The Bill creates several statutory concepts that operate together. Below are the core definitions and the way they are used in the new regime, with section citations.

• Condamine Alluvium CSG area: Defined in the Regional Planning Interests Act 2014, s 11A as an area that includes all or part of the aquifer known as the Condamine Alluvium, and as shown on a map approved by regulation and published on the department’s website. The Regional Planning Interests Regulation 2014, via s 10A inserted by the Bill, approves the map described as "Condamine Alluvium CSG area map-version 1.0" held by the department (Regional Planning Interests Act, s 11A; Regulation, pt 3A, s 10A).

• Affected land: For the new Part 9 in the Common Provisions Act, "affected land" is used to mean private land in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area that may be affected by CSG activities (see s 101G and the schedule 2 dictionary insert "affected land, for chapter 3, part 9, see section 101G").

• CSG activity and CSG resource authority: "CSG activity" is defined in s 101H as an activity involving exploring for or producing coal seam gas. "CSG resource authority" is defined to include a P&G Act authority to prospect that authorises exploring and testing for coal seam gas, or a petroleum lease under the P&G Act that authorises production of coal seam gas (s 101H).

• CSG-induced subsidence: The Bill uses this term to denote sinking of ground resulting from CSG activities; it is the causal trigger for the compensation regime (s 101H).

• Subsidence compensatable effect: This is the statutory measure of harm for which compensation is payable. Section 101H ties the concept to an effect on the owner or occupier of affected land that results from CSG-induced subsidence caused by authorised activities carried out under the CSG resource authority, and that affects the ability to carry out agricultural activities or the productivity of agricultural activities on the land. The definition incorporates by reference the kinds of compensatable effects listed in s 81(4) (see s 101H(a)(i) and (b)). The Bill therefore links subsidence-related compensation to the existing s 81(4) compensation categories.

• Subsidence compensation liability: For an eligible subsidence claimant under ss 101J or 101K, "subsidence compensation liability" is the holder’s liability to compensate the claimant for each subsidence compensatable effect suffered because of the CSG resource authority (s 101J(3)(a); s 101K(3)).

• Directional well and advanced activity rule: The Bill treats drilling a directional well that starts after commencement and is within the authorised area or a part affected land as an "advanced activity" for the purposes of s 43, which triggers the need for a conduct and compensation agreement (s 101I; transitional s 250). The Bill defines "directional well" in the schedule 2 insert as a part of a petroleum well intentionally not drilled vertically.

• Conduct and compensation agreements and Part 7: The Bill interacts directly with existing Part 7 mechanisms in the Common Provisions Act (referred to in s 101J(4) and s 101L). Section 101L(2) excludes the new Land Court subdivision where the parties already have a conduct and compensation agreement under Part 7, or a related dispute resolution process has been started or decided.

• Prescribed distance: Section 101K applies to affected land within the prescribed distance outside an authorised area, where the prescribed distance is a regulation-prescribed distance or, if none, 5 km by default. This constructs a spatial buffer beyond the authorised area triggering liability.

• Land Court powers: The Bill gives the Land Court express ability to determine disputes about subsidence compensation liability, to assess the liability, to decide related matters, to make orders necessary or desirable for assessment, and to order non-monetary compensation (s 101N(3) to (4)). It also provides a review mechanism where a material change in circumstances occurs after an original Land Court decision (s 101O).

• Transitional non-application and grandfathering: The EPA water-quality taken-to-apply condition does not apply to wells authorised under an environmental authority on commencement, or to wells that are the subject of an existing application granted after commencement (s 862). Transitional provisions also preserve existing conduct and compensation agreements and earlier Land Court decisions in relation to subsidence liability, and treat certain agreements as conduct and compensation agreements for the purpose of s 43 about advanced activity agreements (s 250 to 252).

The Bill is therefore conceptually structured around spatial definition (the Condamine Alluvium CSG area), a set of causation and damage definitions linking subsidence to agricultural productivity, a liability rule imposed on resource holders for that damage (with a buffer zone), an agreement requirement for certain drilling activities treated as advanced activities, and a tailored dispute and review route in the Land Court, together with transitional rules that grandfather some existing arrangements.

The Bill creates discrete roles and exposes particular persons and entities to obligations, liabilities and rights. Who pays, who decides, and who can access the new statutory routes are stated clearly in the text.

