Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Pipelines Regulations 1970 (Western Australia)

These Western Australian regulations set administrative and operating requirements for pipeline licensees. They prescribe fees, electronic service and lodgment rules, pipeline surveys and signs, incident response and reporting, and annual reports on pipeline integrity. They also address approvals and transfers of licences, and cover petroleum and greenhouse gas substances. The requirements affect licensees and applicants, with some decisions assigned to the Minister or inspectors.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Zoe can make mistakes; before relying on it or acting on it, have a qualified Australian lawyer check it.

The supplied instrument is the Western Australian Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Pipelines Regulations 1970. It sets out administrative, operational, reporting and fee requirements that supplement the Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Pipelines Act 1969 (the Act). The Act itself is not reproduced here, so this note explains the regulations and their express references to the Act, but does not attempt to describe the Act’s full licensing, approval, inspection or enforcement framework.

The regulations prescribe substances treated as petroleum for a purpose under the Act, fees, an approved transfer form and information required for certain dealing instruments (regs 3, 4, 4C and 4D). They also establish electronic service and lodgment arrangements (regs 5 and 6), require pipeline surveys and signs (regs 18 and 20), give inspectors a role in examining pipeline construction and seeking rectification (regs 21 and 22), and impose response and reporting duties following certain escapes or ignitions (reg 23).

A later group of provisions creates annual pipeline performance reporting. A licensee generally gives the Minister a report within 30 days after the licence reporting period ends, unless the Minister authorises another period (reg 27). Related provisions address combined reports, reports for part-years, and transitional treatment for existing or terminated pipeline activities (regs 28 to 32). Regulation 33 deals with specified transfer and dealing applications that remained unresolved when amendments to the Act commenced.

The instrument allocates costs and decisions in concrete ways. Licensees pay prescribed application and registry fees, prepare specified operational information, and carry survey, signage, response and reporting obligations. The Minister sets some standards, may authorise alternative reporting arrangements, may require hard-copy documents, and may direct signage. The text does not itself explain the policy rationale for these mechanisms.

A “document” for service and lodgment includes an application, form, instrument, nomination, notice or submission, as well as any other record of information relating to a pipeline operation (reg 2). That broad definition matters because regs 5 and 6 deal with service and electronic lodgment using this defined term. A pipeline licensee must provide an email address for service. The Minister may serve an attachment at that address, with the time of deemed service governed by whether it was sent before 4.30 pm on a working day (reg 5).

“Petroleum” is not fully defined in the supplied text. Regulation 3 prescribes substances for paragraph (b)(ii) of the definition in s 4(1) of the Act: substances used to assist safe and effective conveyance, including an odorant or anti-corrosive, and a quantity of hydrogen approved by the Minister having regard to pipeline integrity. The provision does not state a general permitted hydrogen percentage or technical test; it ties hydrogen’s inclusion to ministerial approval and pipeline integrity.

“Reporting period” means a year of the licence term, or another 12-month period agreed to in writing by the Minister (reg 27(3)). An annual pipeline performance report is a report required under reg 27(1). The report must contain information demonstrating the licensee’s performance in maintaining pipeline integrity; it may also include other information the licensee considers relevant to the title (reg 27(2)).

Regulation 4D defines a “related dealing” by reference to earlier transactions affecting the licence and creating or assigning an option or right to enter the later dealing, or being altered or terminated by it. The required instrument particulars include information about those related dealings. These definitions shape the information that must be identified and reported; they do not, by themselves, set out the full approval rules in the Act.

The principal regulated party in the supplied provisions is the pipeline licensee. The licensee carries the survey, signposting, incident response, incident reporting and annual performance reporting obligations (regs 18, 20, 23 and 27). Other provisions refer to a “licence holder”, including where a licence ends part-way through a year and the Minister gives notice requiring a report (reg 29). The regulations do not explain whether every use of “licence holder” has a distinct legal meaning from “licensee”; the Act may provide relevant context.

Applicants and parties to licence transfers or dealings are also affected. Schedule 3 lists fees for licence applications and variations, registrations of transfers and dealings, inspections of the register, copies and extracts, and certificates. Regulation 4C prescribes a transfer instrument form. Regulation 4D requires information about the dealing, licence, parties, interests before and after registration, and specified related dealings. The Fourth Schedule form requires the transferor, licence number, consideration or value, transferee details, execution date and signatures or seals.

The Minister has several decision-making or administrative roles under the regulations. The Minister may approve a hydrogen quantity by reference to pipeline integrity, direct survey standards or signs, authorise a different annual reporting period, agree to a different 12-month reporting period, agree to combining reports, require hard-copy lodgment, and issue a notice requiring a part-year report (regs 3, 6, 18, 20, 27 to 29). An inspector may examine specified construction or installation phases and request rectification, and may recommend that permission to operate be refused if the request is not complied with (regs 21 and 22).

