Queensland Numbered Acts Queensland Numbered ActsChapter 5, part 10—
omit, insert—
'In this part—
assessable transfer see section 571(2).
non-assessable transfer see section 571(1).
'(1) Each of the following is a dealing with a petroleum authority—
(a) a transfer of the petroleum authority or of a share in the petroleum authority;
(b) a mortgage over the petroleum authority or over a share in the petroleum authority;
(c) a release, transfer or surrender of a mortgage mentioned in paragraph (b);
(d) a change to the petroleum authority holder's name even if the holder continues to be the same person after the change;
(e) if the petroleum authority is a petroleum lease—
(i) a sublease of the petroleum lease; or
(ii) a transfer of a sublease of the petroleum lease or of a share in a sublease of the petroleum lease.
'(2) To remove any doubt, it is declared that any transaction or commercial agreement not mentioned in subsection (1) is not a dealing with a petroleum authority.
'The following dealings with a petroleum authority are prohibited—
(a) a transfer of a survey licence;
(b) a transfer of a pipeline authorised under section 33 or 110;
(c) a dealing, other than a dealing mentioned in section 569(1)(e), that has the effect of transferring a divided part of the area of a petroleum tenure;
Examples of a divided part of the area of a petroleum tenure—
a particular part of the surface of the area
a particular strata beneath the surface of the area
(d) a transfer of a pipeline licence, unless the pipeline the subject of the licence and the pipeline land for the licence are also to be transferred to the transferee of the pipeline licence;
(e) a transfer of a petroleum facility licence, unless the petroleum facility and petroleum facility land the subject of the licence are also to be transferred to the transferee of the licence;
(f) a transfer of a water monitoring authority, or of a share in a water monitoring authority, other than a transfer by operation of law under section 201;
(g) a transfer of a data acquisition authority, or of a share in a data acquisition authority, other than a transfer by operation of law under section 182.
'(1) The following transfers (each a non-assessable transfer) do not require assessment before being registered—
(a) a transfer of a petroleum authority or of a share in a petroleum authority under which—
(i) the transferee is an entity having the same Australian Business Number as the entity comprising all or part of the transferor; or
(ii) part of one holder's share in the petroleum authority will be transferred to another holder of the petroleum authority;
(b) a transmission by death of a petroleum authority or of a share in a petroleum authority;
(c) a transfer of a petroleum authority or of a share in a petroleum authority by operation of law;
(d) a transfer of a mortgage over a petroleum authority or over a share in a petroleum authority;
(e) a transfer of a sublease of a petroleum lease or of a share in a sublease of a petroleum lease.
'(2) A transfer of a petroleum authority or of a share in a petroleum authority not mentioned in subsection (1) is an assessable transfer and must be approved by the Minister under division 3 before it can be registered.
'(1) A dealing with a petroleum authority has no effect until it is registered.
'(2) A registered dealing takes effect on—
(a) for a dealing that is an assessable transfer—the day the transfer was approved under division 3; or
(b) for any other dealing—the day notice of the dealing was given to the chief executive under section 573.
'(1) Registration of a dealing with a petroleum authority, other than an assessable transfer, may be sought by giving the chief executive a notice of the dealing in the approved form.
'(2) However, a dealing with a petroleum authority prohibited under section 570 can not be registered.
'(3) The approved form must be accompanied by the fee prescribed under a regulation.
'(4) Registration of an assessable transfer must be carried out by the chief executive.
'The registration of a dealing with a petroleum authority, or an approval of an assessable transfer under division 3, allows the dealing or transfer to have effect according to its terms but does not of itself give the dealing any more effect or validity than it would otherwise have.
'(1) The holder of a petroleum authority may, before applying for approval of an assessable transfer relating to the authority, apply to the Minister—
(a) for an indication whether the Minister is likely to approve the transfer (an indicative approval); and
(b) if the Minister is likely to impose conditions on the giving of the approval—for an indication what the conditions are likely to be.
'(2) The application must be made to the Minister in the approved form and be accompanied by—
(a) the information the Minister requires to make a decision; and
(b) the fee prescribed under a regulation.
'(3) In deciding whether or not to give the indicative approval, the Minister must consider the matters mentioned in section 573D(2) as if the request were an application for approval of an assessable transfer.
'(4) The Minister must decide whether or not to give the indicative approval and give the applicant notice of the decision.
'(1) The holder of a petroleum authority may apply for approval of an assessable transfer relating to the petroleum authority.
