The Federal Government has introduced urgent legislation into Parliament to fix a series of bureaucratic blunders that have seen offshore petroleum licenses in marine parks extended without proper approval.

A government audit revealed 42 renewals were not sent to the Environment Minister as required under the law.

The "administrative oversight", as the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science calls it, involved the renewal of petroleum leases in marine parks going back at least seven years.

The mistake was revealed late yesterday by the Minister for Resources and Energy Josh Frydenberg, via a statement on his website.

"I have been advised by my Department that a number of offshore petroleum titles with prior usage rights have been subject to incorrect renewal and extension processing," he said.

"The legislation will retrospectively deem the relevant renewal and extension decisions to have been correctly processed, enabling titleholders to continue their operations as per usual."

The Opposition has not only agreed to support the legislation via a bipartisan agreement — Shadow Minister for Resources Gary Gray said it was the fault of previous Labor governments.

"I don't want people to think this is a problem created by the current government - it's our problem," he said.

"The shortfall was actually known and revealed in 2011; unfortunately at that time no action was taken at that time by the Labor Government.

"The shortfall was then revealed by way of a recent audit by the department and quick action has been taken.

"It's therefore the responsibility of the Opposition to act in an alert and thoughtful manner to support the closure of the gap created by the former government."

He said the need for, and subsequent lack of, ministerial approval was a hangover from before other approval bodies were created, and he said there were no environmental risks.

"I don't believe that there is any environmental risk or danger from this administrative shortfall."

Conservationists worried

The Australian Marine Conservation Society's Fiona Maxwell is concerned that the process is being rushed, and she is worried about other mistakes that have not yet been identified.

"I think most Australians would be shocked to even know that oil and gas mining is actually allowed to happen in our marine parks … let alone that fact that these approvals have been allowed to go ahead without any kind of approval or checks and balances," she said.

"We are very, very concerned that this is allowed to happen."

Greens spokesperson for marine issues Senator Rachel Siewert is also concerned.

She said she would be pushing for a Senate inquiry to find out which leases were affected, and who they were operated by.

"If the Government fails to provide that information, that's what a Senate inquiry can elicit," she said.

"Which areas they affect, how much acreage is involved, who are the companies, what type of leases are they, and where they are."

But with bipartisan support from the major parties, a Senate inquiry is unlikely to get support.

The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science said after the audit revealed problems, an internal review was launched.

"This is a quite specific oversight in departmental administrative processes which is now being addressed," a spokesperson from the Department said in a statement.

"Administrative arrangements have been put in place to ensure correct processing going forward.

"The department is also undertaking a broader review of process relating to titles approvals. The review has just been commissioned and is being undertaken as a matter of urgency."