• Owners and occupiers of private land in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area: These are the primary intended beneficiaries of the Bill’s protective measures. The Bill labels private land in the area "affected land" and repeatedly frames the liabilities and agreement requirements around owners and occupiers of such land. For example, s 101G states the purpose is to provide additional protection to owners or occupiers of private land in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area who may be affected by CSG activities. Eligible subsidence claimants are the owners or occupiers of affected land under ss 101J and 101K.

• Holders of CSG resource authorities: The holders of authorities to prospect for coal seam gas and petroleum leases that authorise coal seam gas production are the entities assigned liability. Under s 101J(2) and s 101K(2), a CSG resource authority holder is liable to compensate eligible subsidence claimants for subsidence compensatable effects suffered because of the resource authority. The Bill also treats drilling a directional well into affected land as an advanced activity for the authority holder’s obligations under s 43, meaning the holder must have or obtain conduct and compensation agreements for such drilling (s 101I).

• Environmental authority holders and applicants: The amendments to the Environmental Protection Act 1994 mean environmental authorities for CSG activity in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area are taken to include a contaminant-release prohibition condition, so the holders of environmental authorities for wells in the area are subject to that taken-to-apply condition (new s 206(2A) as renumbered). However, s 862 in the transitional part creates exceptions for particular existing or proposed wells authorised before commencement, and provides that that non-application continues even if the environmental authority is amended, replaced, or its holder changes.

• Parties to conduct and compensation agreements and related dispute processes: Existing parties to conduct and compensation agreements under Part 7 of the Common Provisions Act, or parties who have initiated or had Land Court or other dispute resolution processes, are excluded from the Land Court jurisdictional trigger set out in s 101L(2)(a). The transitional provision s 250(3) explicitly treats certain existing agreements that provide for a financial payment relating to directional drilling as conduct and compensation agreements for the purposes of s 43.

• Land Court: The Land Court is the named forum for disputes about subsidence compensation liability under the new scheme. Section 101N permits either party to apply to the Land Court, and the Court may make any order it considers appropriate to enable or enforce its decision, including awarding non-monetary compensation. Decisions of the Land Court under ss 101N or 101O bind parties and their successors and assigns (s 101P).

• Regulatory and departmental actors: The Bill requires a map showing the Condamine Alluvium CSG area to be approved by regulation and published on the department’s website (Regional Planning Interests Act s 11A and Regulation s 10A). Officials administering the Regional Planning Interests Act, the Common Provisions Act and the Environmental Protection Act will therefore be responsible for implementing spatial demarcation, publishing the map, and enforcing the taken-to-apply condition where relevant.

• Persons with existing assessment applications and existing regional interests development approvals: The Bill protects those persons by preserving their applications and approvals for CSG activities in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area (Regional Planning Interests Act ss 111 and 112). That preserves ongoing processes and approvals from being invalidated by the legislative change.

In practical terms, the primary financial exposure arises for CSG resource authority holders, who are given direct statutory liability for subsidence effects on agricultural productivity on private land within the area and within the specified buffer zone (s 101J and s 101K). Owners and occupiers of affected land gain a statutory entitlement to compensation and an express forum to resolve disputes. Environmental authority holders face a taken-to-exist condition protecting water quality in the area, subject to the transitional non-application rules in s 862.

This section sets out the principal statutory obligations placed on resource and environmental authority holders, and the rights created for landowners and occupiers, with references to the governing sections.

Duties placed on environmental authority holders in the Condamine area

• Taken-to-apply environmental condition: An environmental authority issued for a CSG activity in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area is taken to include a condition prohibiting the release of contaminants, by the operation of a well, into waters in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area that results in water quality inconsistent with water quality objectives that apply to the waters (Environmental Protection Act, new s 206(2A) renumbered to (3)). The Bill adds definitions for "operation, of a well" and "water quality objectives" in the same provision (s 206(4) to (5) as renumbered). This is a statutory duty that is treated as part of an environmental authority in respect of CSG activities within the area.

• Transitional limit on application: The taken-to-apply condition does not apply to certain existing or proposed wells that were authorised under an environmental authority on commencement, or were the subject of an existing application granted after commencement (s 862). The transitional provision continues to apply even if the authorising environmental authority is amended, replaced, or changes hands (s 862(2)).

Duties placed on CSG resource authority holders

• Compensation for subsidence effects on affected land in authorised area or access land: If affected land is in the authorised area of a CSG resource authority or is access land for that authoritiy, the holder must compensate the owner or occupier for each "subsidence compensatable effect" suffered because of the CSG resource authority (s 101J(2)). That liability is titled the holder’s subsidence compensation liability to the claimant and is also reflected as a part or whole of any compensation liability under s 81 (s 101J(3)). Section 101J(4) clarifies that eligible subsidence claimants are eligible claimants for the purposes of part 7 s 81.

