112 Access authorities
(1) A permittee, lessee or licensee may make an application to the
Minister for the grant of an access authority to enable him to carry
on in an area, being part of an adjacent area that is not part of a
permit area, lease area or licence area, petroleum exploration
operations or operations related to the recovery of petroleum in or
from the permit area, lease area or licence area.
(1A) A holder of a State title may make an application to the Minister for
the grant of an access authority to enable the holder to carry on, in
a part of the adjacent area, petroleum exploration operations or
operations related to the recovery of petroleum in or from the area
to which that State title relates.
(1B) The holder of a special prospecting authority may make an
application to the Minister for the grant of an access authority to
enable the applicant to carry on petroleum exploration operations in
an area, being part of the adjacent area not included in any block
that is the subject of the special prospecting authority.
(1C) The holder of a permit, lease, licence or special prospecting
authority may make an application to the Minister for the grant of an
access authority to enable the applicant to carry on, in a block or
blocks within an adjoining adjacent area:
(a) petroleum exploration operations; or
Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1981 112
(b) where the applicant is the holder of a permit, lease or licence,
operations related to the recovery of petroleum in or from any
block within the adjacent area that is the subject of the permit,
lease or licence.
(c) shall specify the operations that the applicant proposes to
carry on and the area in which the applicant proposes to carry
on those operations; and
(d) may set out any other matters that the applicant wishes the
(3) The Minister may:
(a) if he is satisfied that it is necessary or desirable to do so for
the more effective exercise of the rights, or for the proper
performance of the duties, of a permittee, lessee, licensee,
holder of a special prospecting authority or holder of a state
title who has made an application under this section, grant to
him an access authority subject to such conditions as the
Minister thinks fit and specifies in the access authority; and
(b) at any time, by notice in writing served on the registered
holder of an access authority so granted, vary the access
authority.
(4) Subject to subsection (4AA), the Minister shall not grant an access
authority on an application made under a provision of this section
other than subsection (1C) in respect of a block that is the subject
of a permit, lease, licence or special prospecting authority of which
the registered holder is a person other than the applicant, or vary
such an access authority as in force in respect of a block that is the
subject of a permit, lease, licence or special prospecting authority of
which the registered holder is a person other than the registered
holder of the access authority, unless:
(a) he has, by notice in writing served on that person, given not
less than one month's notice of his intention to grant or vary,
as the case may be, the access authority;
(b) he has served a copy of the notice:
(i) on such other persons, if any, as he thinks fit; and
Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1981 113
(ii) in a case where he intends to vary an access authority –
on the registered holder of the access authority;
(i) given particulars of the access authority proposed to be
granted, or of the variation proposed to be made, as the
case may be; and
(ii) specified a date on or before which a person on whom
the notice, or a copy of the notice, is served may, by
(d) he has taken into account any matters submitted to him under
paragraph (c) on or before the specified date by a person on
whom the first-mentioned notice, or a copy of that notice, has
been served.
(4AA) Subsection (4) does not apply if the holder of the permit, lease,
licence or special prospecting authority has consented in writing to
the grant of the access authority.
(4A) The Minister shall not grant or vary an access authority on an
application under subsection (1C) without the approval of the
Minister of State administering the corresponding law in respect of
the adjoining adjacent area within which the block or blocks to be
specified in the access authority is or are situated.
(4B) Where the approval of the Minister is sought in respect of:
(a) an application under a corresponding law for the grant of an
access authority in respect of a block within the adjacent area
that is the subject of a permit, lease, licence or special
prospecting authority of which the registered holder is a
person other than the applicant; or
(b) a proposal to vary an access authority granted on an
application under a corresponding law in respect of a block
within the adjacent area that is the subject of a permit, lease,
licence or special prospecting authority of which the registered
holder is a person other than the registered holder of the
access authority,
the Minister shall not approve the grant or the variation unless:
(c) the Minister has, by instrument in writing served on that
person, given not less than one month's notice of the intention
to grant or vary, as the case may be, the access authority;
Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1981 114
(d) a copy of the instrument has been served:
(i) on such other persons, if any, as the Minister thinks fit;
and
(ii) where it is proposed to vary an access authority – on the
registered holder of the access authority;
(e) the instrument gives:
(i) particulars of the access authority that it is proposed to
grant or vary, as the case may be; and
(ii) notice that a person on whom the instrument, or a copy
of the instrument, has been served may, by instrument in
writing served on the Minister on or before the date
specified in the instrument, submit any matters that the
person wishes the Minister to consider; and
(f) the Minister has taken into account any matters submitted in
accordance with the notice referred to in paragraph (e)(ii).
(5) An access authority, while it remains in force, authorizes the holder,
subject to this Act and the Regulations and in accordance with the
conditions to which the access authority is subject, to carry on, in
the area specified in the access authority, the operations so
(6) Nothing in an access authority authorizes the holder to make a well.
(7) An access authority comes into force on the day specified for the
purpose in the access authority and, unless surrendered or
cancelled, remains in force for such period as is so specified but
may be extended by the Minister for a further period.
(8) An access authority:
(a) may be surrendered by the holder at any time by notice in
writing served on the Minister; and
(b) may be cancelled by the Minister at any time by notice in
writing served on the holder and on any person in whose
permit area, lease area or licence area operations may be
carried on in pursuance of the access authority.
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(9) Where an access authority has been surrendered or cancelled or
has expired, the Minister may, by notice in writing served on the
person who was the holder of the access authority, direct that
person to do any one or more of the following things:
concerned in the operations authorized by the access
authority or to make arrangements that are satisfactory to the
Minister with respect to that property;
(b) subject to this Part and to the Regulations, to make provision,
(c) to make good, to the satisfaction of the Minister, any damage
(10) A person to whom a direction is given under subsection (9) shall
(11) The holder of an access authority shall, if the access authority is in
force in respect of an area that consists of, or includes, a block that
is the subject of a permit, lease or licence of which he is not the
registered holder, furnish to the registered holder of that permit,
lease or licence, within 28 days after the end of each month during
which the access authority is in force in respect of that block, a full
report, in writing, of the operations carried on in that block during
that month and a summary of the facts ascertained from those
operations.
(12) Section 108 applies to and in relation to an access authority as if:
(a) a reference in that section to a permit were a reference to an
access authority; and
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(b) a reference in that section to a direction or an arrangement
under section 107 were a reference to a direction or an
arrangement under subsection (9).
(13) In this section:
adjoining adjacent area means an adjacent area (within the
meaning of a corresponding law) that adjoins the adjacent area.
State Title means an authority, however described, under a law of
the Commonwealth, Western Australia or Queensland, to explore
for, or to recover, petroleum.