NOPSEMA Advisory Board Chair

• All locations in Australia

The Department of Industry, Science and Resources seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified individuals to join the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) Advisory Board.

The NOPSEMA Advisory Board

NOPSEMA is a Commonwealth corporate entity and is the Australian Government's regulator for the structural integrity of petroleum wells and infrastructure, health and safety of workers, and environmental management for all offshore energy (petroleum and renewables) operations and greenhouse gas storage activities in Commonwealth waters, and in some coastal waters where regulatory powers and functions have been conferred by state authorities.

Section 653 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (the Act) establishes the NOPSEMA Advisory Board. Under section 654 of the Act, the board is tasked with giving advice and making recommendations to the Chief Executive Officer, the responsible Commonwealth Minister and relevant state and territory ministers on policy and strategic matters within NOPSEMA's remit. However, the board does not have decision-making or directing responsibilities.

Under section 656 of the Act, the NOPSEMA Advisory Board is required to have a chair and between five to seven other members. The department is seeking candidates to fill both the positions of Member and Chair.

In accordance with the Act, Members of the board are appointed by the Minister for Resources, the Hon Madeleine King MP, following endorsement by the relevant state and territory ministers.

Members of the NOPSEMA Advisory Board are appointed based on relevant skills, merit and expertise, there are no statutory prerequisites that members must meet to be eligible to join. However, to perform its functions, the board needs to comprise individuals who collectively have experience, expertise and/or understanding across the following areas:

• Relevant legislation, regulatory regimes and operations of regulatory organisations.
• Government, statutory bodies, or government-facing organisations.
• Offshore petroleum, maritime, offshore electricity (including renewables), or carbon capture and storage industries.
• Environmental science and/or environmental management.
• Leading practice consultation and engagement with First Nation Peoples and dealing with cultural heritage matters.
• Issues affecting First Nations Peoples.
• Human resources management including occupational health and safety, industrial relations, and workforce representation.
• Offshore decommissioning, finance, or legal sectors.
• Australia's offshore safety case approach in regulating major hazard industries.
• Leading practice and research on causes and prevention of major safety and environmental incidents.
• Environmental impact assessment and regulatory approaches.
• International regulatory practices and trends in safety, environmental, social and governance issues.
• The use and impacts of digital systems and technologies, including artificial Intelligence on offshore operations.

Members of the NOPSEMA Advisory Board

In addition to possessing the necessary technical and professional skills to provide expert advice, members should have:

• Effective written and verbal communicators who can respectfully and effectively engage with complex issues.
• Proven and proficient at creating and maintaining professional relationships, managing conflicts and competing priorities.
• Experience on committees, boards or other governance bodies, particularly in roles advising government or other organisations on policy development and emerging issues.

Chair of the NOPSEMA Advisory Board

In addition to the responsibilities of a member of the NOPSEMA Advisory Board, candidates for the role of Chair must have:

• Demonstrated experience chairing high-level committees or boards.
• The time and capacity to undertake this role.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively to achieve outcomes.
• A recognised ability to communicates with influence.
• Strong leadership skills, experience at the highest levels of decision-making and experience managing long-term strategic priorities and policies.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve consensus amongst colleagues and collate their advice.
• Demonstrated experience in maintaining relationships with stakeholders.
• A high standard of professionalism, personal integrity and probity.

In addition to the application requirements, candidates interested in applying for the Chair position should note and address these requirements as part of the expression of interest. The Chair will be responsible for delivering meeting objectives and progressing work as requested by the CEO of NOSPEMA or the Responsible Commonwealth Minister.

The capacity of the Chair to successfully communicate, both verbally and in writing, and the ability to liaise and negotiate effectively with board members, the minister and departmental senior executive is crucial. The Chair will also have a proven ability to build relationships, overcome conflict and seek resolutions for an agreed approach for the board to deliver on any outcomes or actions arising from meetings, to understand the strategic objectives and the broader context in which NOPSEMA operates and successfully harness the skills of members to ensure the board can efficiently and effectively perform its functions. The successful candidate will work closely with the secretariat to ensure advice is provided in a timely manner.

Meetings and workload

The NOPSEMA Advisory Board is based in Perth, Western Australia. Chair and members are to attend up to six meetings per year, with 50 percent expected to be in-person. Travel for interstate members is required. In addition, other meetings may be held as needed for the board to consider and develop its advice. Weekend and out-of-hours travel to enable attendance to meetings is likely. There may also be an out of session workload for the Chair and members.

The Chair and members should be prepared to attend all scheduled meetings, with a minimum of 50 per cent attendance per year to maintain board membership. Further, members are expected to actively participate in all dialogue that occurs 'out of session' by email and/or virtual concerning board business, which may on occasion require a quick response.

Members may also be required to undertake additional work between meetings, for instance via out of session papers, and by attendance at workshops and other fora as required. The Chair will delegate work to members in accordance with their expertise and interest. Members are expected to lead on relevant items requested by the Chair. Meetings typically require advance reading and review of meeting papers prepared.

Term

According to section 658 of the Act, members of the board are appointed on a part-time basis for a period, specified in the instrument of appointment, of up to three-years.

Previous or existing members of the board are eligible to apply and to be re-appointed.

Remuneration

In accordance with section 659 of the Act, the Chair and board members are remunerated according to the Remuneration Tribunal (Remuneration and Allowances for Holders of Part-time Public Office) Determination 2025.

In addition to filling current vacancies on the NOPSEMA Advisory Board, the department will seek to create a pool from which future vacancies can be filled. Suitable applicants who are unsuccessful initially may be added to the pool to fill future vacancies as they arise for a period of 12-months.

The department will undertake appropriate due diligence and suitability checks to ensure candidates meet the required standards for the role.

In preparing your expression of interest you should address your statement of claims (500 words maximum) outlining your interest in this position and your skills, capabilities, knowledge and experience to be considered for this role. Please provide examples which demonstrate your ability to perform the duties of the position.

You also need to submit your CV with your EOI.

Former and current board members are eligible to apply, including for the position of Chair.

Your application must not contain any classified or sensitive information. This includes in your application responses, CV and any other documents. The selection panel may not consider applications containing classified information.

Please provide a pitch explaining how your skills, knowledge and experience will be relevant to this role and why you are the best candidate for the position. Your pitch can contain no more than 500 words and should align to the key duties listed above.

Please complete your application online and provide your current CV with your application. (CVs must be in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format).

Accessible application documentation is available in other formats on request. Please contact or if you require assistance with your application.

Please refer to our Applying for a position information for additional information on how to apply.

For more information regarding this opportunity, please contact Mr Cliff Weeks on or via email on