• Compensation for land within prescribed distance outside authorised area: Where affected land is within the prescribed distance outside an authorised area but is not access land, the holder is also liable to compensate for subsidence compensatable effects because of the authority, with the prescribed distance defaulting to 5 km unless a regulation prescribes otherwise (s 101K(1) to (4)).

• Advanced activity agreement requirement for directional wells: The Bill treats drilling a directional well in the authorised area, or part of it that is affected land, as an advanced activity for the purposes of s 43, which imposes the requirement for a conduct and compensation agreement and potential penalties for non-compliance (s 101I). Section 101I(3) states this treatment applies whether or not the drilling would otherwise be an advanced activity under s 15A and regardless of whether another advanced activity is carried out under the resource authority on the affected land.

Rights and procedural protections for landowners and occupiers

• Right to compensation and to be an eligible claimant: Owners and occupiers of affected land are statutory beneficiaries. They are eligible subsidence claimants under ss 101J or 101K and have a right to compensation for each qualifying subsidence compensatable effect.

• Right to initiate Land Court proceedings: Either the holder or an eligible subsidence claimant may apply to the Land Court to decide disputes about subsidence compensation liability (s 101N(2)). The Land Court may assess liability, decide related matters, make necessary orders to enable or enforce its decision, and order non-monetary compensation (s 101N(3) and (4)).

• Review on material change: If there has been a material change in circumstances since a Land Court decision on subsidence compensation liability, either party may apply to the Land Court for a review, and the Court may confirm or amend the original compensation only to the extent affected by that change (s 101O).

• Binding effect: A Land Court decision under ss 101N or 101O binds the parties to the proceeding and their successors and assigns (s 101P(2)).

Interaction with existing agreement-based regime

• Exclusion where agreements or dispute processes exist: The statutory Land Court pathway and related subdivision do not apply where the parties have a conduct and compensation agreement under part 7, or where a dispute resolution process under part 7 has been initiated or decided, including by a Land Court decision (s 101L(2)(a)). Thus, private agreement processes under existing Part 7 remain a route to address compensation, and in those circumstances the new subdivision is displaced.

Transitional rights and duties

• Existing agreements and awards preserved or converted: The transitional rules treat particular existing agreements as conduct and compensation agreements for s 43, and make existing conduct and compensation agreements and earlier Land Court decisions continue to apply to subsidence compensation liability, even where they do not expressly provide for subsidence compensation (see s 250(3), s 251(2) to (4)). The s 862 transitional rule prevents the new EPA taken-to-apply condition from applying to certain pre-existing or pending wells.

Collectively, the Bill imposes new preventive duties on environmental authority holders in the Condamine area, creates new explicit compensation duties on CSG resource authority holders for subsidence impacts on agricultural productivity, expands the reach of agreement requirements for directional drilling, and provides statutory rights and a Land Court pathway for the resolution and review of compensation disputes, while leaving private conduct and compensation agreements and some existing approvals and processes intact via transitional rules.

The Bill mainly creates civil liability channels and administrative obligations, together with enforcement levers in the Land Court. The text includes limited express criminal or monetary penalty details within the Bill itself, but it references existing enforcement frameworks in the amended Acts. The principal enforcement and remedy mechanisms in the Bill are these.

• Land Court enforcement powers and remedies: The Bill confers broad remedial powers on the Land Court in disputes concerning subsidence compensation liability. Under s 101N(3) the Land Court "may make any order it considers appropriate to enable or enforce its decision" on an application under s 101N(2). Section 101N(4) provides illustrative powers, including to assess all or part of the subsidence compensation liability, decide matters related to that liability, make any order necessary or desirable for those matters, and to order non-monetary as well as monetary compensation. The Bill therefore relies on the Land Court’s coercive and discretionary remedial powers rather than prescribing specific penalty amounts for non-payment or breach in the text.

• Binding effect on successors and assigns: A decision of the Land Court under ss 101N or 101O binds the parties and each of their successors and assigns (s 101P(2)). This increases enforceability against future owners or assignees of land or resource interests following a Land Court determination.

• Advanced activity agreement penalty context: The Bill makes drilling a directional well in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area an advanced activity for the purposes of s 43 (s 101I). Section 43 of the Common Provisions Act, which the Bill amends by note in schedule 1, contains penalties for non-compliance with conduct and compensation agreement requirements. The Bill’s schedule 1, item 2 inserts an additional note after s 43(1) indicating the link to s 101I. The Bill does not itself restate numerical penalties in the new Part 9, so compliance with the agreement and the penalty consequences are governed by the existing s 43 framework as amended.