'(2) However, an application can not be made under subsection (1) if the proposed transferee is not an eligible person.
'(3) The application must be made to the Minister in the approved form and be accompanied by—
(a) a written consent to the transfer by the proposed transferee; and
(b) if the petroleum authority or a share in the petroleum authority is subject to a mortgage—a written consent to the transfer by the mortgagee; and
(c) for a transfer of a share in a petroleum authority—a written consent to the transfer by each person other than the transferor who holds a share in the petroleum authority; and
(d) the fee prescribed under a regulation.
'(1) The Minister must decide whether or not to give the approval of the assessable transfer.
'(2) In deciding whether or not to give the approval, the Minister must consider—
(a) the application and any additional information accompanying the application; and
(b) the relevant criteria applying under chapter 2 or 4 for obtaining the type of authority the subject of the transfer; and
(c) the public interest.
'(3) However, subsection (2) does not apply if, under subsection (6) or (7), the approval is taken to have been given.
'(4) The approval may be given only if—
(a) the proposed transferee is—
(i) an eligible person; and
(ii) a registered suitable operator under the Environmental Protection Act; and
(b) no petroleum royalty payable by the holder of the petroleum authority remains unpaid.
'(5) Also, the Minister may refuse to give the approval if the Minister is not satisfied the transferor has substantially complied with the conditions of the petroleum authority.
'(6) The approval is taken to have been given if—
(a) under section 573B, an indicative approval has been given for the proposed dealing; and
(b) subsection (4) does not prevent the giving of the approval; and
(c) within 3 months after the giving of the indicative approval—
(i) an application for approval of the assessable transfer is made; and
(ii) if, under section 573B, an indication of likely conditions was given—the conditions are complied with.
'(7) The approval is also taken to have been given if—
(a) subsection (6)(a) and (b) is satisfied; and
(b) within 10 business days before the expiration of 3 months after the giving of the indicative approval, the applicant gives the chief executive—
(i) notice in the approved form that a proposed transferee has given a notice under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cwlth) about a proposal that relates to the assessable transfer; and
(ii) evidence that the proposed transferee has given the notice under that Act; and
(iii) a statement from the proposed transferee that the proposed transferee has not received notice about an order or decision made under that Act about the proposal; and
(c) within 6 months after the giving of the indicative approval, subsection (6)(c)(i) and (ii) is satisfied.
'(8) Despite subsections (6) and (7), the approval of the assessable transfer is taken not to have been given if—
(a) the request for indicative approval contained incorrect material information or omitted material information; and
(b) had the Minister been aware of the discrepancy, the Minister would not have given the indicative approval.
'(1) The Minister may, as a condition of deciding to give the approval, require the proposed transferee to give, under section 488, security for the petroleum authority the subject of the transfer as if the proposed transferee were an applicant for the petroleum authority.
'(2) If the proposed transferee does not comply with the requirement, the application may be refused.
'(3) When the transfer of the petroleum authority is complete, section 488 applies to the transferee of the petroleum authority as holder.
'(1) If the Minister decides to give the approval, the Minister must give the applicant notice of the decision.
'(2) If the Minister decides not to give the approval, the Minister must give the applicant an information notice for the decision.
'In this part—
associated agreement, for a petroleum authority, means an agreement relating to the petroleum authority, other than the following—
(a) a dealing with the petroleum authority;
(b) a dealing with the petroleum authority that is prohibited under section 570;
(c) another agreement prescribed under a regulation as unsuitable to be recorded in the petroleum register.
'(1) An associated agreement for a petroleum authority may be recorded in the petroleum register against the petroleum authority.
'(2) Registration of an associated agreement may be sought by giving the chief executive a notice of the agreement in the approved form.
'(3) An approved form given to the chief executive under this section must be accompanied by the fee prescribed under a regulation.
'(4) The chief executive is not required to examine, or to determine the validity of, an associated agreement recorded in the petroleum register under this section.
'The recording of an associated agreement under this part does not of itself—
(a) give the agreement any more effect or validity than it would otherwise have; or
(b) create an interest in the petroleum authority against which it is recorded.
'(1) A caveat must—
(a) be lodged in the approved form; and
(b) be signed by the caveator, the caveator's solicitor or another person authorised in writing by the caveator; and
(c) state the name and address for service of 1 person upon whom any notice may be served in order to serve the caveator; and
(d) identify the petroleum authority the subject of the caveat; and
(e) state the nature of the right or interest claimed by the caveator; and
(f) state the period for which the caveat is to continue in force; and
(g) if a person consents to the lodging of the caveat, be endorsed with the person's consent; and
(h) be accompanied by the lodgement fee prescribed under a regulation.
