Allens Arthur Robinson

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The Queensland Government has announced stamp duty changes that have the potential to impact significantly on any transactions that directly or indirectly deal with exploration permits or authorities to prospect. Partner Katrina Parkyn reports on the changes, which reverse the previous rules whereby these transfers were not dutiable

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Resource developers in Queensland will need to be aware of potential constraints to their activities as a result of recently proposed legislative amendments that will place permanent restrictions on carrying out resource activities (including mining) in close proximity to urban communities. Partner Bill McCredie, Senior Associate Anna Vella and Lawyer Gobind Kalsi look at the proposed changes

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Developers, decision-makers and the public, who could be affected by an overhaul of the NSW planning system, have the chance to help shape the new regime, through the release of an issues paper that invites feedback. Partner Paul Lalich and Lawyer Andrew McGovern report

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In a bid to reduce the 'green tape' burden on business, major reforms of the Queensland environmental assessment and approvals regime have been introduced, and will impact on businesses including the manufacturing, waste management, mining and resources sectors. Partner Bill McCredie and Senior Associate Eve Lynch report on the significant changes that are proposed

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The High Court has recently ruled that owners may claim compensation from the Mine Subsidence Compensation Fund for expenses incurred in preventing or mitigating subsidence-caused damage to improvements, even if subsidence had not yet actually occurred. The decision overturns the previous law, which required owners to wait for subsidence to occur in order to qualify for compensation. Partner Paul Lalich and Law Graduate Tom Tian report

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A range of new initiatives introduced by the NSW Government will have important ramifications for land use in regional areas, particularly for the coal mining, coal seam gas and petroleum exploration industries. Partner Paul Lalich, Lawyer Swee Leng Harris and Law Graduate Julia Dean outline the new transitional arrangements the State Government has put in place as the first stage in the implementation of their Strategic Regional Land Use Policy

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Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory are to make important changes to their stamp duties legislation, with effect from 1 July 2011. The changes will broaden the reach of landholder duty and impose greater duty on a larger range of transactions, particularly affecting ones involving real property, mining tenements and listed entities. Partner Adrian Chek summarises the changes and considers the importance of the timing of any upcoming transactions

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The final report on the future use and management of the Woomera Prohibited Area was released recently, and signifies long-awaited government confirmation of mixed use of the minerals-rich weapons testing area. It provides for the introduction of a new management framework, and paves the way for improved coexistence of Defence and non-Defence operations. Partner Scott Langford, Senior Associate Nick Li, and Law Graduate Brandon Van Slyke report

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The power of administering agencies in Queensland to impose offset conditions on development approvals or other approvals for activities which impact on the environment has been confirmed in recent legislative amendments. Partner Bill McCredie and Lawyer Faheem Anwar look at the offsets provisions the new legislation introduces

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Recently, the Full Federal Court handed down its decision in the Pilbara rail access dispute. The Full Court was reviewing determinations made by the Australian Competition Tribunal last year which considered whether or not Rio's two Pilbara railways should be declared under Part IIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. (Railways owned by BHP were also considered by the Tribunal, but were not the subject of review by the Full Court). The outcome of the Full Court's decision is that neither of Rio's railways in the Pilbara is declared open for third party access. The Full Court's approach provides a clearer, more certain framework for assessing the application of the Part IIIA access regime to infrastructure. It is also more consistent with the philosophy underpinning Part IIIA and competition regulation in Australia generally. Partner David Brewster and Senior Associate Verity Quinn report

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The Australian Securities and Investment Commission has released an additional consultation paper and a draft regulatory guide on disclosure obligations of infrastructure entities to retail investors, and is now seeking further submissions. Partners Andrew Mansour and Campbell Davidson and Lawyer Michael Tollman report

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New Queensland legislation will trade off greater protection of groundwater resources against greater regulation and compliance costs for petroleum tenure holders. Partner Bill McCredie and Lawyer Michael Zissis look at the legislation, which is partly aimed at resolving some of the issues associated with the increasingly rapid growth of the liquefied natural gas industry

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A mine closure plan will be a precondition of a mining lease being granted in WA, impacting not only on new mining proposal applications but on previously approved mining proposals and existing mining operations. Partner Gerard Woods, Special Counsel Robyn Glindemann and Law Graduate Melanie Rifici report

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Indonesia is in the final stages of being accepted as a candidate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Disclosure of oil, gas and mining payments begins during the two-year candidacy phase, and companies therefore need to understand the initiative now, as Partner Darren Murphy and Lawyer Theresa Tayabali explain

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The far-reaching Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) is due to come into force in May 2011 and businesses operating in the mining and petroleum sectors will be affected. It covers a wide range of transactions, not just security interests. It is not limited to consumer transactions, and significantly alters aspects of commercial law and contracts law. Partners David Maloney and Diccon Loxton report on how the changes will affect the mining and petroleum industries

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The Federal Government has just released a Discussion Paper outlining a number of measures which, if implemented, would make some significant changes to the negotiation, content, administration and approval of native title agreements. Partner Ben Zillmann and Senior Associate Rochelle Carey explore some of the central themes of the Discussion Paper

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The Federal Government has announced that it proposes to replace the previously announced Resource Super Profits Tax with a new Minerals Resource Rent Tax that will apply to iron ore and coal projects, and to extend the scope of the existing Petroleum Resource Rent Tax to cover onshore oil and gas projects. Partner Katrina Parkyn and Senior Associate Rory O'Brien report on how the new Minerals Resource Rent Tax responds to industry's key concerns about the previous Resource Super Profits Tax, and what the extension of the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax is likely to mean for onshore oil and gas projects in Australia

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In response to significant increases in foreign investment, Australia's foreign investment policy has been updated to clarify the rules that will be applied when reviewing investment proposals by foreign investors - especially those from foreign governments and their related entities. Partner Jeremy Low and Lawyer Tim Cardiff report on the changes and their implications

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The NSW Government has responded quickly to remove difficulties caused by a recent NSW Supreme Court decision relating to access arrangements for prospecting under mining and petroleum legislation and validated potentially invalid access arrangements and actions taken under those arrangements. Partner Tony Wassaf and Lawyer Nicole Winton report on the new access arrangement requirements

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As part of its response to the Henry tax review, the Federal Government has announced that it intends to introduce a refundable tax offset for eligible exploration expenditure. Senior Associate Katrina Parkyn looks at how the offset will work and who will benefit

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The Federal Government has announced that it intends to introduce a resource super profits tax as the centrepiece of the tax reforms announced as part of the Henry Review. Although the new tax bears some similarity to the existing Petroleum Resource Rent Tax which applies to many off-shore petroleum projects, it differs in a number of very significant respects. Partner Grant Cathro and Senior Associate Rory O'Brien report

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Legislation has been introduced into NSW Parliament to overcome the difficulties caused by a recent NSW Supreme Court decision which called into question the validity of land access arrangements for mining and petroleum exploration that did not have consent of all 'landholders', being those with registered interests on title such as mortgagees and easement holders who did not have any right to possession of that land. Partner Jim Parker and Lawyer Tom Cregan report

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The Henry Tax Review is widely expected to recommend that the Commonwealth Government introduce a resource rent tax for all mining and petroleum operations within Australia. Partner Grant Cathro and Lawyer Ada Lam explain how a resource rent tax would operate, and consider some of the issues that are likely to arise from its implementation

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Following the release of its Management of Water Produced from Coal Seam Gas Production Discussion Paper in May 2009, the Queensland Government has issued its overarching guidelines on the management of coal seam gas activities and the beneficial use of coal seam gas water. As a follow up to our audio update Partner Bill McCredie, Special Counsel Philip Murray and Senior Associate Suzanne Westgate report on the Beneficial Use Guideline

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In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court of NSW considered the validity of land access arrangements where not all those with an interest in the property (in this case, the mortgagees) had been notified of the licence holder's intention to obtain access arrangements, nor were the mortgagees party to such arrangements. Partner David Maloney and Senior Associate Georgina Cowdroy report

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To ensure key food-producing land in Queensland is protected in the long term, the Queensland Government has created a new policy and planning framework for how other forms of development, such as mining and urban development, are to be undertaken on 'strategic cropping land'. Project proponents with 'incompatible' uses on declared strategic cropping land may find their projects cannot proceed. Partner Ben Zillmann and Senior Associate Rochelle Carey examine some of the key elements to the policy

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The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) has been amended so that transactions that result in foreign investors gaining, whether now or in the future, influence or control over an Australian company are now subject to Australia's foreign investment rules. In addition, there have been several other developments in foreign investment regulation, as Partners Alex Ding and Phillip Cornwell and Lawyer Tim Cardiff report

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The Victorian State Services Authority has reported on its review of the role of the Victorian Mining Warden. The report's recommendations include the abolition of the office of Mining Warden and the redirection of most of its functions to other existing entities. Partner Igor Bogdanich and Lawyer Ben Strate discuss the key aspects of the report

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The High Court has recently confirmed that section 45(1) of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) does not void an 'other insurance' provision that limits the insurer's liability where the insured is named as a non-party insured in another insurance policy. The High Court confirmed that s45(1) only applies to provisions affecting double insurance where the insured is a party to the other contract of insurance. Partner Jenny Thornton and Lawyer Clara Wren consider the case

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Strategic Energy Initiative 2030, a discussion paper that aims to deliver a framework to secure Western Australia's long-term energy needs, has been released. Partner Angus Jones and Senior Associate Valeria Cooney report on the start of a challenging process

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The WA Gas Supply and Emergency Management Committee has published its report to Government, which provides recommendations for managing future gas supply disruptions in WA and mitigating their impact. Partner Darren Murphy and Lawyer Robert French report.