• Environmental condition enforcement: The amendment to s 206 of the Environmental Protection Act takes to include, as a condition of environmental authorities in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area, a prohibition on contaminant release into waters in the area resulting in water quality inconsistent with water quality objectives (new s 206(2A) renumbered). Enforcement of environmental authority conditions typically sits within the EPA enforcement regime, including regulatory compliance and potential penalties under the Environmental Protection Act. The Bill itself does not restate those enforcement mechanisms, but it makes the condition part of the environmental authority package for CSG activities in the area.

• Transitional prosecution preservation: Section 113 preserves the ability to continue or start a proceeding for an offence against former section 19 of the Regional Planning Interests Act committed before the commencement, and allows a person to be convicted and punished as if s 5A had not commenced. This keeps open criminal or other prosecutions that related to the former regime.

• No new criminal offence thresholds in the text: The Bill does not create standalone new criminal offences tied specifically to subsidence compensation non-payment. The enforcement focus is liability and remedial orders via the Land Court, and the addition of the environmental-condition obligation which sits within the Environmental Protection Act enforcement matrix.

• Interaction with existing enforcement regimes: The Bill modifies and cross-references existing liability and enforcement frameworks, notably s 81 compensation liability under Part 7 of the Common Provisions Act, and environmental authority sanctions under the Environmental Protection Act. Where s 101J(3)(b) says the subsidence compensation liability is also the holder’s compensation liability to the claimant under s 81, enforcement mechanisms attached to s 81 may be engaged.

Practically, the Bill pushes enforcement of compensation obligations into the civil court process administered by the Land Court, makes Land Court determinations enforceable against successors and assigns, requires conduct and compensation agreements for certain directional drilling activities under the existing s 43 penalty structure, and embeds a protective environmental condition into environmental authorities for CSG wells in the area, to be enforced under the Environmental Protection Act regime. The Bill’s transitional rules preserve prior prosecutions and approvals and limit instant application of certain new duties to existing wells.

The Bill is expressly designed to interface with existing statutory schemes governing resource access, environmental protection, and regional planning. The Bill both amends provisions and relies on definitions, remedies and procedures in other Acts. Below are the principal interactions the text creates or modifies, with citations.

• Environmental Protection Act 1994: The Bill amends s 206 to treat an environmental authority for a CSG activity in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area as taken to include a condition prohibiting contaminant release into waters in that area where water quality would be inconsistent with water quality objectives (new s 206(2A) renumbered). The Bill also adds definitions of "operation, of a well" and "water quality objectives" into the s 206 provision (s 206(4) and (5) as renumbered). This ties the CSG regulatory regime in the Condamine area directly to environmental authority conditions and to environmental protection policy water quality objectives, thereby invoking the enforcement and compliance tools of the Environmental Protection Act where the taken-to-apply condition is engaged.

• Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014: The Bill inserts a new Part 9 into Chapter 3 to create a specific subsidence-compensation and advanced-activity agreement regime for the Condamine Alluvium CSG area (ss 101G-101P). It cross-references Part 7 compensation mechanisms, specifically s 81, by incorporating the categories of compensatable effects in s 81(4) into the definition of subsidence compensatable effect (s 101H). The Bill also treats drilling a directional well as an advanced activity for the purposes of s 43, tying the Part 7 conduct and compensation agreement requirement to directional drilling in affected land (s 101I). Schedule 1 amends the Common Provisions Act further by inserting notes and cross-references (Schedule 1 item 1 to item 4).

• Regional Planning Interests Act 2014 and Regulation: The Bill amends the Regional Planning Interests Act to exclude Part 2 from applying to carrying out a CSG activity in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area (s 5A). The Bill therefore disapplies the Part 2 resource and regulated activity restrictions in respect of CSG in the area, and in the same breath notes that CSG activity in the area is regulated under other Acts, such as the Environmental Protection Act and the Common Provisions Act (s 5A note). The Bill requires a map of the Condamine area to be approved by regulation and published on the department’s website (s 11A and Regulation s 10A), creating a spatial legal definition anchored to administrative publication. Transitional provisions preserve existing assessment applications and development approvals made under the Regional Planning Interests Act for CSG activities in the Condamine area (ss 111 and 112).

