Overview
- Treasurer Jim Chalmers confirmed the fuel excise discount will finish at midnight on Sunday 2 August and the heavy‑vehicle road‑user charge suspension will also end.
- The relief began in April as a 50% cut to the 52.6 cents‑per‑litre excise and was tapered to a 16cpl Commonwealth contribution from 1 July before this confirmed end.
- Treasury briefing notes warn global oil markets have 'weaker buffers' after conflict-related disruptions and recent price spikes, meaning crude prices are likely to stay elevated in the near term.
- National retail prices are already high — the Australian Institute of Petroleum reported average unleaded at about 182.0cpl and diesel at about 227.2cpl for the week ending 26 July — so motorists can expect prices to rise by several cents per litre with variation between service stations.
- To bolster supply, the government is advancing a Fuel Security Reserve of roughly one billion litres and funding a $4 million pre-feasibility study for a potential new refinery after the April relief package that cost about $3.3 billion.