The provisions may also affect parties who need access to the register or official copies, because fees apply to inspection, copies, extracts and certificates (Schedule 3). The supplied text does not identify the wider public, landholders, contractors or emergency services as direct duty-holders under these particular regulations.

A licensee must arrange a survey to the standard directed by the Minister to locate the pipeline precisely, and lodge a copy with the Minister (reg 18). It must erect and maintain signs at pipeline entry and exit points at highways, roads, railways, rivers, streams and dry creek beds, and at any other point directed by the Minister. If a marked pipeline is removed from the situation that required the marking, the licensee must remove the signs (reg 20). Each of regs 18 and 20 states a maximum fine of $5,000 for the relevant breach.

When a licensee becomes aware of an escape or ignition of petroleum or a greenhouse gas substance conveyed in the pipeline, it must immediately take action necessary to minimise the loss and pollution of surrounding land and water (reg 23(1)(b)). After repair, it must immediately give the Minister a written report stating the time and place, approximate quantity escaped, resulting damage, known contributing conditions, and repair methods (reg 23(2)). The stated penalty is a fine of $5,000, applicable to subregs (1) and (2).

A licensee must give an annual pipeline performance report within 30 days after the reporting period ends, unless the Minister authorises another period (reg 27(1)). The report must demonstrate performance in maintaining pipeline integrity. A report for a terminated licence’s incomplete final year is required only if the Minister gives written notice; that notice must specify a due date at least 30 days after it is given (reg 29). The stated penalty for non-compliance with regs 27(1) and 29(4) is $10,000.

Regulation 26 requires an operational procedure plan to accompany an application for consent to operate under Act s 36. Electronic lodgment is permitted, but the Minister may later require hard copy (reg 6). The regulations also establish timing rules: an email sent after 4.30 pm or on a non-working day is taken to be served on the next working day; electronic lodgment after 4.30 pm and before 8.30 am is taken to occur at 8.30 am on the next working day (regs 5 and 6).

The express monetary penalties in the supplied regulations are $5,000 for the survey duty in reg 18, the sign duties in reg 20(1) and (2), and the immediate response and post-repair reporting duties in reg 23(1) and (2). A $10,000 penalty applies to reg 27(1), which requires an annual pipeline performance report within the applicable period, and reg 29(4), which requires compliance with a written notice for a part-year report. The text states fines, but does not specify in these provisions how a prosecution is commenced, what defences may apply, or how a court would assess a particular breach.

Regulations 21 and 22 establish a separate administrative pathway relating to construction, modification, reconstruction or installation. For purposes of the Act other than a listed OSH law, an inspector may examine or inquire into any phase of that work and request that the licensee rectify work not in accord with the Act (reg 21). If the request is not complied with, the inspector may recommend that the Minister refuse permission to operate the pipeline (reg 22). The wording gives the inspector a power to recommend; it does not say the inspector personally refuses permission, nor does it specify in this regulation the Minister’s decision process.

Other compliance mechanisms are administrative rather than stated as fines. The Minister may require hard-copy lodgment after electronic lodgment (reg 6(3)), direct survey standards and signage (regs 18 and 20), and require a report for a final part-year period by written notice (reg 29). Failure to comply with the inspector’s request is linked expressly to a possible recommendation about permission to operate, rather than to a specific fine in reg 22.

Regulation 24 preserves a transitional time-limit rule for offences committed before the commencement of s 29(1) of the Petroleum Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2005. It provides that the earlier version of s 21(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2004 applies to those offences as if the amendment had not been enacted. The supplied text does not state the former time limit, so its length cannot be identified from this source alone.

The regulations operate by reference to the Act and several other statutes, but the supplied material does not reproduce those statutes. The Act is the central framework: the regulations refer to its definition of petroleum in s 4(1), licence applications and variations, transfers under s 44, dealings under s 47, consent to operate under s 36, registration and register provisions, and s 68(2). Those cross-references identify subjects governed by the Act; they are not a substitute for reading the relevant Act provisions.

Regulation 3 expands the substances prescribed for one limb of the Act’s petroleum definition. It includes safe-conveyance additives and minister-approved hydrogen quantities, with the approval having regard to pipeline integrity. This means the regulations’ scope can depend on both the Act’s definition and, for hydrogen, a ministerial decision. The text does not set out the approval procedure or criteria beyond pipeline integrity.

The transfer provisions connect the prescribed form and information requirements to ss 44 and 47 of the Act. Regulation 4C prescribes the Fourth Schedule instrument for s 44(3)(a). Regulation 4D specifies particulars for an instrument under s 47(4)(b), including information about related dealings. Schedule 3 separately prescribes fees for registration under ss 44(9), 45(2), 45(3)(b) and 47(12). The Act determines the legal steps to which these regulations attach; those steps cannot be fully reconstructed from the regulations alone.