• Petroleum and Gas (P&G) Act and Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004: The Bill’s definition of "CSG resource authority" in s 101H ties the regime to specific instruments under the P&G Act, namely authorities to prospect and petroleum leases that authorise coal seam gas activity. Schedule 1 removes definitions and references to conduct and compensation agreement, access rights, and deferral agreement from older Petroleum Act and the P&G Act cross-references, and inserts an "access land" cross-reference into s 560(5) of the P&G Act, linking access land for a petroleum authority to the Common Provisions Act s 47(3). These schedule 1 changes adjust how existing petroleum legislation interacts with the Common Provisions Act and the newly inserted Part 9.

• Part 7 compensation framework: The Bill explicitly places subsidence compensation liability within the context of Part 7 compensation mechanisms by stating that the subsidence compensation liability is also the holder’s compensation liability under s 81 or part of it (s 101J(3)(b)). The definition of subsidence compensatable effect references s 81(4) categories. The Land Court exclusion in s 101L(2)(a) preserves the primacy of existing Part 7 conduct and compensation agreements or dispute processes where they already exist.

• Land Court jurisdiction and powers: The Bill creates a statutory path to the Land Court for resolving subsidence compensation liability disputes (s 101N), and for reviewing earlier Land Court decisions on material change (s 101O). Land Court orders bind successors and assigns (s 101P). This incorporates the Land Court into the enforcement and dispute resolution architecture for CSG subsidence claims.

• Transitional interactions: Sections 250 to 252 of the Bill set transitional interfacing rules between the new Part 9 obligations and the pre-existing arrangements, converting some existing agreements and decisions into the new legal frame where appropriate. For example, s 250(3) treats an existing agreement that provides for a financial payment relating to directional drilling as a conduct and compensation agreement for the purposes of s 43.

In effect, the Bill carves out a policy space specifically for the Condamine Alluvium CSG area, but does so by modifying and leaning on existing statutes rather than creating a standalone regime. It channels environmental quality protection through the Environmental Protection Act, compensation liability and agreement obligations through the Common Provisions Act and its Part 7 machinery, spatial and planning consequences through the Regional Planning Interests Act and map regulation, and dispute resolution through the Land Court. The schedule 1 amendments refine cross-Act definitions and references so that the Common Provisions Act becomes the central touchpoint for subsidence compensation in the Condamine Alluvium area.

This Bill itself is the amending instrument and records the specific changes proposed across several Acts. The Bill is organised into Parts which correspond to amendments to named Acts. The principal amendment steps, as they appear in the Bill, are set out here with internal Bill clause references where available.

• Part 2 of the Bill amends the Environmental Protection Act 1994. Clause 3 inserts a new subsection in s 206 so that environmental authorities for CSG activities in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area are taken to include a condition prohibiting contaminant releases causing water quality objective breaches, and it inserts definitions for "Condamine Alluvium CSG area", "operation, of a well", and "water quality objectives" into s 206. Clause 4 inserts a transitional part, chapter 13 part 36, including s 862 which provides the non-application carve-out for particular existing or proposed wells.

• Part 3 of the Bill amends the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014. Clause 6 amends the heading of chapter 3 to add "and impact on land". Clause 7 inserts a new chapter 3, part 9 titled "Condamine Alluvium CSG area", consisting of ss 101G to 101P. These sections establish the purpose (s 101G), definitions (s 101H), the application of s 43 to directional drilling (s 101I), liability for subsidence compensatable effects for affected land in the authorised area or access land (s 101J), liability for affected land within the prescribed distance outside the authorised area (s 101K), and the Land Court dispute resolution and review regime (ss 101L to 101P). Clause 8 inserts a new chapter 10 part 4 to house transitional provisions for the Common Provisions Act, including ss 249 to 252.

• Clause 9 amends Schedule 2 (Dictionary) of the Common Provisions Act by inserting definitions for terms used in the new Part 9, including "affected land", "Condamine Alluvium CSG area", "directional well", and "subsidence compensation liability", and by amending an existing definition of "compensation liability" to cross-reference s 101J(3)(b) (see Bill s 9).

• Part 4 of the Bill amends the Regional Planning Interests Act 2014. Clause 11 inserts s 5A, which states that Part 2 of that Act does not apply to carrying out a CSG activity in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area. Clause 12 inserts s 11A to define the Condamine area and instructs that the area is shown on a map approved by regulation and published on the department’s website. Clause 14 inserts a new Part 11 with transitional provisions (ss 110 to 113), preserving existing assessment applications and regional interests development approvals for CSG activities in the Condamine area, and allowing prosecutions for offences against former s 19 to proceed.

• Part 5 amends the Regional Planning Interests Regulation 2014. Clause 17 inserts part 3A into the Regulation, including s 10A which approves the "Condamine Alluvium CSG area map-version 1.0" held by the department and notes its publication on the department’s website.

• Part 6 and Schedule 1 contain "Other amendments". Schedule 1 makes a number of more technical or cross-reference amendments to the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014, the Petroleum Act 1923, the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004, and the Regional Planning Interests Regulation 2014. Notable schedule changes include removing older definitions of "conduct and compensation agreement" and related terms from the Petroleum Act and the P&G Act and inserting a cross-reference to "access land" in P&G Act s 560(5). Schedule 1 also updates a URL in the Regional Planning Interests Regulation 2014.

• Transitional and commencement sequencing: The Bill creates specific transitional protections and commencements for various provisions, for example the EPA non-application for certain existing or pending wells (s 862) and the timing rule for directional well advanced-activity treatment (s 250(1)). The Bill also contains transitional rules preserving the operation of existing Part 7 agreements and prior Land Court decisions by treating them as applying to the newly specified subsidence compensation liability (see ss 250 to 252).

This Bill is self-contained in the sense that it both inserts new substantive provisions and registers a suite of transitional rules to limit immediate disruption to existing authorisations and agreements. The approved map is formally referenced in the Regulation, linking the statutory amendments to an administratively published geographic instrument.

The Bill does not refer to any specific case law or judicial decisions as part of its text. There are no cases named in the Bill. The litigation-related content in the Bill is forward-looking: it creates statutory dispute pathways and procedures rather than recounting prior litigation. The aspects of the Bill that bear on litigation or dispute resolution are therefore statutory and procedural, and they are summarised here with citations to the Bill.

• New statutory forum for subsidence compensation disputes: Sections 101N to 101P establish the Land Court as the named forum for disputes about subsidence compensation liability between CSG resource authority holders and eligible subsidence claimants. Either party may apply to the Land Court to decide the dispute (s 101N(2)). The Land Court may make any order it considers appropriate to enable or enforce its decision and can assess liability, decide related matters, and order non-monetary compensation in addition to monetary compensation (s 101N(3) and (4)).

• Review mechanism for material change in circumstances: Section 101O enables either a holder or an eligible subsidence claimant to apply to the Land Court to review an original Land Court decision on subsidence compensation if there has been a material change in circumstances since the decision. The review is confined to the extent the original compensation is affected by the change, and if there is no effect the Court must not proceed (s 101O(2) to (4)). After review, the Land Court may confirm or amend the original compensation (s 101O(5)).

• Binding effect of decisions: Section 101P makes Land Court decisions under ss 101N or 101O binding on the parties to the proceeding and each of their successors and assigns (s 101P(2)). This statutory binding effect means a Land Court adjudication has continuing legal consequence for future holders of the affected land or resource interest.

• Exceptions where private agreements or processes exist: Section 101L excludes the new Land Court subdivision where, under Part 7, a conduct and compensation agreement exists between the holder and the eligible subsidence claimant, or where a dispute resolution process involving the compensation liability has started or been decided, including by a Land Court decision. Section 101L(2)(b) also excludes the subdivision where the CSG resource authority or authorised person is carrying out or proposing to carry out advanced activities on the claimant’s land. This preserves the role of private agreement and the pre-existing Part 7 dispute-resolution framework when those processes are in play.

• Transitional continuation of prior Land Court decisions and proceedings: Section 251(4) preserves prior Land Court decisions under chapter 3, part 7 about a holder’s compensation liability, and takes those decisions to apply to the holder’s subsidence compensation liability. Section 113 preserves proceedings for former s 19 offences committed before commencement, enabling such prosecutions to continue under pre-amendment law.

Because the Bill introduces statutory causes of action and statutory procedural rules, future litigation will be governed by the new statutory framework rather than pre-existing common law causes of action for some claims. The key litigation pathways created are administrative and civil adjudication through the Land Court, and the Bill vests that court with broad remedial flexibility. The statutory binding effect on successors and the ability to review for material change are two procedural innovations that will materially affect the lifecycle of litigation under the new regime.

The Bill contains multiple technical and transitional features that create practical traps or unexpected consequences for affected parties. Below are concrete points to watch, tied to the relevant sections.

