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Legislation, regulations and guidelines

Australia continues to streamline business, policy and investment processes that, in combination with a proven record of environmental, social, financial, legal and political stability, make Australia the smart, secure choice for exploration and project investment.

This page provides information on federal, state and territory legislation, policies and guidelines for mining and exploratory projects.

Contents

Legislation

Commonwealth legislation

The Australian Commonwealth government administers policy for mineral and petroleum exploration in Australia's offshore areas. Responsibility for onshore legislation lies with Australia's states and territories.

The Energy Council Cabinet Reform Committee (ENCRC) replaced the former Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council following the disbandment of COAG in May 2020. Energy Ministers work closely with Energy Consumers Australia, and have oversight of the following energy market institutions responsible for the operation of national energy markets:

Like many countries, Australia reviews foreign investment proposals on a case-by-case basis to ensure they are not contrary to the national interest. See Foreign Investment Review Board for more information.

State and territory legislation

New South Wales

Northern Territory

Queensland

South Australia

Tasmania

Victoria

Western Australia

Exploration reporting

The Chief Government Geologists, through the Government Geoscience Information Committee, have developed a national requirements standard for resources exploration reporting.

Mineral exploration reporting template software

Software to facilitate the creation of geochemical, drilling and other point located data in the required data templates has been developed to assist industry clients comply with the reporting guidelines.

Commonwealth offshore reporting guidelines

Offshore minerals reporting regulations can be found on the Department of Innovation, Industry and Science webpage: Offshore mineral legislation.

Further information on offshore petroleum reporting guidelines can be found on the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Authority (NOPTA) website.

State and territory reporting guidelines and systems

Each jurisdiction has its own set of guidelines tailored to its legislation. State and territory mineral exploration guidelines are based on the national guidelines

New South Wales

Northern Territory

Queensland

South Australia

Tasmania

Victoria

Western Australia

Foreign investment

The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) is a non-statutory body established in 1976 to advise the Treasurer and the Government on Australia's foreign investment policy and its administration.

Like many countries, Australia reviews foreign investment proposals on a case-by-case basis to ensure they are not contrary to the national interest. The review framework is well-established, practical and non-discriminatory. Most proposals are considered within 30 days and Australia rarely rejects or imposes conditions on foreign investment business proposals.

You can find out more by going to the Foreign Investment Review Board website.

Environmental policy

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) is the Australian Government's central piece of environmental legislation. It provides a legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places - defined in the EPBC Act as matters of national environmental significance. The EPBC Act enables the Australian Government to join with the states and territories in providing a truly national scheme of environment and heritage protection and biodiversity conservation.

The Department of the Environment designs and implements the Australian Government's policies and programmes to protect and conserve the environment, water and heritage and promote climate action. You can find out more about the EPBC Act on their website.

The EPBC Act provides a legal framework to protect and manage matters of national environmental significance. The EPBC legislation applies to any activity that is likely to have a significant impact on identified matters of national significance. EPBC approval may be required for certain actions or activities that affect Australia's environment, for example when mining or exploration activities may impact on water resources.

Taxation

Those currently investing, or considering investing, in minerals and petroleum exploration and development in Australia, should be considering the taxation implications. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has a considerable amount of related material available.

Minerals specific taxation

The state and Northern Territory governments collect royalties on mineral production in return for granting the right to private businesses to exploit mineral resources within their jurisdictions. With limited exceptions, these take the form of output-based royalties imposed as a percentage of the value of production or, less commonly, the volume of production. Royalty payments are a deduction for company income tax purposes.

Royalty systems on minerals across Australian states and the Northern Territory vary by both jurisdiction and commodity.