Regulation 21 expressly excludes a “listed OSH law” from the stated inspector power, but the supplied text does not define that expression. Regulation 24 refers to the Criminal Procedure Act 2004. Regulation 33 gives transitional effect to specified amendments made by Part 3 of the Petroleum Legislation Amendment Act 2024, for certain transfer and dealing applications unresolved on the amendment day. It also identifies s 176 of that Act as fixing the amendment day. The compilation table records commencement dates for instruments, but does not explain their broader relationship with other regulatory regimes.

The compilation table records the regulations’ original publication on 30 July 1970 and commencement on that date. It then lists amendments from 1983 onwards. The 1983 amendment commenced on 11 November 1983; the 1990 amendment commenced on 1 October 1990 and is associated with provisions on the prescribed amount, transfer form and dealing particulars. The table also records amendments in 1993 and 1994, the latter including deletions, and amendments in 2000, 2002 and 2003.

Several amendments in 2009 and 2010 had staged commencement dates. The 2009 instrument’s rules 1 and 2 commenced on 23 June 2009, with the remaining regulations commencing on 1 July 2009. The 2010 instruments likewise include separate commencement dates, including changes taking effect on 10 February, 12 May, 15 May and 17 July 2010. The compilation records reprints as at 18 May 2001, 13 August 2010 and 13 July 2018. Later fee-related amendments are listed for each year from 2011 through 2025, commonly commencing on 1 July.

The supplied consolidated text attributes substantial changes to SL 2026/82, including insertion or amendment of regs 1 to 3, 5, 6, 23 and 27 to 33. The compilation table says that instrument commenced on 28 May 2026. SL 2026/124 amended the prescribed amount in reg 4B and Schedule 3 fees, with the compilation table giving 1 July 2026 as its commencement date. Those dates and amounts are reported as stated in the supplied compilation, not independently verified.

The amendments are mechanically significant in two areas: electronic administration and pipeline performance reporting. The text supplies no explanatory memorandum or stated policy rationale for those changes. It therefore supports describing what the amendments insert and their effective dates, but not attributing a purpose beyond what the provisions themselves do.

The supplied material contains no court or tribunal decisions, case names, citations, reported judgments or summaries of litigation interpreting these regulations. It is therefore not possible from this source to describe a litigation history, identify judicial interpretations, or say whether any provision has been challenged. The absence of cases from the supplied extract should not be read as proof that no relevant proceedings exist; it only means that no such material is provided here.

The regulations do identify several questions that could arise in the administration or enforcement of the scheme, but those are textual issues, not findings about actual disputes. For example, reg 5 deems service to occur on the sending day only if an email is sent before 4.30 pm on a working day, and otherwise on the next working day. Reg 6 applies a different timing rule to electronic lodgment, treating documents lodged after 4.30 pm and before 8.30 am as lodged at 8.30 am on the next working day. The extract does not discuss disputes about delivery failures, system outages or the interaction of deemed timing with deadlines in the Act.

Other potentially material matters include what constitutes adequate information demonstrating pipeline integrity under reg 27(2), what action is “necessary” to minimise loss and pollution under reg 23(1)(b), and what survey standard the Minister may direct under reg 18. The text does not include judicial guidance on those phrases or the relevant Act provisions that may inform them.

Regulation 24 addresses the applicable procedural time-limit rule for older offences, but does not provide the former limitation period or any case applying it. A litigation review would require sources beyond this compilation, including relevant court databases and the Act provisions in force at the material time. No case or legal principle is asserted here because none is named in the supplied source.

The Act is not included in the supplied text. That matters because several regulations depend on Act provisions whose operative tests and procedures are not reproduced. For example, the regulations prescribe a form for a transfer under s 44 and particulars for an instrument associated with s 47, but the complete transfer and dealing approval requirements must be checked in the Act. Likewise, the regulations refer to a licence application, licence variation, consent to operate, register entries and prescribed amount without setting out all the underlying statutory rules.

The electronic timing rules are not identical. Under reg 5, an email served before 4.30 pm on a working day is taken to have been served that day; otherwise, it is taken to have been served on the next working day. Under reg 6(2), an electronic lodgment made after 4.30 pm and before 8.30 am is taken to have been lodged at 8.30 am on the next working day. The provision does not specify how lodgments at exactly 4.30 pm or exactly 8.30 am are treated. The supplied text also does not address outages or failed transmission.

The annual report’s 30-day deadline runs from the end of the reporting period, unless the Minister authorises another period (reg 27(1)). A different 12-month reporting period requires written agreement (reg 27(3)). Combining reports for multiple licences also requires the Minister’s written agreement (reg 28). For a licence ending with a part-year period, the report is not automatic under reg 29: the Minister may require it by written notice, with at least 30 days between notice and due date.

