The halving of the fuel excise on petrol and diesel was announced following a meeting of the National Cabinet convened in Canberra on Monday, and will commence from 1 April and run to 30 June.

This will reduce the cost of fuel by 26.3 cents per litre, reducing the cost of a 65L tank of fuel by nearly $19.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will continue to monitor fuel prices to help ensure that the lower excise rate is fully passed on at the bowser.

Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann welcomed the initiative, and said the spike in fuel prices because of the war in the Middle East was hurting local motorists and causing financial stress, so this would provide some relief.

“With Easter and school holidays coming up, we're halving the fuel tax for three months now to save local commuters and businesses money when they fill up, and make it a bit more affordable for families to go away for the Easter break,” he said.

“Australians always look out for each other and we’re responding the Australian way by looking after people. But we can all do our bit by only buying what we need.

“In other good news, the Government will cut the Heavy Vehicle Road User Charge to zero for three months and defer the next scheduled increase by six months to help with the cost of living, and help truckies continue their vital work for our nation.

“As well, I encourage locals to use public transport, wherever possible, to help conserve fuel for the regions, and take advantage of 50 cent fares introduced by the former Labor State Government.”

On Monday, national leaders also agreed and released a National Fuel Security Plan at a meeting of the National Cabinet. The plan can be found here: https://www.pmc.gov.au/resources/national-fuel-security-plan 

The Australian Government continues to engage with our trading partners to help ensure the continued flow of fuel and diesel shipments to Australia from overseas.

In addition, the Government is acting to shield Australia against any future fuel supply chain disruptions by establishing new fuel security powers, enabling the Government to work with fuel suppliers to keep fuel flowing to Australia.

This week, the Government introduced amendments to the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act, formalising the Commonwealth’s ability to underwrite additional cargoes and other vital strategic reserves as needed.

The Government is already in discussions with local and international fuel suppliers to help them source additional cargoes, as needed, with a focus on ensuring additional supply helps address regional shortages and critical supply gaps.

The Fuel Security powers help to address this by giving suppliers confidence to secure additional and discretionary cargoes, which will be used to service uncontracted demand, including regional and independent fuel suppliers.

Mr Neumann said the new laws would help fuel suppliers get more fuel from overseas if needed, especially for our farmers and regional areas, to supply places like the rural parts of Ipswich and surrounds, and the Somerset Region.

“Our new Fuel Security Powers will mean the Government can step in to help fuel suppliers source extra cargo from international markets, offer loans, guarantees and contracts to get deals done fast, and extra fuel will be directed to the regions and communities that need it most.

” Mr Neumann emphasised that across the board, the Albanese Government has been working through and planning for the impacts of the crisis and protecting Australians from the worst of this global challenge. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure Australia has the fuel we need.

That’s on top of changing the rules to keep more Australian-made fuel here at home and working with the states to get it where it needs to go.”

Background

Since the conflict commenced four weeks ago, the Albanese Government has taken
swift action on fuel to prepare and shield Australians from the worst impacts. This
includes:

• Passing new laws to double penalties for petrol companies for price gouging
• Appointing a national Fuel Supply Taskforce Coordinator and Taskforce
• Releasing 20 per cent of Australia’s petrol and diesel fuel reserves, targeted at regional areas
• Changing fuel standards to get more fuel flowing
• Changing diesel standards so Australia’s refineries can supply more diesel
• Tasking the ACCC to ramp up fuel price monitoring and issue on-the-spot fines
• Engaging with international partners to keep supply flowing, including securing a supply agreement with Singapore
• Introducing laws to make sure companies pay truckies fairly when fuel prices spike, and
• Introducing legislation to underwrite the purchase of fuel by the private sector.