Gas producers would reserve 15 per cent for Australia
Senator Pauline Hanson's private bill, which did not come from the government, would add a new rule to every licence to take oil and gas from the sea. Companies would have to sign a 10-year deal that keeps some gas and oil for the national government to use.
Official name: Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Domestic Reserve) Bill 2026
- Offshore oil and gas companies, which drill at sea, would have to sign a 'domestic reserve agreement'. That is a deal to keep some for use at home in Australia. They would sign it with the national government.
- Each year they would keep back an amount equal to 15 per cent of what they sold overseas the year before.
- The deals would last at least 10 years. New ones would follow while the licence lasts.
- It is from one senator and has not been voted on.
Who it affects
- Companies with a licence to take oil and gas from the sea: They would have 12 months to sign a deal that keeps part of their oil and gas for the national government.
- The federal government: It would be the only one with the right to use the oil and gas kept back.
- States and territories: The national government could hand them the right to use it for a set time.
Keeping enough gas at home
Senator Pauline Hanson brought this bill into the Senate, Parliament's second house, on 10 March 2026. It is a private bill. That means a senator brought it, not the government.
Her notes on the bill say the goal is to make sure Australians have enough natural gas and other fuels like oil.
The bill changes the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006. That law covers drilling for oil and gas in federal waters. These are the parts of the sea further out than the waters the states control.
Companies need a licence to take oil or gas out there. The law calls it a petroleum production licence. Petroleum here means oil and natural gas.
New licence condition
Every one of these licences would come with a new rule. The company would have to sign a deal with the national government within 12 months. The deal would keep some oil and gas for use in Australia. It is called a domestic reserve agreement.
Some licences will be given out from 1 January 2027 on. For these, the 12 months would start on the day the licence is given. For older licences, it would start on the day the new rule starts.
The rule would apply to all licences, old and new.
The rule would count even though it is not written in the licence itself.
What the reserve deal says
Each year, the company would keep back oil and gas equal to 15 per cent of what it sold overseas the year before. Only the national government would have the right to use it.
Say a company sold 100 million units of gas overseas last year. This year it would need to keep back 15 million units for the national government.
The national government could pass its right to use the oil and gas to a state or territory for a set time.
Each deal would run for at least 10 years. When one ends, the company would have to sign a new one if its licence still applies.
The bill does not set a price for the oil and gas kept back. It says the government can write detailed rules on anything else needed to make the deals work. It can do this without a new vote in Parliament.
Waiting in the Senate
If passed, the law would start the day after the Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signed it into law.
The bill was brought in on 10 March 2026, and the senator spoke on its main idea that day. It has not been debated or voted on since. It is still in the Senate.
To become law, the Senate would need to debate it and pass it. Then the House of Representatives would need to pass it too.
Its journey through Parliament
| 10 Mar 2026 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 10 Mar 2026 | Senate: Second reading moved |