Transitional provisions need close attention. Regulations 31 and 32 temporarily defer specified obligations for existing or terminated pipeline activities in defined circumstances. Regulation 33 addresses only applications meeting its stated conditions, including that neither registration nor a specified refusal decision occurred before amendment day. The supplied extract also shows a $239 prescribed amount and fees amended in 2026; the compilation gives different commencement dates for the 2026 instruments, so the relevant date matters.

The regulations can be translated into a practical obligation map, while the exact legal position for any particular pipeline depends on the Act and the relevant facts. For an operating licence, the recurring tasks in the supplied text include maintaining an email address for service (reg 5), arranging and lodging a survey to the Minister’s directed standard (reg 18), erecting and maintaining required signs and removing them when the marking need ends (reg 20), and preparing an operational procedure plan with an application for consent to operate under s 36 of the Act (reg 26).

Incident response has both an immediate and a post-repair component. Once aware of an escape or ignition of petroleum or a greenhouse gas substance being conveyed in the pipeline, the licensee must immediately take necessary action to minimise loss and pollution. After repair, it must immediately submit the specified written information to the Minister (reg 23). The information categories are time and place, approximate quantity, damage, known causal or contributing conditions, and repair methods. The regulations do not prescribe a particular report form in the supplied text.

For performance reporting, the relevant period is normally a year of the licence term. A different 12-month period requires the Minister’s written agreement (reg 27(3)). The report is due within 30 days of period end unless another period is authorised, and must demonstrate performance in maintaining pipeline integrity (reg 27). Multiple reports may be combined only with written agreement (reg 28). If a licence ends part-way through a year, a final report is required if the Minister gives written notice under reg 29, and the notice must allow at least 30 days.

Administrative records can capture the applicable reporting period, submission date and deemed lodgment time, fee items, transfer or dealing documents, and any ministerial directions or written agreements. That is a description of the requirements, not a finding that any person has complied. The source text does not state the complete Act requirements or address every circumstance. This is general legal information, not legal advice; Zoe can make mistakes. Before acting on or relying on it, have a qualified Australian lawyer check it.

CrestWestern Australia

Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Pipelines Act 1969

Contents

1.Citation1

2.Term used1

3.Additives to petroleum1

4.Fees2

4B.Prescribed amount for Act s. 29(1)2

4C.Instrument of transfer under Act s. 44(3)(a)2

4D.Instrument under Act s. 47(4)(b)3

5.Service of documents4

6.Lodging documents through Department’s website5

18.Surveys of pipelines to be made and lodged5

20.Pipeline’s position to be signposted5

21.Inspector’s powers6

22.Disobeying inspector, consequence of6

23.Pipeline failures and fires, duties of licensee6

24.Transitional provision — time for bringing proceedings for offences committed before certain amendments7

26.Plan of operational procedure to be submitted with application under Act s. 368

27.Requirement to provide annual pipeline performance report8

28.Reports may be combined9

29.Pipeline performance report for part of year9

30.Terms used10

31.Existing pipeline activities10

32.Terminated pipeline activity10

33.Transitional provisions relating to Petroleum Legislation Amendment Act 202411

Schedule 3 — Fees

Fourth Schedule

Notes

Compilation table15

Other notes17

Defined terms

Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Pipelines Act 1969

1.Citation

These regulations are the Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Pipelines Regulations 1970.

[Regulation 1 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 79.]

2.Term used

In these regulations —

document, in relation to service and lodgment —

(a)means an application, a form, an instrument, a nomination, a notice or a submission; and

(b)includes any other record of information with respect to a pipeline operation.

[Regulation 2 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 80.]

3.Additives to petroleum

For the purpose of paragraph (b)(ii) of the definition of petroleum in section 4(1) of the Act, each of the following is prescribed —

(a)a substance to assist the safe and effective conveyance of petroleum through a pipeline (such as an odorant or an anti‑corrosive); or

(b)hydrogen of a quantity that is approved by the Minister having regard to the integrity of a pipeline.

[Regulation 3 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 80.]

4.Fees

The several fees set out in Schedule 3 are prescribed for the respective purposes mentioned in that Schedule.

[Regulation 4 inserted: Gazette 11 Nov 1983 p. 4543; amended: SL 2022/58 r. 24.]

[4A.Deleted: Gazette 22 Jul 1994 p. 3780.]

4B.Prescribed amount for Act s. 29(1)

For the purposes of section 29(1) of the Act, the prescribed amount is an amount of $239.00.

