Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee
Inquiry into Decommissioning Oil and Gas Infrastructure
Referred (Terms of Reference)
The Committee will inquire into the scale and legal ownership structure of Victoria’s oil and gas infrastructure, including offshore wells, pipelines, high-pressure transmission and low pressure distribution systems, and its decommissioning over the coming decades. This will include consideration of onshore works, works in Commonwealth and Victorian waters, how to ensure cost effective decommissioning, and identifying current and potential leaked greenhouse gases.
This inquiry will open for submissions on 18 August 2025. Contact us at oilgasinfrastructure@parliament.vic.gov.au for further information.
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Parliament of Victoria
Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee
Parliament House, Spring Street
EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002
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Terms of reference
The terms of reference are instructions which explain what a committee has been asked to do, what topics it should focus on, and how its members will work together to achieve its shared goals.
On 28 August 2024, the Legislative Council agreed to the following motion:
That the Environment and Planning Committee inquire into, consider and report, by June 2026, on —
(a) the scale and legal ownership structure of Victoria’s oil and gas infrastructure, including offshore wells, pipelines, high-pressure transmission and lowpressure distribution systems, and relevant projects in Commonwealth waters;
(b) the scale and nature of oil and gas infrastructure requiring decommissioning over the coming decades, including onshore works and works in Commonwealth and Victorian waters;
(c) the regulatory powers of the Victorian Government to ensure oil and gas companies deliver planned and timely infrastructure decommissioning;
(d) any actions the Victorian Government can take to ensure oil and gas companies provide sufficiently to cover decommissioning costs;
(e) opportunities for employment in decommissioning;
(f) opportunities for Traditional Owner acknowledgement, consultation and employment where oil and gas infrastructure exists on their ancestral lands and/or Sea Country;
(g) identifying current and potential leaked greenhouse gases from Victoria’s existing and retired oil and gas infrastructure, including relevant projects in Commonwealth waters and the quantity of leaks; and
(h) any actions the Victorian Government can take to cap and otherwise protect the population from leaked greenhouse gases across Victoria’s existing and retired oil and gas infrastructure.