ATO has released updates to three guidance products relating to mining and petroleum exploration expenditure and farm-out arrangements. The deadline for submitting comments is 6 February 2025.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has opened a public consultation regarding the revised guidance on mining and petroleum exploration expenditures and farm-out arrangements on 10 December 2025.
ATO has released updates to three guidance products relating to mining and petroleum exploration expenditure and farm-out arrangements.
The ATO also published a decision impact statement on Commissioner of Taxation v Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited on 31 January 2023.
As recent legislative amendments have already addressed several issues that were the subject of comments, the ATO is not making any changes to the previously published decision impact statement. However, they’ve reflected the Commissioner’s view of the remaining issues arising from the Court’s decision by issuing:
- a draft update to TR 2017/1 to clarify ATO’s view on the ordinary meaning of “exploration or prospecting” in the context of Division 40 of the ITAA 1997
- addenda to MT 2012/1 and MT 2012/2, to qualify that when a farmer commences to hold an interest in a mining tenement for the purposes of Division 40 needs to have regard to applicable provisions in the legislation governing the relevant mining, quarrying or prospecting rights.
The update to TR 2017/1 is available as a draft. It’s open for comment until 6 February 2026.
