Australia opens applications for offshore wind transmission licences 

What you need to know

• Applications are now open to offshore wind proponents in Australia for a "Transmission & Infrastructure Licence" (TIL) to assess the feasibility of and to construct offshore wind transmission infrastructure.
• Guidance for TIL applications has also been published, following consultation on draft guidance in April 2024.
• The new TIL application pathway has opened at a time while many feasibility licence holders are preparing and consulting on proposed management plans.
• The recently amended Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Regulations 2021 (Cth) (OEI Regulations) now specify consultation and content requirements for management plans, including potential for management plans for Feasibility Licence and TILs to be aligned.

What you need to do

• For feasibility licence holders, check whether you need a transmission and infrastructure licence to authorise any of your feasibility activities in your proposed transmission corridors.
• Prepare your management plan(s) in accordance with the consultation and content requirements now specified in the OEI Regulations.
• Look out for our further alerts discussing these requirements in further detail.

Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Amendment Regulations 2024

After much-awaited amendment regulations came into force on 12 December 2024, the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Regulations 2022 (Cth) (OEI Regulations) now specify content and consultation requirements for management plans for all licences that may be granted under the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 (Cth) (OEI Act).

This is the second alert in our series about these reforms, and provides an overview of the management plan approval pathway for offshore wind proponents. It also covers the new application pathway that opened for Transmission & Infrastructure Licences (TILs) on 28 February 2025.

Further alerts will focus on:

• the content requirements for feasibility licence management plans;
• feasibility licence holders' obligations to consult with stakeholders in relation to various matters covered by the OEI Regulations;
• work health and safety in the offshore wind context; and
• further regulatory updates expected in the coming years as offshore wind proponents get ready to move to the commercial licence stage.

Transmission and Infrastructure Licence applications

Licences are required under the OEI Act to authorise the construction, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance or decommissioning of fixed or tethered infrastructure in Commonwealth waters in relation to offshore wind projects, including fixed or tethered infrastructure required for feasibility stage surveys.

While a Feasibility Licence can authorise the use of fixed or tethered infrastructure in a feasibility licence area (which must be inside one of the six offshore wind declared areas), a TIL is required to authorise the use of fixed or tethered infrastructure outside the declared areas. This might include the use of geotechnical survey infrastructure that rests on the seabed and will be used to assess the suitability of potential transmission corridors.

On 28 February 2025, the Australian Government opened up applications for TILs and released new guidance from the Offshore Infrastructure Regulator (OIR) and Offshore Infrastructure Registrar (Registrar).

The new guidance indicates that many TILs may be granted in stages as follows:

• TILs may be granted for an initial period to authorise feasibility surveys involving fixed or tethered infrastructure in proposed transmission corridors during the term of a Feasibility Licence granted in a declared area.
• Once a TIL is granted, the TIL holder will need to prepare a management plan for the TIL in the same way as for Feasibility Licences. The content of a TIL management plan may adopt content from a Feasibility Licence management plan if the two licences are held by the same person (section 95 OEI Regulations).
• Subsequently, once a TIL holder has finalised the route and design for its proposed transmission project, the next step will be to apply for an extension to the TIL to cover the full life of the transmission project. The Minister will be able to vary the conditions of the TIL at this time. This step might align with the future grant of a Commercial Licence for an offshore wind project.
• At any time after the initial grant of the TIL, the TIL licence holder may surrender parts of the licence area that are no longer required for the transmission project, as a proposed transmission corridor is narrowed. All fixed or tethered infrastructure must be decommissioned from the area to be surrendered before the surrender application is submitted.

Management plan pathway

Preliminary step: design notification (optional during feasibility stage)

As explained in our first alert, the updated OEI Regulations now provide an opportunity for offshore wind proponents to seek feedback from the OIR on project design matters through "design notifications".

If a licence holder would like OIR feedback on any "offshore renewable energy infrastructure" or "offshore electricity transmission infrastructure" to be used for feasibility activities – whether under a Feasibility Licence or a Transmission & Infrastructure Licence – the licence holder may submit a voluntary design notification to the OIR.

However, in relation to long-term generation and transmission infrastructure, design notifications will be mandatory. This is because, under section 96 of the OEI Regulations, design notifications are a mandatory step before applying for approval for:

• a management plan for a proposed Commercial Licence (which in turn is required before applying for a Commercial Licence); and
• a management plan for a TIL that would authorise storing, transmission or conveying electricity or a renewable energy product (as opposed to authorising fixed or tethered infrastructure used for feasibility activities).

Step 1: Prepare draft management plan

Management plans (for all licence types under the OEI Act) have strict content requirements which must be met for a management plan to be approved. The OIR strongly advises licence holders to check a draft management plan against the requirements of the OEI Regulations prior to submitting the draft plan to the OIR for assessment.

Our next alert will set out the content requirements in further detail.

Step 2: Carry out consultation

Before submitting a management plan for approval for the first time (ie before making an "initial plan approval application"), a licence holder must carry out consultation in accordance with the OEI Regulations. Licence holders must:

• make reasonable efforts to identify and consult with certain persons listed in section 64(1) of the OEI Regulations; and
• consult those persons in relation to any activities to be carried out under the management plan that involve the construction, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance or decommissioning of "offshore renewable energy infrastructure" or "offshore electricity transmission infrastructure" in the licence area. These are the activities that will be authorised if they are included in the management plan and the management plan is approved.

The fourth alert in this series will explain licence holders' consultation obligations in further detail.

Step 3: Submit initial plan approval application & pay application fee

Once a licence holder has prepared a draft management plan and carried out consultation in accordance with the OEI Regulations, the next step is to submit an "initial plan approval application" and pay the $10,000 application fee. This can be done online.

The OIR will then run a completeness check and assign a lead assessor who will be responsible for ensuring the management plan is assessed in accordance with the OIR's policies and procedures.

The OIR will have 60 days to assess the management plan, but may extends this timeframe by written notice to the licence holder setting out the reasons for the extension.

Potential additional step: Respond to any information or revision requests

If the OIR is not satisfied that the initial plan approval application contains sufficient information for the OIR to approve the management plan, the OIR may request further information from the licence holder. Alternatively, if the OIR is not satisfied that the management plan can be approved, the OIR may require the licence holder to amend and resubmit the plan.

Either request will specify the day on which the licence holder will need to respond. If the licence holder does not respond on time, the OIR may refuse to approve the management plan.

Step 4: Decision on approval of management plan

The OIR may either approve, or refuse to approve, the management plan.

If the OIR proposes to refuse to approve the management plan, the OIR will first give notice to the licence holder inviting them to make a submission about the proposed decision within a reasonable specified timeframe. The OIR must take the licence holder's submission into account in making the final decision to approve or reject the management plan.

If the management plan is approved, the licence holder will then need to:

• give the OIR a summary of the management plan that includes the information specified in section 77 of the OEI Regulations;
• provide financial security to the Commonwealth to cover any costs that might arise in connection with decommissioning and removing licence infrastructure and remediating the licence area (section 117 OEI Act);
• carry out licence activities in accordance with the approved management plans, as it is an offence to carry out licence activities "in a way that is contrary to the management plan" for the licence (section 46 OEI Regulations);
• revise the management plan, generally every 5 years or in response to a change in circumstances (sections 56 and 60 OEI Regulations) or in response to a direction from the OIR (section 53 OEI Regulations).

Want to know more?

• Australia finalises new regulations for offshore wind projects (19 February 2025) 
• Australia's offshore wind industry: 2024 year in review (11 February 2025)

Other authors: Fergus Calwell, Lawyer; and Jeff Lynn, Partner.