing on an overview of the changes occurred on 28 January 2026. Further sessions are planned for February 2026 to address the changes in more detail and will also be tailored to audience requests.

To register for the information sessions, please fill in this form.

For information on changes relating to titles administration and data reporting, please visit the NOPTA website.

If a new WOMP was submitted before 31 March 2026 under the old regulations and is not yet accepted by NOPSEMA, it must be assessed under the new regulations from 31 March 2026.

If a revision is submitted before 31 March 2026 for a WOMP accepted under the old regulations, NOPSEMA will continue to assess and accept these WOMPs under the old regulations.

Transitional rules also cover revisions, notices, and annual well integrity reports. Speak to your focal point inspector if you have any queries.

No – if you already have an accepted WOMP it should remain in place until you are required to submit a new one. However, you will need to submit a new WOMP if significant changes are made. Speak to your focal point inspector if you have any queries.

Under Regulation 255 it will be assessed under the 2011 regulations.

Yes. If you have any plans to submit a new WOMP prior to or after 31 March, you are encouraged to include information in the WOMP to satisfy the new contents and acceptance criteria. Please reach out to NOPSEMA to discuss this further to ensure that new obligations are understood.

Any new WOMPs submitted on or post 31 March will need to meet the remade 2025 Regulations. We suggest utilising our guidance material to assist you in meeting your obligations.

Please reach out to NOPSEMA to discuss this further to ensure that new obligations are understood.

You will need to submit your annual well integrity report 14 days after the anniversary date that NOPSEMA accepted the WOMP under either the old or new regulations.

Yes. We are currently developing this template for ease of reporting and will consult on it soon.

Failure to comply may result in strict liability offences, civil penalties, and/or daily penalties.

Yes, to better support well integrity, the definition of a reportable incident now includes damage to, or failure of, well equipment used to monitor and verify the integrity of the well. These incidents will now need to be reported to NOPSEMA as soon as practicable after you become aware of the incident.

In addition, if a titleholder has given an initial report to NOPSEMA about a reportable incident and at the time, the incident had not been resolved, a titleholder must provide further written reports to NOPSEMA, for each 30-day period until the incident has been resolved.

A reportable incident is defined under section 100 of the RMA Regulations 2025 and means any of the following:

(a) a loss of integrity of the well, including a well kick, resulting in a release of more than:

   (i) 1 kilogram of gas; or

  (ii) 80 litres of liquid;

(b) a failure of hydrostatic pressure at the well as a primary barrier, leading to:

  (i) a build‑up of pressure or a positive flow check; and

  (ii) the operation of a blow‑out prevention or diversion system;

(c) damage to, or failure of, well‑related equipment that has led or could lead to a loss of integrity of the well;

(d) damage to, or failure of, well‑related equipment that is used to monitor or verify the integrity of the well;

(e) any other unplanned occurrence that requires the titleholder to implement measures or arrangements to regain control of the well.

Section 101 of the RMA Regulations 2025 require the titleholder to give notice to NOPSEMA as soon as practicable after they become aware of the first occurrence of the reportable incident.

The titleholder should advise NOPSEMA of all material facts and circumstances concerning the incident that the titleholder knows or is able, by reasonable search or inquiry, to find out. They must also provide a description of any action taken, or proposed to be taken, to stop, control or remedy the incident.

A Well Operations Management Plan (WOMP) identifies the technical and managerial aspects of managing the risks to integrity of wells. The adopted well integrity control measures described in the WOMP for any identified risk must be shown to collectively eliminate the risk or reduce it to ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable). It sets out how risks to well integrity will be reduced to ALARP. It is mandatory before any well activity and must be kept current.

Overall, a well-structured, coherent WOMP will facilitate a titleholder’s ability to demonstrate a clear understanding of the factors that influence risk and the controls that are critical to minimising risk to the integrity of the well(s).

The Well Operations Management Plan (WOMP) submitted by a titleholder to NOPSEMA must comply with the contents requirement of Part 5 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations 2011 or 2025 and the corresponding laws of each state or territory, where powers have been conferred upon NOPSEMA.

The WOMP must be appropriate for the nature of the activities to be carried out in the title area.

WOMPs need to be revised every five years, or sooner if there is a significant change in well integrity risk or operational strategy. The triggers to revise a WOMP include:

• before any new well activities not already covered by the current WOMP
• before any significant changes to risk management
• when new or increased risks arise
• if NOPSEMA issues a direction inconsistent with the WOMP

Carrying out well activities without an accepted WOMP is a strict liability offence and can attract significant penalties.

Section 82 of the Regulations contains information on the content of the WOMP including:

• general requirements
• the description of well and well activities covered by the plan,
• well integrity risks and risk management processes
• well integrity standards, control measures, performance standards and acceptance criteria
• monitoring, auditing and assurance processes
• responsibilities of employees and contractors
• matters related to surrender of title
• suspension and permanent abandonment
• measures and arrangements that will be used if there is a loss of well integrity
• other matters.