Amending the Gas Act
A bill to amend the Gas Act 1992 which will improve information disclosure and increase the maximum financial penalty for breaching regulations has been introduced to Parliament.
On this page
The Gas (Information and disclosure Penalties) Amendment Bill (hyperlink to parliament website) has incorporated feedback received after the release of the consultation document titled “Options for amending the Gas Act 1992”.
The amendments are a response to the issues that were identified in the wake of multiple outages at the Pohokura gas field which restricted the supply of gas and led to high prices on the gas spot market, as well as higher wholesale electricity prices.
The bill also seeks to increase the maximum fine, from $20,000 to $200,000, that the Gas Rulings Panel can impose for breaching gas governance regulations to bring it in line with similar legislation.
MBIE is also continue to investigate what changes, if any, to the regulations under the Act may be needed to ensure that it does not pose a barrier to projects for developing hydrogen and biogas.
Related information
Gas (Information and disclosure Penalties) Amendment Bill(external link)
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Gas Act 1992: Information Disclosure and Penalties - Regulatory Impact Summary [PDF 187KB]
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Departmental disclosure statement: Gas (Information Disclosure and Penalties) Amendment Bill [PDF 74KB]
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Discussion document: Options for amending the Gas Act 1992 [PDF 385KB]
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Summary of Submissions: Options for amending the Gas Act 1992 discussion document [PDF 321KB]