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The passage of the Safe Work Australia Bill 2008 through Parliament should facilitate progress towards harmonised occupational health and safety laws throughout Australia, including the occupational health and safety laws applying in the minerals and mining sector. Partner Igor Bogdanich and Senior Associate Ric Morgan report.

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Partner Darren Murphy and Law Graduate Joseph Freeman report on the recently released review of the approvals processes for petroleum and mining projects in Western Australia

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Partners Angus Jones and David Maloney provide an overview of recent developments in oil and gas regulation in Australia, including the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, carbon capture and storage, petroleum resource rent tax amendments, a review of the retention lease policy, Western Australian domestic gas reservation policy and coal seam gas and overlapping title legislation in Queensland

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Partner Igor Bogdanich and Lawyer Ben Strate report on reforms to Australia's foreign investment review laws announced by the Federal Government yesterday

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The Federal Government has approved a new uranium mine in South Australia. Under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, the proposal required assessment as a nuclear action, and no other controlling provisions were determined to apply under the Act, despite the environmental concerns raised by the proposed extraction process. We examine the approval and what it means for Australian's uranium mining industry

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The Victorian Department of Primary Industries is conducting a review of the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 and had released an issues paper to prompt public submissions. Now that submissions have closed, Partner Igor Bogdanich and Lawyer Myra Stirling discuss some of the key discussion points raised by the paper, and the proposed next steps in the review

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Following the release of its coal seam gas water policy in October 2008, the Queensland Government has now released the iManagement of Water Produced from Coal Seam Gas Production/i Discussion Paper, which proposes to 'tighten' Queensland's current coal seam gas water regulatory regime to achieve greater beneficial use. Partner Bill McCredie, Special Counsel Philip Murray and Senior Associate Suzanne Westgate report

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The Western Australian Government has recently launched an $80 million incentive scheme aimed at increasing minerals and petroleum exploration in WA. A key component of the scheme is a co-funded government/industry drilling program, with funding applications having opened on 8 April 2009. Partner Gerard Woods and Lawyer Clara Wren discuss some key features of the scheme

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From 7 April 2009 all mining legal proceedings under the Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991 (NSW) and Mining Act 1992 (NSW) must be commenced in the Land and Environment Court of NSW. Partner Paul Lalich and Lawyer Brooke Newell outline the Land and Environment Court's new jurisdiction and procedure for such matters

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We look at the legal regime for mergers, recent regulatory developments in the banking industry, key issues under the current mining regime and the National Social Security Fund scheme

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In our quarterly Focus on safety at work, we look at the second report on harmonisation of occupational health and safety laws in Australia, the dangers for employers even if an occupational health and safety risk is not located on work premises, risk assessment and the Beaconsfield Gold Mine disaster, the s28(a) defence in NSW, and the high penalties attracted by a failure to manage well-known risks to safety at work.

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As part of its commitment to 'close the gap' between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, the Federal Government is seeking ways to improve the delivery of benefits to traditional owners from native title agreements, and input on its public discussion paper. Meanwhile, in Victoria, a joint government-traditional owner steering committee has proposed a major overhaul of the settlement of native title claims in that state, we also update on the new national representative body and on proposed changes to native title legislation

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The Federal Department of Climate Change recently released an exposure draft of legislation and regulations for the Federal Government's proposed expanded national renewable energy target scheme. Partner Grant Anderson and Lawyer John Henderson look at the draft legislation and some associated proposals

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After three years of debate, the Bill on Mineral and Coal Mining was finally passed by the Indonesian House of Representatives on Tuesday, 16 December 2008. This new law will come into force once approved by the President and promulgated by the Ministry of Laws and Human Rights. Allens partner, David Holme and Widyawan & Partners Senior Partner, Widyawan, and Senior Associate, Ponco Prawoko, look at the key provisions of the new law

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The Productivity Commission has released its draft report on the Review of Regulatory Burden on the Upstream Petroleum (Oil and Gas) Sector. Partner Darren Murphy and Lawyer Viede Thipthorp look at the recommendations, which include a proposal for a national petroleum regulator.

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The new coalition Government of Western Australia has announced that the ban on uranium mining in the State will be lifted. This announcement overturns the policy of the previous State Labor Government and paves the way for development of significant uranium resources in Western Australia. Partner Gerard Woods and Lawyer John Koshy look at the implications of the policy turnaround

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In response to a recent New South Wales Court of Appeal decision, the NSW Government has moved quickly to introduce legislation that provides certainty for the mining industry in circumstances in which landowner consent is required over land on which there exists a significant improvement. Partner Tony Wassaf and Law Graduate Victoria Ho report on this development

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The Garnaut Climate Change Review's Final Report, which was released today, contains no surprises but simply confirms many of the findings and recommendations made in the Review's previous reports. Partner Grant Anderson reports