{"id":"F2021L01231","name":"Liquid Fuel Emergency Regulations 2021","slug":"liquid-fuel-emergency-regulations-2021","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440986,"registerId":"F2021L01231-fast-fetch-1775956426244","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Liquid Fuel Emergency Regulations 2021","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nLiquid Fuel Emergency Regulations 2021\n\nI, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, make the following regulations.\n\nDated 02 September 2021\n\nDavid Hurley\n\nGovernor‑General\n\nBy His Excellency’s Command\n\nAngus Taylor\n\nMinister for Energy and Emissions Reduction\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Introduction\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Definitions\n\n5 Refined liquid petroleum products\n\nPart 2—Administrative matters\n\n6 Consultation between Ministers concerning emergency procedures\n\n7 Reconsideration and review of decisions\n\n \n\nPart 1—Introduction\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Liquid Fuel Emergency Regulations 2021.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered. 3 September 2021\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act 1984.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:\n\n(a) Energy Minister;\n\n(b) liquid fuel;\n\n(c) liquid petroleum product.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act 1984.\n\nbiofuel means a liquid fuel (within the ordinary meaning of the expression) derived or recovered from biomass.\n\nbiomass means non‑fossilised and biodegradable organic material originating from plants, animals and micro‑organisms, and includes:\n\n (a) products, by‑products, residues and waste from industry, including the agriculture and forestry industries; and\n\n (b) non‑fossilised and biodegradable organic components of commercial and industrial, construction and demolition, and municipal waste.\n\n5  Refined liquid petroleum products\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of refined liquid petroleum product in subsection 3(1) of the Act, the following liquid petroleum products are declared to be refined liquid petroleum products:\n\n (a) diesel (other than automotive distillate or industrial diesel fuel);\n\n (b) gasoline (other than motor spirit or aviation gasoline);\n\n (c) kerosine (other than aviation turbine fuel, lighting kerosine and power kerosine);\n\n (d) a fuel that is a blend of diesel and biofuel (other than a blend that is automotive distillate or industrial diesel fuel);\n\n (e) a fuel that is a blend of more than one liquid fuel (other than a blend that is a liquid petroleum product referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of refined liquid petroleum product in subsection 3(1) of the Act).\n\nPart 2—Administrative matters\n\n \n\n6  Consultation between Ministers concerning emergency procedures\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 42(1) of the Act, the Minister may give notice of the Minister’s intention to make a determination or give a direction to the Energy Minister for a State or Territory in any of the following ways:\n\n (a) by telling the Energy Minister in person;\n\n (b) by telephoning the Energy Minister;\n\n (c) by advising the Energy Minister orally, by way of videoconference or teleconference;\n\n (d) by emailing, or communicating in another form of writing with, the Energy Minister.\n\n7 Reconsideration and review of decisions\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 44(2) of the Act, a notice given to the Minister requesting reconsideration of a decision must be sent by email to the Minister’s ministerial email address.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly scoped to their original purpose: providing administrative machinery for the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act 1984. The 2021 version updates the list of covered fuels to include biofuel blends (reflecting modern fuel markets) and modernizes communication methods, but does not expand beyond the Act's emergency management framework."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument (only 7 sections)","Minimal defined terms (only 3 new definitions: Act, biofuel, biomass; others imported from parent Act)","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic","Simple declaratory structure (\"X is declared to be Y\", \"notice may be given by...\")","No cross-references beyond basic references to the parent Act (Liquid Fuel Emergency Act 1984)","Straightforward administrative provisions without substantive operational rules"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set out practical rules for managing liquid fuel emergencies in Australia, expanding the types of controllable fuels to include diesel, gasoline, kerosene and biofuel blends, and defining biofuel/biomass. They also modernize how Ministers communicate in crises (phone, video, email) and require review requests to be emailed to the Minister.\n\nThey affect fuel suppliers, state/territory governments, and anyone challenging emergency decisions, and matter because Australia relies heavily on imported fuels and needs clear, up-to-date emergency powers."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument narrows and specifies the operational scope of the Act by declaring which products qualify as “refined liquid petroleum products” for subsection 3(1)(b) (reg 5), thereby changing which fuels may be subject to emergency directions. It also prescribes administrative procedures: how an intending Minister may notify State/Territory Energy Ministers (permitted methods listed in reg 6) and how requests for reconsideration must be filed (email to the Minister’s ministerial address; reg 7). Practical effects: fuel industry actors supplying the listed products are brought within the Act’s emergency reach (reg 5); Ministers retain discretion over whether to use the listed notice methods (reg 6 uses permissive language “may”); persons seeking reconsideration bear the compliance burden of using the specified email channel (reg 7)."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act 1984 for defined terms and operative powers (see Authority and Definitions, regs 3–4).","Detailed product inclusions and exclusions that require technical classification of fuels (reg 5: diesel, gasoline, kerosine and specified blends; several exclusions such as automotive distillate, motor spirit, aviation fuels).","Administrative prescription of acceptable notice methods to State/Territory Energy Ministers, creating potential evidentiary/receipt issues (reg 6).","Mandatory channel for reconsideration requests limited to the Minister’s ministerial email address, which creates a specific compliance/filing requirement (reg 7).","Simple commencement mechanics with retroactive start language limited to registration timing (reg 2)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument declares which fuels count as “refined liquid petroleum products” under the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act, defines biofuel and biomass, and sets simple administrative rules for ministerial consultation and reconsideration requests. It affects fuel producers, distributors and Energy Ministers by clarifying which fuels can be targeted by emergency powers and by specifying how Ministers must notify State/Territory Energy Ministers and how review requests must be sent. It matters because it fixes coverage and basic procedures that trigger emergency directions under the Act."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/liquid-fuel-emergency-regulations-2021","history":"/api/acts/liquid-fuel-emergency-regulations-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/liquid-fuel-emergency-regulations-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/liquid-fuel-emergency-regulations-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/liquid-fuel-emergency-regulations-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/liquid-fuel-emergency-regulations-2021/documents"}}