Today the states and territories agreed to work with the Albanese Government to forgo increased GST revenue on fuel transactions, locking in more relief for motorists.
This will provide another $400 million of fuel relief and will be delivered through additional 10.9 per cent cut to the fuel excise for three months, which is a further 5.7 cents per litre cut.
Combined with the halving of fuel excise already legislated by the Government, the total reduction in excise on petrol and diesel will be 32 cents per litre.
This relief is already starting to show up in petrol prices and we expect more to flow through in the next one to two weeks.
This is more help with the cost of living for millions of Australians when they fill up.
People are under cost-of-living pressure and a lot of that pressure is being piled on at the petrol pump due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Giving back the GST windfall on fuel will help to further take the sting out of petrol price rises.
This agreement delivers on the commitment by states and territories at Monday's National Cabinet to return additional GST revenues they are receiving on fuel from the elevated prices we are seeing.
It is easier and faster to implement this by further cutting fuel excise than by amending the GST itself.
This builds on the Albanese Government's temporary measures to halve the excise and eliminate the heavy vehicle road user charge.
Using the legislation passed this week, the Treasurer will today issue a determination to reduce the fuel excise by an additional 10.9% for the period from 1 April to 30 June, giving effect to the welcome announcement by the states today.
For petrol and diesel, this translates to an additional 5.7 cents per litre. Combined with the halving of fuel excise already legislated by the Government, the total reduction in excise on petrol and diesel will be 32 cents per litre.
The combined changes made by the Commonwealth and States this week will cut the cost of a 65-litre tank of fuel by nearly $23.
This extra relief is on top of all the other action we're taking to address fuel affordability and security:
- Boosting fuel supply by releasing 20 per cent of the baseline Minimum Stockholding Obligation for petrol and diesel.
- Getting more fuels into the market by temporarily amending fuel standards.
- Supporting our domestic refineries to create more fuel here in Australia.
- Empowering the ACCC with bigger penalties for misconduct, including doubling penalties up to $100 million.
- Our work with the ACCC to authorise major suppliers to get fuel where it's needed in the regions and ramp up fuel price monitoring.
- Engaging with international partners to strengthen supply chains and fuel security.
The conflict in the Middle East has compounded uncertainty in the global economy and led to significant increases in oil and petrol prices, and we're not immune from that volatility.
This is more help with the cost of living that comes on top of ongoing relief like tax cuts, more bulk billing, cheaper medicines and cheaper childcare and we thank the states and territories for coming to the table with us to deliver it.
The Albanese Government is prioritising immediate fuel security and affordability at the same time as we're focused on inflation, productivity and resilience and global uncertainty, and this relief is an important part of our efforts.
