Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations
Resource Management and Administration (RMA) Regulations Remake - what industry needs to know
Overview
The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations 2025 (RMA Regulations) have been remade with some changes to allow for more effective management of Australia's oil and gas resources.
The RMA Regulations are part of the legal framework for offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas (GHG) storage activity under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGS Act).
The RMA Regulations cover resource management and administration, well operations management plans and well activities, data management and reporting for petroleum and greenhouse gas storage and other regulatory and administrative matters.
The RMA Regulations have been updated to ensure they remain fit for purpose, strengthen oversight and improve transparency by:
- expanding the required content for annual title assessment reports, field development plans and well operations management plans to better support effective regulation of offshore petroleum exploration, development and production activities
- updating greenhouse gas injection and accounting reports for improved environmental accountability
- streamlining data management to promote transparency and efficiency
- introducing proportionate compliance tools and implementing a graduated enforcement regime
- simplifying and modernising language and structure for easier navigation and removing duplicative processes.
These changes support a safe, sustainable and well-regulated offshore industry that meets Australia's energy and emissions goals.
The remade RMA Regulations will come into effect on 31 March 2026.
What this means for industry
Elements of the RMA Regulations are regulated by both NOPSEMA and NOPTA.
For the RMA Part 5 changes, industry can expect a more transparent framework for managing well integrity and related reporting obligations.
Changes include:
- modernised Well Operations Management Plan (WOMP) requirements
- annual well integrity reporting introduced
- expanded incident reporting for well integrity failures or degraded performance standards.
Next steps and support
Over the coming months, this page will be updated to provide key information for titleholders and other stakeholders about what is changing, why it matters and how to prepare.
We will also be updating our guidance materials and providing frequently asked questions.
To support readiness, NOPSEMA will provide guidance and host information sessions:
- January - March 2026: Industry webinars and draft guidance releases. The first industry webinar is proposed for 28 January 2026.
- March 2026: Final guidance published
- 31 March 2026: Go-live notice and resource links
A full schedule of industry sessions with registration details will be published on this page in early 2026.
To register for the industry webinar please fill out this form.
The new regulations 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.
For more information on changes relating to titles administration and data reporting, please visit the NOPTA website.