Australia’s first offshore wind auction is a milestone for industry and agreement-making on Country
Victoria has opened Australia’s first offshore wind auction, seeking proposals for two gigawatts of generation in the Gippsland offshore wind zone.
Bids close in August 2027, contracts are expected to be awarded in 2028, and first power is not expected to reach the grid until 2035. The auction is the first stage of Victoria’s offshore wind program, which targets at least two gigawatts by 2032, four gigawatts by 2035 and nine gigawatts by 2040 (reneweconomy.com)
The process marks a significant step for the offshore wind industry. It is also a significant point in the development of agreements between offshore wind proponents and First Nations people.
Projects selected through the process will be developed on Gunaikurnai Country. Their development will involve environmental studies, cultural heritage work, construction, operations and eventual decommissioning over several decades. The terms negotiated during feasibility, bidding and development will shape Gunaikurnai participation throughout that period.
Gunaikurnai have published their priorities
The Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, GLaWAC, is the Registered Aboriginal Party and Prescribed Body Corporate for Gunaikurnai Country.
GLaWAC has published its 2026 Energy Strategy, setting out its priorities for energy development on Country. Gunaikurnai Country has powered Victoria for more than a century, while Gunaikurnai people have seen little of the benefit and carried many of the impacts.
It identifies six objectives for the energy transition:
A strong, happy mob, informed and empowered to participate
Healing Country
Respect as Traditional Owners
Rights to use, manage and control Country
Cultural protection and practice
Economic independence
The strategy addresses these objectives through five priorities:
Healing Country,
Community benefits,
Partnerships,
Economic development and;
Household energy.
At the Gippsland New Energy Conference last week, GLaWAC Chair Troy McDonald said that: “the Gunaikurnai are at the table as partners in the industry transition, not bystanders on this”.
McDonald said agreements should include land returns, cultural heritage protection, economic participation and long-term monitoring, and described their purpose in terms of “reconciliation, healing and self-determination”.
Engagement agreements are in place
GLaWAC has engagement agreements with the developers behind four offshore wind proposals in the Gippsland zone:
Star of the South, developed by Southerly Ten
Blue Mackerel, a joint venture between JERA and bp
Aurora Green, developed by Iberdrola Australia
Gippsland 1, developed by Ørsted
The agreements provide regular meetings between GLaWAC and proponents. GLaWAC states that they do not commit it to approve or prefer any proposal, and do not guarantee a benefit or outcome for GLaWAC or Gunaikurnai Traditional Owners. They provide a process for GLaWAC to understand each proposal and communicate Gunaikurnai interests and priorities. (gunaikurnai)
What agreements can address
GLaWAC’s Energy Strategy and its companion document, Pathways to Partnership, identify a range of matters that proponents can address through project agreements and development processes.
These include Gunaikurnai ownership, investment in or leasing of energy infrastructure; contracting opportunities for Gunaikurnai businesses; apprenticeships and employment pathways; energy trading; and investment vehicles that generate long-term returns.
Pathways to Partnership calls for compensation through royalties or equity share, in line with or exceeding international and national standards. It also proposes revenue held in trust for future generations, procurement from GLaWAC and Aboriginal businesses, and right-of-first-refusal processes.
GLaWAC’s strategy calls for cultural heritage protection beyond minimum legislative requirements, including cultural surveys and Cultural Heritage Management Plans. It identifies collaboration with GLaWAC to study, monitor and mitigate impacts on landscapes, seascapes, ecosystems, plants and animals, alongside rehabilitation bonds and credible decommissioning arrangements.
The strategy also identifies GLaWAC as a rights holder in planning and approval processes, and calls for Indigenous Data Sovereignty to be respected.
A national financial benchmark
The federal Capacity Investment Scheme’s Tender 9 includes a First Nations Equity and Revenue Sharing Set Aside for eligible projects that commit to a First Nations economic interest of at least five per cent. The interest may be delivered through equity, revenue sharing of equivalent value, or a combination of both.
The Gunaikurnai strategy sets out a broader framework for offshore wind development on Gunaikurnai Country. It combines economic participation with cultural authority, Country protection, business participation, employment, household energy and long-term governance.
Victoria will assess auction proposals on value for money, deliverability, and benefits for local workers, businesses and communities. The bid period gives proponents until August 2027 to develop the commercial arrangements, procurement plans, environmental programs and engagement processes that will accompany their proposals.
Australia’s first offshore wind auction will determine which projects move toward contract negotiations. In Gippsland, it will also shape the agreements through which Gunaikurnai rights, interests and priorities are reflected in the next phase of energy development.