New management plan requirements for Australian offshore wind projects

What you need to know

• The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Amendment Regulations 2024 (Cth) came into force on 12 December 2024. Division 5 of Part 3 of the Offshore Electricity Regulations 2022 (Cth) (OEI Regulations) now prescribe matters that a management plan must address in order to be approved by the Offshore Infrastructure Regulator (OIR).
• The OIR has also published a guideline on management plan content.
• A management plan must include a record of consultation, stakeholders engagement, financial security, design notification and work health and safety, among other matters.

What you need to do

• Prepare your management plan in accordance with the OEI Regulations and the OIR's guideline.
• Look out for our further alerts discussing the new OEI Regulations, including further detail about consultation.

New management plan requirements

Division 5 of Part 3 of the OEI Regulations prescribes matters that a management plan for a licence must address in order to be approved by the OIR. The OIR has also published a guideline on management plan content.

We explain the requirements in more detail below.

This is our third alert in our series about the offshore wind regulatory reforms. Links to our first and second alerts are below.

Description of activities and operations

Management plans must include specific information about the activities and operations proposed to be carried out in the relevant licence area.

The licence holder is required to demonstrate an understanding of the environmental conditions (including a description of the physical environment, ecological environment and a general description of other marine users and uses of the surrounding environment). The licence holder should include coordinates of licence infrastructure and an outline of the operational details of licence activities.

The management plan must also include a timetable for licence activities and a requirement that the licence holder notify the OIR at least 30 days before an activity in the timetable is commenced or no more than 30 days after an activity is completed.

Consultation

As explained in our second alert in this series (Australia opens applications for offshore wind transmission licences, 5 March 2025), a licence holder must carry out consultation in accordance with the OEI Regulation prior to undertaking licence activities. Management plans must include a record of the licence holder's consultation with persons, organisations, communities and groups affected by the licence activities.

The plan must include the following information:

• a description of the process that was used to identify persons, organisations, communities and groups to consult;
• a list of persons, organisations, communities and groups consulted;
• a report on the outcomes of consultation. This report must include a summary of the outcomes of the consultation, including any claims raised about adverse effects, the licence holder's assessment of the merit of the claims and the measures to be taken to address the claim.

The OIR must be satisfied that the consultation was reasonable and that the licence holder has appropriately addressed any claims made.

Consultation requirements will be addressed in greater detail in the fourth article in this series, to be published shortly.

Ongoing stakeholder engagement strategy

The management plan must include a stakeholder engagement strategy to provide for ongoing engagement with consultees while licence activities are being undertaken. The strategy should be described at a process level and demonstrate that a documented system is in place to identify consultees, consult on relevant matters and record the outcomes of this consultation to inform management plan development and ongoing adaptive management of licence activities.

The strategy must be maintained and include a summary of any claims raised by stakeholders about the potential adverse effects of licence activities, an assessment of merits of the claim, measures to address the claims and a process for continuing to engage with stakeholders.

The OIR must be satisfied that the stakeholder engagement strategy described in the plan would be reasonably likely to provide for ongoing engagement with stakeholders in relation to the licence activities.

Publication requirement

The management plan must include a requirement that the licence holder publish the stakeholder engagement strategy on the licence holder's website before the end of 30 days after the management plan is first approved and keep the stakeholder engagement strategy on the website until the licence ceases to be in force, or the licence holder ceases to hold the licence.

Management system and compliance with licence conditions and other obligations

The management plan must describe a management system to address the licence holder's compliance with its obligations under the OEI Act, the OEI Regulations, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the applied work health and safety provisions, the licence conditions and the management plan.

The management system must include processes for:

• identifying, assessing and dealing with hazards, impacts and risks;
• implementing measures to ensure compliance;
• managing changes in circumstances, consulting;
• communicating and cooperating with other persons and organisations involved in the licence activities;
• informing and training workers, establishing roles and responsibilities;
• ensuring timely notification and communication in case of incidents or emergencies;
• monitoring, auditing and recording compliance; and
• identifying and implementing opportunities for improvement.

The OIR must be satisfied that the management system described in the plan will be reasonably likely to ensure that the licence holder meets, and will to continue to meet the relevant obligations.

Design notification

If the licence holder has given a design notification to the OIR, and the OIR has provided feedback, the management plan is required to outline:

• the feedback provided by the OIR on the design notification;
• how the feedback has been addressed by the licence holder;
• whether the offshore infrastructure project is broadly consistent with the design notification; and
• the extent and effect of any inconsistencies with the design notification.

Relevant structures, equipment and property

Management plans must set out a list of all structures, equipment and other property brought into the licence area by the licence holder, and include a description of the item, its location and use.

The management plan must describe measures for maintaining the list of items in good condition. The management plan must also include measures to ensure the integrity, reliability and availability of the relevant structures, equipment and property, and arrangements and schedules for inspections, testing, maintenance and repair.

Decommissioning of licence infrastructure and remediation

Management plans must describe how the licence holder intends to decommission infrastructure and how relevant structures, equipment and property will be removed from the licence area. A management plan should also describe how the licence area will be remediated.

Other matters

• Emergency management: Emergency management must be addressed in management plans, including the identification and analysis of potential emergencies, measures to reduce their likelihood, and a detailed emergency response plan. The plan must also cover testing arrangements and ensure that those who may be involved in an emergency scenario receive appropriate instruction, information and emergency training.
• Compliance with financial security requirements: The management plan must describe how the licence holder complies with financial security requirements, including the method for calculating financial security amounts and verification of this method. It must also detail the forms and amounts of financial security provided or to be provided.
• Compliance with record-keeping requirements: The plan must address compliance with record-keeping requirements, including how accounts, records, and documents will be maintained and made available for inspection.
• Work health and safety: The plan must describe the obligations under the applied work health and safety provisions and how the licence holder will comply with these obligations.

The content requirements for management plans are intended to be robust, detailed, and capable of addressing all relevant aspects of project management, from environmental protection to stakeholder engagement and emergency response.

Compliance with these regulations is essential for OIR approval of management plans.

Want to know more?

• Australia opens applications for offshore wind transmission licences (5 March 2025)
• Australia finalises new regulations for offshore wind projects (19 February 2025)
• Australia's offshore wind industry: 2024 year in review (11 February 2025)
• Minister's refusal to grant an Offshore Wind Feasibility Licence overturned (23 December 2024)
• Feasibility Licences for Offshore Wind Projects (9 November 2023)
• Offshore Wind: What you need to know when applying for an offshore electricity infrastructure licence (18 November 2022)
• Australian Parliament passes the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill 2021 (3 December 2021)
• Offshore wind New framework for offshore electricity infrastructure (10 September 2021)

Authors: Jeff Lynn, Partner; Anna Seddon, Senior Associate; Fergus Calwell, Lawyer and Miranda Aprile, Lawyer.