[Regulation 4B inserted: Gazette 28 Sep 1990 p. 5103; amended: Gazette 27 Jun 2000 p. 3251; 28 June 2002 p. 3096; 28 Feb 2003 p. 671; 23 Jun 2009 p. 2479; 9 Feb 2010 p. 269; 11 May 2010 p. 1823; 1 Jul 2011 p. 2740; 12 Jun 2012 p. 2458; 25 Feb 2014 p. 503; 17 Jun 2014 p. 1987; 30 Jun 2015 p. 2351; 24 Jun 2016 p. 2334; 23 Jun 2017 p. 3308; 25 Jun 2018 p. 2323; 18 Jun 2019 p. 2055; SL 2020/93 r. 20; SL 2025/90 r. 23; SL 2026/124 r. 10.]

[4BA.Deleted: Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2019.]

4C.Instrument of transfer under Act s. 44(3)(a)

For the purposes of section 44(3)(a) of the Act, the approved form of an instrument of transfer is the form set out in the Fourth Schedule.

[Regulation 4C inserted: Gazette 28 Sep 1990 p. 5103; amended: SL 2026/82 r. 81.]

4D.Instrument under Act s. 47(4)(b)

(1)For the purposes of section 47(4)(b) of the Act, the following particulars are prescribed —

(a)description and date of execution of the instrument evidencing the dealing referred to in section 47(4)(a) of the Act (in this subregulation referred to as the dealing);

(b)details of the licence (including the number of the licence) to which the dealing relates;

(c)full name and business address of each party to the dealing;

(d)details of the effect or effects, on registration, of the dealing specified in the relevant paragraph or paragraphs of section 47(1) of the Act;

(e)details of the interest or interests in the licence of all parties to the dealing —

(i)before the registration of the dealing; and

(ii)in the event of approval of the dealing, after the registration of the dealing;

(f)in respect of any related dealing in relation to which an entry has been made in the register or an application in writing for approval by the Minister has been lodged (whether before or after the day fixed under section 2(1) of the Acts Amendment (Petroleum) Act 1990 1) —

(i)description and date of execution of the instrument evidencing the dealing; and

(ii)date of approval by the Minister (if appropriate); and

(iii)registration number (if any).

(2)In subregulation (1) —

related dealing means any dealing executed, before the execution of the instrument evidencing the dealing referred to in subregulation (1)(a), by some or all of the parties to that instrument —

(a)that affects the licence which is the subject of the dealing to which the instrument referred to in subregulation (1)(a) relates; and

(b)that —

(i)creates or assigns an option to enter into the dealing referred to in subregulation (1)(a); or

(ii)creates or assigns a right to enter into the dealing referred to in subregulation (1)(a); or

(iii)is altered or terminated by the dealing referred to in subregulation (1)(a),

and includes any transaction in respect of which an instrument was registered under section 47 of the Act before the day fixed under section 2(1) of the Acts Amendment (Petroleum) Act 1990 1.

[Regulation 4D inserted: Gazette 28 Sep 1990 p. 5103‑4.]

5.Service of documents

(1)A pipeline licensee must provide an email address for the service of documents by electronic means.

(2)If the Minister is required to serve a document on the licensee, the Minister may serve the document as an email attachment to the email address provided by the licensee.

(3)A document served by email on a licensee is taken to have been served —

(a)if it is sent before 4.30 pm on a working day — on that day; or

(b)otherwise — on the next working day.

[Regulation 5 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 82.]

6.Lodging documents through Department’s website

(1)A document that is required under the Act to be lodged may be lodged as an electronic version by means of the Department’s website.

(2)A document that is lodged electronically after 4.30 pm on a working day and before 8.30 am on the next working day is taken to have been lodged at 8.30 am on that next working day.

(3)The Minister may at any time require a person who has lodged a document electronically to lodge it in hard copy form at the Department’s customer service counter at Mineral House, 100 Plain Street, East Perth WA 6004.

[Regulation 6 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 82.]

[4E, 4F.Deleted: Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2019.]

[7, 8.Deleted: Gazette 11 Nov 1983 p. 4543.]

[9‑17.Deleted: Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2019.]

18.Surveys of pipelines to be made and lodged

For the purpose of precisely locating a pipeline, the licensee shall cause to be made a survey to a standard as directed by the Minister, and a copy of such survey shall be lodged by the licensee with the Minister.

Penalty: a fine of $5 000.

[Regulation 18 amended: Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2019.]

[19.Deleted: Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2019.]

20.Pipeline’s position to be signposted

(1)Signs of such a kind as the Minister generally or in any special case directs under the Act, shall be erected by the licensee and maintained at each point where a pipeline enters or leaves the limits of a highway, road, railway, river, stream or dry creek bed and at any other point so directed by the Minister.

(2)When a pipeline that is marked as provided by this regulation or the direction of the Minister is removed from the situation that necessitated its being so marked, the signs shall be removed by the licensee.

Penalty applicable to subregulations (1) and (2): a fine of $5 000.

[Regulation 20 amended: Gazette 22 Jul 1994 p. 3780; 14 May 2010 p. 2019.]