'(2) A caveat that does not comply with subsection (1) is of no effect.
'(1) A caveat may be lodged by any of the following—
(a) a person claiming an interest in a petroleum authority;
(b) the registered holder of a petroleum authority;
(c) a person to whom an Australian court has ordered that an interest in a petroleum authority be transferred;
(d) a person who has the benefit of a subsisting order of an Australian court restraining a registered holder of a petroleum authority from dealing with the petroleum authority.
'(2) A caveat lodged under this section can not be registered if it applies to any of the following—
(a) an application for indicative approval;
(b) an indicative approval given by the Minister;
(c) an application for approval of an assessable transfer;
(d) a notice to register a dealing given to the chief executive under section 573.
'(1) On receipt of a caveat complying with section 573J(1), the chief executive must—
(a) notify the holder or holders of the affected petroleum authority of the receipt of the caveat; and
(b) notify all other persons who have an interest in the petroleum authority as recorded in the petroleum register, including any subsisting prior caveator, of the receipt of the caveat; and
(c) record the existence of the caveat in the petroleum register.
'(2) For subsection (1)(b), a person does not have an interest in the petroleum authority only because the person is a party to an associated agreement recorded in the petroleum register against the petroleum authority.
'(1) Until a caveat lapses, or is removed or withdrawn, the caveat prevents registration of a dealing with a petroleum authority over which the caveat is lodged from the date and time endorsed by the chief executive on the caveat as the caveat's date and time of lodgement.
'(2) However, lodgement of a caveat does not prevent registration of the following—
(a) an instrument stated in the caveat as an instrument to which the caveat does not apply;
(b) an instrument if the caveator consents, in the approved form, to its registration and the consent is lodged with the chief executive;
(c) an instrument executed by a mortgagee whose interest was registered before lodgement of the caveat if—
(i) the mortgagee has power under the mortgage to execute the instrument; and
(ii) the caveator claims an interest in the petroleum authority as security for the payment of money or money's worth;
(d) an instrument of transfer of mortgage executed by a mortgagee whose interest was registered before lodgement of the caveat;
(e) another interest that, if registered, will not affect the interest claimed by the caveator.
'(3) The exception in subsection (2)(d) does not apply to a caveat lodged by the petroleum authority holder.
'(4) Lodgement of a caveat does not create in the caveator an interest in the petroleum authority affected by the caveat.
'(1) An agreed caveat lapses at the expiration of the term stated in the caveat but, if no term is stated, the caveat continues until it is withdrawn or removed.
'(2) A caveat that is not an agreed caveat lapses—
(a) if an order of the Land Court is in force in relation to the caveat—at the expiration of the order; or
(b) otherwise—at the expiration of 3 months after the date of lodgement of the caveat or a shorter term stated in the caveat.
'(3) A caveator may withdraw the caveat by notifying the chief executive in writing.
'(4) An affected person for a caveat may apply to the Land Court for an order that the caveat be removed.
'(5) The Land Court may make the order whether or not the caveator has been served with the application, and may make the order on the terms it considers appropriate.
'(6) If a caveat is withdrawn, lapses or is ordered to be removed, the chief executive must record the withdrawal, lapse or removal in the register.
'(7) In this section—
affected person, for a caveat, means a person—
(a) who has a right or interest (present or prospective) in the petroleum authority the subject of the caveat; or
(b) whose right (present or prospective) to deal with the petroleum authority the subject of the caveat is affected by the caveat.
agreed caveat means a caveat to which each holder of the petroleum authority the subject of the caveat has consented, if the consent has been lodged with the caveat.
'(1) This section applies if a caveat (the original caveat) is lodged in relation to an interest.
'(2) A further caveat with the same caveator can never be lodged in relation to the interest on the same, or substantially the same, grounds as the grounds stated in the original caveat unless—
(a) the consent of each holder of the petroleum authority the subject of the caveat has been lodged with the caveat; or
(b) the leave of a court of competent jurisdiction to lodge the further caveat has been granted.
'A person who lodges a caveat in relation to a petroleum authority without reasonable cause is liable to compensate anyone else who suffers loss or damage because of the caveat.'.