Key Points:
The Bill has harmonised the framework for work health
and safety regulation across all onshore resource industries in
NSW, and has brought much needed clarity to regulation of the
petroleum industry.
A Bill recently passed by NSW State Parliament aligns work
health and safety laws at petroleum sites with existing WHS laws
for mine sites and strengthens the powers of work health and safety
inspectors.
The reform package
On 21 October 2015 a package of five Bills to reform mining and
petroleum laws was passed by State Parliament.
As we noted when they were introduced, this heralds significant
changes for current and future mining and petroleum
projects.
The Bills overhaul the existing regulatory framework which, as
identified by Mr Roberts in his second reading speech, was
"outmoded, overlapping and increasingly complex" and
contributed to "a loss of investment and community confidence
in the resources sector." The regulatory revamp