21.Inspector’s powers

An inspector, for the purposes of the Act other than a listed OSH law, may examine or inquire into any phase of a construction, modification or reconstruction of a pipeline or the installation of any component part of any pipeline, and may request rectification by the licensee of any part of the construction, modification, reconstruction or installation that is not in accord with the Act.

[Regulation 21 amended: Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2020.]

22.Disobeying inspector, consequence of

Where any request by an inspector under regulation 21 is not complied with by the licensee the inspector may recommend that permission to operate the pipeline should be refused by the Minister.

23.Pipeline failures and fires, duties of licensee

(1)Immediately a licensee becomes aware of the escape or ignition from a pipeline of petroleum or a greenhouse gas substance being conveyed in the pipeline, the licensee —

[(a)deleted]

(b)shall take such action as is necessary to minimise the loss of the petroleum or a greenhouse gas substance from the pipeline and the pollution of surrounding lands and water.

(2)Where the pipeline is repaired after the escape of the petroleum or a greenhouse gas substance or ignition of petroleum or a greenhouse gas substance from the pipeline, the licensee must immediately submit a written report to the Minister giving full information as to —

(a)the time and place of the escape or ignition of the petroleum or a greenhouse gas substance; and

(b)the approximate quantity of petroleum or a greenhouse gas substance that escaped; and

(c)the damage resulting from the escape or ignition of the petroleum or a greenhouse gas substance; and

(d)the conditions that caused or contributed to the escape or ignition of the petroleum or a greenhouse gas substance if they are known; and

(e)the methods adopted to carry out the repairs to the pipeline.

Penalty applicable to subregulations (1) and (2): a fine of $5 000.

[Regulation 23 amended: Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2020; SL 2026/82 r. 83.]

24.Transitional provision — time for bringing proceedings for offences committed before certain amendments

section 29(1) means the Petroleum Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2005 section 29(1) (which inserts section 66BA of the Act).

(2)The Criminal Procedure Act 2004 section 21(2) as in effect immediately before the commencement of section 29(1) applies to an offence against the Petroleum Pipelines Act 1969 committed before that commencement as if section 29(1) had not been enacted.

[Regulation 24 inserted: Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2020‑1.]

[25.Deleted: Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2021.]

26.Plan of operational procedure to be submitted with application under Act s. 36

A licensee shall attach to his application for consent to operate a pipeline under section 36 of the Act, a plan of the operational procedure that the applicant proposes to follow in operating the pipeline.

27.Requirement to provide annual pipeline performance report

(1)A licensee must give the Minister a report (an annual pipeline performance report) for a reporting period for the licence within —

(a)30 days after the day on which the reporting period for the licence ends; or

(b)if the Minister authorises the licensee to give the annual pipeline performance report within another period — the other period.

Penalty for this subregulation: a fine of $10 000.

(2)An annual pipeline performance report must contain information that demonstrates the performance of the licensee in maintaining the integrity of the pipeline and may include any other information that the licensee believes is relevant to the title.

(3)For the purposes of this regulation and regulation 29, a reporting period for the licence is either —

(a)a year of the term of the licence; or

(b)if the Minister gives written agreement to a different 12‑month period, the different period.

[Regulation 27 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 84.]

28.Reports may be combined

A licensee with more than 1 licence may combine the annual pipeline performance reports into a single document with the written agreement of the Minister.

[Regulation 28 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 84.]

29.Pipeline performance report for part of year

(1)This regulation applies if —

(a)a licence ceases to be in force (whether the licence has expired or been cancelled, revoked, surrendered or terminated); and

(b)the term of the licence was not a whole number of years.

(2)The Minister may, by written notice, require the licence holder to give a pipeline performance report to the Minister for the reporting period at the end of the term that was not a year of the term.

(3)The notice must specify the date by which the report must be given, which date must be at least 30 days after the day on which the notice is given.

(4)A licence holder must comply with a notice given to the licence holder under subregulation (2).

Penalty for this subregulation: a fine of $10 000.

[Regulation 29 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 84.]

30.Terms used

In this regulation and regulations 31 and 32 —

commencement day means the day on which section 27 comes into operation;

transitional period means the period of 12 months beginning on commencement day.

[Regulation 30 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 84.]

31.Existing pipeline activities

existing pipeline activity means a pipeline activity undertaken by a licence holder before commencement day that continues on or after that day.

(2)Regulation 27(1) does not apply in relation to an existing pipeline activity until — in the case where, before the end of the transitional period, the licence holder undertaking the pipeline activity is due to give its first annual pipeline performance report — the day after the end of the transitional period.

[Regulation 31 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 84.]

32.Terminated pipeline activity

terminated pipeline activity means a pipeline activity for which the licence has expired or been cancelled, revoked, surrendered or terminated.

