Overview
Australia is a Contracting Party to the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972 (the London Protocol). In 2006, sub-seabed sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) streams from capture processes was added to the London Protocol as an allowed permit category.
The Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981 (Sea Dumping Act) implements the London Protocol permitting requirements in Australian waters. The Sea Dumping Act:
prohibits the ocean disposal of material considered too harmful to be released into the marine environment
regulates permitted ocean waste disposal to minimise its environmental impacts
regulates both the loading and dumping of waste at sea, including the sequestration of CO2 streams by offshore carbon capture sequestration (CCS).
To support sea dumping permit applications for the sequestration of domestically-sourced CO2 offshore, in February 2024 the department released:
the sea dumping permit application form for dumping domestically sourced CO2 streams by sequestration at sea
guidance on the department’s website on how the Sea Dumping Act applies to sequestration at sea
the Interim National Action List (NAL) for offshore CCS, which outlines upper levels for certain substances that might be present in CO2 streams planned for sequestration at sea
Following release of the Interim NAL, we have now drafted the Offshore Carbon Capture and Sequestration National Action List (Offshore CCS NAL), the National Assessment Guidelines for Offshore Carbon Capture and Sequestration (NAGOCCS) and the updated sea dumping permit application form. This will enable regulation of the offshore sequestration of domestically sourced CO2 under the Sea Dumping Act.
To clarify changes made since the release of the Interim NAL, we have provided a document outlining the key differences between the Interim NAL and Offshore CCS NAL. We have also provided a factsheet which summarises the content of the Offshore CCS NAL and provides an overview of how incidental associated substances may be addressed.
Please note that the Offshore CCS NAL, NAGOCCS and updated permit application form have been drafted for the regulation of offshore sequestration of domestically sourced CO2 streams only. Further work is ongoing to determine their suitability for the regulation of the transboundary movement of CO2 for offshore sequestration.