• EPA water-quality condition does not apply to some pre-existing or pending wells: Although s 206 is amended to take the environmental authority to include a contaminant-release prohibition condition for CSG activities in the Condamine area, s 862 excludes wells that, on commencement, are authorised under an environmental authority, or are the subject of an existing application granted after commencement. That exemption continues even if the authorising environmental authority is later amended, replaced, or its holder changes (s 862(1) and (2)). Practically, this means newly-acquired wells or amended authorities that expand operational stages may nevertheless remain outside the new water-quality taken-to-apply condition if the well itself meets the s 862 criteria. The reader must check the exact authorisation status of individual wells against s 862.

• Advanced-activity trigger applies to directional wells irrespective of prior classification: Section 101I makes drilling a directional well an advanced activity for the purposes of s 43 in all circumstances covered by the section, "whether or not" the drilling would otherwise be an advanced activity under s 15A, and "whether or not" another advanced activity is carried out on the affected land under the CSG resource authority (s 101I(3)(a) and (b)). That is an explicit statutory override. Practically, risk remains for holders who may have believed directional drilling was not an advanced activity; they must now obtain a conduct and compensation agreement or face the consequences under s 43.

• Transitional deeming of certain existing agreements may broaden obligations: Section 250(3) takes existing agreements that provide for a financial payment to the owner or occupier in relation to directional drilling, and that were in effect immediately before commencement, to be conduct and compensation agreements for s 43(1)(a). Section 251(2) takes existing conduct and compensation agreements to apply also to a holder’s subsidence compensation liability, even if those agreements do not expressly provide for subsidence compensation. This can broaden the legal effect of historical agreements in ways parties may not anticipate.

• Spatial scope includes a default 5 km buffer but is regulation-modifiable: Section 101K applies liability to affected land "within the prescribed distance outside the authorised area", with the definition of prescribed distance being the regulation-prescribed distance or, if none, otherwise 5 km (s 101K(4)). The practical consequence is that the statutory buffer can be expanded or contracted by regulation, and until a regulation prescribes a different distance, the default is 5 km, which can be larger than many would expect. Parties must monitor the regulation for future changes affecting their exposure.

• Linkage to s 81(4) categories frames compensatable effects: The definition of subsidence compensatable effect in s 101H ties the relevant harms to categories listed in s 81(4). That link imports the legal and evidentiary contours of s 81(4) into subsidence claims. Claimants will need to prove the effect fits within those categories and that it was caused by authorised activities under the CSG resource authority. The Bill leaves causation and quantum assessment to the Land Court where disputes arise, but evidence requirements implicit in s 81(4) will be decisive.

• Non-application carve-out persists despite environmental authority changes: Section 862(2) states that the non-application of s 206(3) continues to apply to the well even if the environmental authority authorising the well is amended to expand or change stages of operation, replaced by a new environmental authority authorising the operation of the well, or the holder changes. This is a drafting choice that protects particular wells from the new EPA condition even where the operational profile is later changed, which may limit the reach of the taken-to-apply water-quality protection.

• Interaction of Part 2 exclusion in Regional Planning Interests Act could be mistaken for deregulation: Section 5A declares that Part 2 of the Regional Planning Interests Act does not apply to carrying out a CSG activity in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area. The Bill’s note says CSG activity in the Condamine area is regulated under other Acts such as the Environmental Protection Act and the Common Provisions Act. Practitioners must not assume this exclusion means no planning constraints apply; instead it reallocates regulatory oversight to other Acts specified in the Bill.

• Land Court exclusion where Part 7 agreements exist may create parallel tracks: Section 101L excludes the new Land Court subdivision where parties have a conduct and compensation agreement under Part 7, or where dispute resolution processes under Part 7 have already begun. This preserves private agreement processes but can result in parallel or overlapping remedies depending on timing. A party that has an existing Part 7 agreement may be barred from invoking the new Land Court pathway, so timing of starting a dispute process matters.

• Binding effect on successors creates persistent obligations: Section 101P binds decisions to successors and assigns. This provides continuity for claimants but can surprise purchasers or assignees who acquire an asset subject to an earlier proceeding. The Bill does not require formal registration mechanisms in the text; practical enforcement of successor liability will rely on recording and due diligence practices in property and title transfers.

• Removal of definitions in older Acts may shift interpretative baselines: Schedule 1 removes certain definitions from the Petroleum Act 1923 and the P&G Act and moves definitional reliance into the Common Provisions Act context. Parties relying on older statutory language should confirm which acts now supply key definitions.