(2)Regulation 29(2) does not apply in relation to a terminated pipeline activity until — in the case where, before the end of the transitional period, the licence holder has received written notice from the Minister requiring the licence holder to give an assessment report to the Minister — the day after the end of the transitional period.

[Regulation 32 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 84.]

33.Transitional provisions relating to Petroleum Legislation Amendment Act 2024

amendment day means the day on which the Petroleum Legislation Amendment Act 2024 section 176 comes into operation.

(2)This regulation is made under section 68(2) of the Act.

(3)Subregulation (4) applies if —

(a)an application for approval of a transfer is made before amendment day under section 44 of the Act; and

(b)neither of the following occurs before amendment day —

(i)the transfer is registered;

(ii)the Minister informs the applicant that the Minister has decided not to approve the transfer.

(4)On and after amendment day —

(a)section 44 of the Act, as amended by the Petroleum Legislation Amendment Act 2024 Part 3, applies in relation to the application and transfer as if the application had been made under section 44 of the Act as so amended; and

(b)for that purpose, in section 44(1), (4), (12) and (13) of the Act, references to an instrument of transfer are to an instrument of transfer that accompanied the application under section 44(3)(a) of the Act as in force before amendment day.

(5)Subregulation (6) applies if —

(a)an application for approval of a dealing is made before amendment day under section 47 of the Act; and

(b)neither of the following occurs before amendment day —

(i)an entry is made in the register in relation to the dealing under section 47(12) of the Act;

(ii)the Minister informs the applicant that the Minister has decided to refuse to approve the dealing.

(6)On and after amendment day —

(a)section 47 of the Act, as amended by the Petroleum Legislation Amendment Act 2024 Part 3, applies in relation to the application and dealing as if the application had been made under section 47 of the Act as so amended; and

(b)for that purpose, in section 47(13)(a) to (c) of the Act, references to an instrument for the purpose of section 47(4)(b) of the Act are to an instrument for the purpose of section 47(4)(b) of the Act as in force before amendment day.

[Regulation 33 inserted: SL 2026/82 r. 84.]

[First Schedule deleted: Gazette 22 Jul 1994 p. 3780.]

[Second Schedule deleted: Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2021.]

Schedule 3 — Fees

[r. 4]

[Heading inserted: SL 2025/90 r. 24.]

Item	Purpose	Provision of Act	Fee ($)
1.	Application for licence	s. 8(l)(j)	8 740.00
2.	Application for variation of licence	s. 15(2)(d)	8 740.00
3.	Registration of memorandum of transfer and name of transferee	s. 44(9)	171.00
4.	Registration as licensee on devolution by operation of law	s. 45(2)	171.00
5.	Application by company licensee for registration of change of name	s. 45(3)(b)	156.00
6.	Registration of approval of dealing	s. 47(12)	171.00
7.	Inspection of register	s. 52(1)	149.00
8.	Copies of or extracts from the register or of or from an instrument certified by Minister	s. 53(2)	149.00 per page
9.	Certificate by Minister as to entry, matter or things under the Act	s. 53(3)	142.00

[Schedule 3 inserted: SL 2025/90 r. 24; amended: SL 2026/124 r. 11.]

Fourth Schedule

(Regulation 4C)

Petroleum Pipelines Act 1969

Petroleum Pipelines Regulations 1970

Form of Instrument of Transfer of Licence

under section 44 of Petroleum Pipelines Act 1969

I/We (1)(2) ................................................................................................................

being the registered holder/holders (1) of (3) ...........................................................

in consideration of (4) .............................................................................................

hereby transfer all right, title and interest in that (3) ...............................................

to (5) ........................................................................................................................

In witness of this transfer the parties to the transfer have affixed their respective common seals or signatures below on this ............................................................

day of ................................... 20 ..........

(6)(7)

(1)Delete whichever is inapplicable.

(2)Here insert the name of the transferor, or, if there are 2 or more transferors, the name of each transferor.

(3)Here insert the number of the licence transferred.

(4)Here insert the value of the consideration for the transfer or the value of the licence transferred. If the transfer of the licence is pursuant to a dealing which has been approved and registered under the Act, insert a reference that is sufficient to identify that dealing.

(5)Here insert the name and address of the transferee, or, if there are 2 or more transferees, the name and address of each transferee.

(6)Here affix the common seal or signature of the transferor or of each transferor, as the case may be.

(7)Here affix the common seal or signature of the transferee or of each transferee, as the case may be.

[Fourth Schedule inserted: Gazette 28 Sep 1990 p. 5105.]

dline

Notes

This is a compilation of the Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Pipelines Regulations 1970 and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation, and for information about any reprints, see the compilation table.

