Onshore Gas Industry and Hydraulic Fracturing

Investigations into Onshore Gas Industry and Hydraulic Fracturing in Australia.

Investigations into onshore gas industry and hydraulic fracturing in Australia

Most Australian jurisdictions have held investigations into the onshore gas industry and hydraulic fracturing. These include formal parliamentary committee inquiries, independent reviews and other research activities. Here is a list of past and current investigations including links by jurisdiction.

 

Australian Government

Senate Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Inquiry More info

  • Title:Management of the Murray Darling Basin Interim report: The impact of mining coal seam gas on the management of the Murray Darling Basin.
  • Status:Report finalised 30 November 2011

NICNAS, CSIRO, Department of Environment and Geoscience AustraliaMore info

  • Title:National Assessment of Chemicals Associated with Coal Seam Gas Extraction in Australia
  • Status:Initiated July 2012 - Current

Select Committee on Unconventional Gas MiningMore info

  • Title:Unconventional gas mining
  • Status:Initiated 12 November 2015 - Report to be provided on or before 30 June 2016
Queensland

CSIRO - Gas Industry Social & Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA) More info

  • Title: Air, water and soil impacts of hydraulic fracturing, Phase 2
  • Status:Final Reports released April 2020

CSIRO - Gas Industry Social & Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA) More info

  • Title:CSIRO’s Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance refutes The Australia Institute report
  • Status:Released 22 July 2020
New South Wales

Legislative Council Inquiry – General Purpose Standing Committee No. 5 More info

  • Title:Inquiry into coal seam gas: Report no. 35
  • Status:Report finalised 1 May 2012

Chief Scientist and Engineer More info

  • Title:Final report of the independent review of coal seam gas activities in NSW. September 2014
  • Status:Report finalised 30 September 2014
Northern Territory

Honourable Justice Rachel PepperMore info

  • Title:Scientific Inquiry Into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory
  • Status:Final Report completed 27 March 2018

Allan Hawke AC. Commissioner More info

  • Title:Independent inquiry into hydraulic fracturing in the Northern Territory
  • Status:Final report completed 28 November 2014
South Australia

Parliamentary Committee - Natural Resources Committee More info

  • Title:Inquiry into unconventional gas fracking
  • Status:Initiated November 2014. Submission from the South Australian Government released January 2015
Tasmania

Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment More info

  • Title:Review of hydraulic fracturing in Tasmania
  • Status:Final report completed 25 February 2015
Victoria

Gas Market Taskforce More info

  • Title:Gas Market Taskforce: Final report and recommendations
  • Status:Report finalised 1 November 2013

Auditor GeneralMore info

  • Title:Unconventional gas: Managing risks and impacts
  • Status:Report tabled August 2015

Legislative Council – Environment and Planning Committee More info

  • Title:Inquiry into onshore unconventional gas in Victoria
  • Status:Final report tabled 8 December 2015
Western Australia

Legislative Council – Standing Committee on the Environment and Planning More info

  • Title:Inquiry into the implications for Western Australia of hydraulic fracturing for unconventional gas
  • Status:Final report released on 17 November 2015

Important resources

  1. Hydraulic fracturing (APPEA)
  2. Fraccing (Department of Environment and Science)
  3. Report by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers: Understanding induced seismicity associated with oil and natural gas operations (PDF 1.5 MB)