Each of the above points is an explicit feature or consequence of the text as drafted. Parties should not assume uniform retrospective or prospective operation across the many intersecting rules in the Bill; the transitional provisions and carve-outs materially affect immediate application.

This final section sets out concrete, source-grounded steps and tactical compliance actions for the key affected parties: CSG resource authority holders, environmental authority holders and applicants, and owners or occupiers of affected land. All references are to the new Bill provisions.

For CSG resource authority holders

1. Map your authorised areas and operations against the Condamine Alluvium CSG area map approved by regulation and published on the department’s website. The area is defined in Regional Planning Interests Act s 11A and the map is approved in the Regulation s 10A. Knowing whether an authorised area, a proposed well, drilling path, or adjacent land falls inside the mapped area is the first compliance step.

2. If you operate environmental authorities for CSG wells within the Condamine Alluvium CSG area, prepare to meet the taken-to-apply condition in the Environmental Protection Act s 206(2A) (renumbered s 206(3)), which prohibits releases of contaminants by the operation of a well into waters in the area that results in water quality inconsistent with water quality objectives. Where your wells are excluded under s 862 because they were already authorised or subject to existing applications granted after commencement, maintain records confirming the well’s status at commencement, and document any amendments, replacements or holder changes to rely on s 862(2) protection where applicable.

3. For directional wells that will be drilled in the authorised area if they start after commencement, treat drilling as an advanced activity under s 43 per s 101I. This means you must enter into a conduct and compensation agreement with the owner or occupier of the affected land before commencing the advanced activity, unless another exception applies. Review existing s 43 processes and ensure your operational planning includes time to negotiate and finalise such agreements. Transitional s 250(1) states the advanced-activity treatment applies to directional wells that start after commencement.

4. Evaluate your potential subsidence compensation exposure under ss 101J and 101K. For affected land inside the authorised area or on access land, you have subsidence compensation liability to owners and occupiers for each subsidence compensatable effect (s 101J). For affected land within the "prescribed distance" outside your authorised area, you may be liable under s 101K; note that the default prescribed distance is 5 km if no regulation prescribes otherwise (s 101K(4)). Factor these liabilities into project financial models and insurance arrangements.

5. Incorporate subsidence monitoring, baseline data collection and agricultural productivity measurement protocols into project management. Because the statutory definition of compensatable effect links to impacts on the ability to carry out agricultural activities and to categories in s 81(4) (see s 101H), compiling contemporaneous evidence of productivity and uses of land before, during and after operations will be critical to evaluating claims and defending liability assessments before the Land Court.

6. Keep detailed records of conduct and compensation agreements and any financial payments to landowners, especially agreements in effect before commencement. Section 250(3) takes certain existing agreements that provide for financial payments in relation to directional drilling as conduct and compensation agreements for s 43 purposes. Documentation will be necessary to establish whether existing arrangements qualify under the transitional deeming.

7. Design dispute resolution and settlement processes cognisant of the Land Court pathway. If a dispute arises that cannot be resolved by agreement, either you or the eligible subsidence claimant may refer the matter to the Land Court under s 101N(2). Prepare for the Land Court’s broad remedial powers and potential non-monetary orders (s 101N(4)). Consider including dispute resolution protocols in conduct and compensation agreements that can be exhausted before litigation to avoid the s 101L exclusion.

For environmental authority holders and applicants

1. Verify whether your environmental authority or your pending application concerns a well within the Condamine Alluvium CSG area. If so, plan compliance with the taken-to-apply condition concerning contaminant releases into waters and adherence to water quality objectives (Environmental Protection Act s 206(3) as renumbered and s 206(4)-(5) for definitions).

2. If your well was authorised before commencement or was the subject of an existing application granted after commencement, maintain documentary evidence that shows the authorisation or application status pre-commencement, to rely on s 862(1) and (2) where the non-application carve-out is relevant.

For owners and occupiers of affected land

1. Determine whether your land is "affected land" in the Condamine Alluvium CSG area by consulting the published map under Regional Planning Interests Act s 11A and the departmental website referenced in Regulation s 10A. If you are within the authorised area, access land, or the prescribed buffer zone, you may be an eligible subsidence claimant under ss 101J or 101K.

2. Preserve baseline agricultural productivity records, soil and water testing data, and other evidence of land use and outputs. The statutory test for a subsidence compensatable effect explicitly links to impacts on the ability to carry out agricultural activities or the productivity of those activities, and references the s 81(4) compensatable categories (s 101H). Baseline documentation will be central to proving causation and quantifying loss.

3. If a CSG resource authority holder proposes directional drilling that will start