PDF DOWNLOADIn our September 2010 Energy and Resources update (A new regulatory framework for land access and compensation in Queensland) click here we looked at the new regime for land access and compensation arrangements in Queensland being introduced for:
- all tenures and authorities under:
- the Petroleum Act 1923;
- the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004;
- the Geothermal Energy Act 2010;
- the Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2009; and
- exploration permits and mineral development licences under the Mineral Resources Act 1989,
(each of the above a “resource authority”).
The Land Access Code November 2010 published by DEEDI (Land Access Code) sets out general principles for holders of resource authorities and land owners and occupiers to follow in the course of their discussions and negotiations about land access and compensation matters.
Importantly, the Land Access Code imposes mandatory conditions on the conduct of authorised activities which holders of resource authorities and people acting for them will need to comply with. If a condition of an existing tenure is inconsistent with a mandatory provision of the Land Access Code, the mandatory provision will prevail.
On 29 October 2010, the majority of the relevant provisions amending the various resource Acts for the purposes of the new land access regime commenced, including the new mandatory conditions for resource authorities. The new mandatory conditions will apply to each kind of resource authority.
Resource companies and their contractors and agents should familiarise themselves with the detail of the new mandatory conditions so that they are aware of their obligations under them.
While the mandatory conditions may, to some extent, reflect existing land access procedures and practices, where necessary, land access procedures and practices (including documentation, records and document management systems) should be put in place to meet the specific requirements of the new mandatory conditions.
In this update, we look at the content of the new mandatory conditions which will apply to all resource authorities.
Overview of the mandatory conditions for resource authorities – what you need to know
Where used below:
“holder” means a holder of a resource authority; and
“relevant person” means:
- a holder; or
- a person acting for a holder under a resource authority.
Induction
Holders must ensure that each person acting for them receives information and training specific to the obligations under the relevant resource Acts, the Land Access Code and any agreement between the holder and the landholder in respect of the authorised activities that will be carried out by the person on a landholder’s land.
A holder must give each person acting for them a document to show that the person has received the appropriate information and training. If a landholder requests a copy of the relevant document, the holder must give the landholder a copy of it.
This requirement highlights the need to ensure adequate training and induction programs are put in place together with appropriate document management systems.
Access points, roads and tracks
In relation to access points, roads and tracks, relevant persons must:
- use an existing access point, road or track to enter a landholder’s land. Where this is not practicable, any new access points, roads or tracks made by the relevant person must be located at a place and in a way that minimises the impact on the landholder’s business or land use activities;
- ensure that access points, roads or tracks are kept in good repair;
- operate vehicles on a landholder’s land at speeds that:
- are appropriate for the landholder’s land; and
- minimise noise, dust and disturbance; and
- if the relevant person causes damage to access points, roads or tracks on a landholder’s land, the relevant person must, as soon as practicable:
- notify the landholder of the damage; and
- repair the damage.
A relevant person may operate a vehicle in wet conditions on a landholder’s land only in a way that minimises damage to access points, roads and tracks on the land.
Livestock and property
A relevant person must:
- use a landholder’s land in a way that minimises disturbance to people, livestock and property;
- immediately notify the landholder of any potential adverse impact on a landholder’s livestock or property that the relevant person becomes of aware of which is caused by the authorised activities;
- if the relevant person injures or kills a landholder’s livestock, immediately notify the landholder of the injury or death of the livestock; and
- if the relevant person damages a landholder’s property:
- immediately notify the landholder of the damage; and
- repair the damage as soon as practicable.
Obligations to prevent spread of declared pests
A relevant person must take all reasonable steps to ensure that, in entering or leaving land in the area of a resource authority, the person does not spread the reproductive material of a “declared pest” (defined to mean a declared pest under the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002 or an animal or plant otherwise declared a pest under local law).
A holder must:
- ensure that each person acting for the holder under a resource Act washes down vehicles and machinery before entry onto a landholder’s land, if the risk of spreading a declared pest is likely to be reduced by the washing down; and
- keep a record (wash-down record) of all “wash-downs” carried out during the period in which the holder is allowed access to the landholder’s land.
If a landholder asks a holder for a copy of the wash-down record, the holder must give a copy of it to the landholder.
Camps
Before any camp on a landholder’s land is set up, the holder and the landholder must agree on the location and a plan for managing the camp.
If the holder and landholder cannot agree on a location and a plan for managing the camp, the holder must ensure that the camp’s location is in a place that will minimise any impact on the landholder’s business or land use activities.
Items brought onto land
Relevant persons must:
- collect rubbish or waste produced in carrying out the authorised activities and deposit it in a suitable “local waste facility” (defined to mean a waste facility owned, operated or otherwise controlled by a local government); and
- not bring firearms, domestic animals or alcohol onto a landholder’s land without the landholder’s consent.
Gates, grids and fences
Relevant persons must:
- if they damage a grid on a landholder’s land:
- notify the landholder of the damage; and
- replace or repair any damaged grid as “soon as practicable”;
- after using a gate, return it to its original position unless otherwise advised by the landholder;
- obtain the landholder’s consent before erecting a gate on the landholder’s land;
- ensure any gate they erect is stock-proof;
- not cut a fence on the landholder’s land without the landholder’s consent; and
- if the landholder allows a fence to be cut by a relevant person to carry out an authorised activity, “immediately after” carrying out the activity, repair the fence or erect a stock-proof gate, as required by the landholder, where the fence was cut.
For assistance in relation to any matter arising under the new land access and compensation regime in Queensland, including the new mandatory conditions for resource authorities, please do not hesitate to contact any of the following Holding Redlich lawyers: