The Australian federal government will halve the present fuel excise for a minimum of three months as a part of a national fuel security plan, following a cupboard meeting in Canberra this morning.
The prime minister announced the excise, which is currently 52.6 cents per litre, will likely be halved to 26.3 cents per litre for 3 months starting on April 1, 2026, responding to previous calls to scale back or remove the charge.
“We’re making fuel cheaper today because we understand that Australians are under serious pressure,” Mr Albanese said in a press conference today, with the change expected to scale back the associated fee of a 65-litre tank by $19.
The plan also sees the heavy vehicle road user charge, which currently adds 32.4 cents per litre to the associated fee of diesel for vehicles with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of over 4.5-tonnes, reduced to zero for a similar three-month period.
CarExpert can prevent 1000’s on a brand new automotive. Click here to get an incredible deal.
“People should enjoy their Easter, and it’s necessary as well that we keep the economy going,” said the PM.
“That is a vital time for tourism destinations, for jobs. They depend on that.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the move will cost the federal budget around $2.55 billion, and added that the war within the Middle East is inflicting “serious damage” on the world economy.
“The steps that we’re announcing are all about taking a few of the sting out of those higher petrol and diesel prices,” Mr Chalmers said, while also confirming the deferment of the subsequent road user charge increase for six months.
The moves come following agreement on a national fuel security plan in a cupboard meeting in Canberra this morning to deal with ongoing fuel supply issues.
It means the federal government has enacted the second stage of the four-stage national fuel security plan, which Mr Albanese said is designed to avoid competing strategies across the states and territories.
Moving beyond stage one, which is to ‘Plan and prepare’ as the federal government monitors impacts of world aspects, the second stage is ‘Keeping Australia moving’, wherein fuel continues to flow but with minor disruptions.
Mr Albanese says he hopes to avoid the third phase, however the national cabinet is “planning for it”.
This step would come with taking targeted motion to take care of fuel supplies, with the ultimate, fourth stage seeing the federal government take motion to make sure critical fuel users are protected and the economy stays in operation.
Mr Albanese called this morning’s national cabinet meeting to find out a co-ordinated response to the fuel crisis impacting the worth and availability of diesel and petrol across the country.
It’s the second time cabinet has met because the crisis began, with conflict within the Middle East leading to a spike in demand and extreme price hikes. In some areas the worth of petrol has reached around $2.50 per litre, with diesel as high as $3.19 per litre.
The prime minister and federal energy minister Chris Bowen have each previously called for calm, assuring motorists there may be a relentless supply of fuel into the country.
The brand new plan follows earlier moves to shore up fuel supply by underwriting oil shipments, freeing up emergency stocks, and allowing lower-quality diesel into Australia to scale back shortages.
Yet prices have continued to rise, impacting Australians more broadly as higher transport and shipping costs flow through to consumer goods and supermarket prices.
Fuel prices are also rising in other parts of the world, including the UK and US, where they’ve reached around $US4 per gallon (A$5.83 per gallon, or A$1.54 per litre).
The US has relaxed some emissions laws, permitting wider use of fuels containing ethanol, in addition to releasing oil from its strategic reserve and easing restrictions on some shipments.
A proposed ‘tax holiday’ would see the US18.4-cent (27c) fuel tax – just like Australia’s fuel excise – placed on hold, nonetheless, this plan has not yet been approved by US Congress.
The UK government has offered a five-pence (A9.7c) tax break per litre of petrol since 2022, which is currently in place until a minimum of August this 12 months. Prices have risen to 18-month highs within the UK, where they now exceed £1.50 per litre (A$2.90 per litre) for petrol and £1.77 per litre (A$3.43 per litre) for diesel.
Reports out of the UK suggest fuel prices could proceed to climb, with £1.85 per litre ($3.58 per litre) petrol on the horizon there.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
