Building on strong foundations? An examination of Australias new offshore wind energy regulation

In 2021, Australia took its first step towards creating an offshore wind regulatory framework with the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 (Cth) (‘OEI Act’). This chapter examines the OEI Act, which was passed despite various critical stakeholder submissions and a fault-finding Senate committee report, and inquires whether it is fit for purpose to regulate Australia’s offshore wind industry. It considers the issues of governance; commercial certainty; construction, operations, and decommissioning; and environmental protections. Whilst the OEI Act will be supplemented by future regulations and reflects best practice in some respects, its suitability as the foundation of Australia’s offshore wind regulatory framework is questionable on the basis that it does not facilitate the development of commercial offshore wind farms with the greatest net benefit to society, nor does it sufficiently minimise the adverse impacts of developments and the regulatory burdens on both proponents and their workers.