Compilation table

Citation Published Commencement
Petroleum Pipelines Regulations 1970 2 30 Jul 1970 p. 2242‑52 30 Jul 1970
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 1983 11 Nov 1983 p. 4543 11 Nov 1983 (see r. 2 and Gazette 11 Nov 1983 p. 4503)
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 1990 28 Sep 1990 p. 5103‑5 1 Oct 1990 (see r. 2 and Gazette 28 Sep 1990 p. 5099)
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 1993 24 Dec 1993 p. 6832‑3 24 Dec 1993
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 1994 22 Jul 1994 p. 3780 22 Jul 1994 (see r. 2 and Gazette 22 Jul 1994 p. 3728)
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 2000 8 Feb 2000 p. 455‑6 8 Feb 2000
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2000 27 Jun 2000 p. 3251 1 Jul 2000 (see r. 2)
Reprint of the Petroleum Pipelines Regulations 1970 as at 18 May 2001 (includes amendments listed above)
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 2002 28 Jun 2002 p. 3095‑6 1 Jul 2002 (see r. 2)
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 2003 28 Feb 2003 p. 671‑2 28 Feb 2003
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2009 23 Jun 2009 p. 2478‑80 r. 1 and 2: 23 Jun 2009 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2009 (see r. 2(b))
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 2010 9 Feb 2010 p. 269 r. 1 and 2: 9 Feb 2010 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 10 Feb 2010 (see r. 2(b))
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations (No. 3) 2010 11 May 2010 p. 1823‑4 r. 1 and 2: 11 May 2010 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 12 May 2010 (see r. 2(b))
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2010 14 May 2010 p. 2018‑21 r. 1 and 2: 14 May 2010 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 15 May 2010 (see r. 2(b) and Gazette 14 May 2010 p. 2015)
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations (No. 4) 2010 16 Jul 2010 p. 3363‑4 r. 1 and 2: 16 Jul 2010 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 17 Jul 2010 (see r. 2(b)(ii))
Reprint 2: The Petroleum Pipelines Regulations 1970 as at 13 Aug 2010 (includes amendments listed above)
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 2011 1 Jul 2011 p. 2739‑41 r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2011 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2011 (see r. 2(b))
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 2012 12 Jun 2012 p. 2458‑9 r. 1 and 2: 12 Jun 2012 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2012 (see r. 2(b))
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 2014 25 Feb 2014 p. 503 r. 1 and 2: 25 Feb 2014 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 26 Feb 2014 (see r. 2(b))
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2014 17 Jun 2014 p. 1986‑7 r. 1 and 2: 17 Jun 2014 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2014 (see r. 2(b))
Petroleum Pipelines Amendment Regulations 2015 30 Jun 2015 p. 2350‑1 r. 1 and 2: 30 Jun 2015 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2015 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Levies) Regulations 2016 Pt. 14 24 Jun 2016 p. 2325‑34 1 Jul 2016 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2017 Pt. 16 23 Jun 2017 p. 3279‑309 1 Jul 2017 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2018 Pt. 16 25 Jun 2018 p. 2297‑324 1 Jul 2018 (see r. 2(b))
Reprint 3: The Petroleum Pipelines Regulations 1970 as at 13 Jul 2018 (includes amendments listed above)
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2019 Pt. 16 18 Jun 2019 p. 2040‑56 1 Jul 2019 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2020 Pt. 9 SL 2020/93 26 Jun 2020 1 Jul 2020 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2021 Pt. 13 SL 2021/85 21 Jun 2021 1 Jul 2021 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2022 Pt. 10 SL 2022/58 20 May 2022 1 Jul 2022 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2023 Pt. 11 SL 2023/36 5 May 2023 1 Jul 2023 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2024 Pt. 11 SL 2024/97 12 Jun 2024 1 Jul 2024 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2025 Pt. 11 SL 2025/90 11 Jun 2025 1 Jul 2025 (see r. 2(b))
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment Regulations 2026 Pt. 9 SL 2026/82 27 May 2026 28 May 2026 (see r. 2(b) and SL 2026/70 cl. 2)
Mines and Petroleum Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2026 Pt. 4 SL 2026/124 24 Jun 2026 1 Jul 2026 (see r. 2(b))

Other notes

1The day fixed under the Acts Amendment (Petroleum) Act 1990 s. 2(1) was 1 Oct 1990 (see Gazette 28 Sep 1990 p. 5099).

2Now known as the Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Pipelines Regulations 1970; citation changed (see note under r. 1).

Defined terms

[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]

Defined termProvision(s)

amendment day33(1)

annual pipeline performance report27(1)

commencement day30

dealing4D(1)

document2

existing pipeline activity31(1)

related dealing4D(2)

reporting period27(3)

section 29(1)24(1)

terminated pipeline activity32(1)

transitional period30

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). To view relevant information and for a link to a copy of the licence, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au.

Attribute work as: © State of Western Australia 2026.

By Authority: ANDREW JONES, Government Printer

Western Australia

Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Pipelines Act 1969

Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Pipelines Regulations 1970