Petroleum regulator tenders for investigations platform

The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority (NOPSEMA), as part of a Digital Transformation Program (Project CORE) to improve the efficiencies of regulatory activities, is seeking a specialised investigations platform that compliments with Microsoft Dynamics 365. 

Project CORE is the enterprise transformation initiative leveraging Microsoft Dynamics 365 for an external portal, case management and regulatory functions. 
 
Current investigations processes currently rely on the Objective Records Management platform, which is being migrated to Microsoft SharePoint with AvePoint governance and will be decommissioned by May 2026. 

The Investigations function requires advanced capabilities beyond standard Dynamics configuration. It is expected that Dynamics 365 can meet Level 2–3 investigation needs with configuration but lacks specialised features for Level 4 investigations involving complex evidence handling and integrity.

These include requirements such as visibility of CORE data; Physical Evidence Management with barcode scanning, receipts and audit capability; chain of custody of both physical and electronic evidence​; and automated storage of electronic evidence and other documents.

Other requirements include a running sheet for an investigation, showing all calls, emails, tasks, due dates and movement of physical and electronic evidence in a timeline available for use in the Full Brief of Evidence; investigation-centric case management for planning, scope definition, allocation of inspectors and tasks, reminder notifications and status tracking, with history​; security on sensitive data​; and the ability to conduct investigations on site, offline, with synchronisation on reconnection.

The resultant contract is expected to commence on May 2026 and conclude on May 2031.  

Current timelines for migrating from the Objective platform has a May 2026 cutover. NOPSEMA will work with the successful vendor to prioritise implementation and migration of physical evidence records while broader investigation platform design continues. 

The tender closes 10 April 2026 at 7:00 pm ACT Local Time.

Earlier this year, NOPSEMA issued an RfT for the implementation of Microsoft Sentinel within an existing Microsoft Azure tenancy, in addition to the subsequent provision of MDR services as a SOC.