{"id":"BILL-r7477","name":"Treasury Laws Amendment (Fuel Excise Relief) Bill 2026","slug":"treasury-laws-amendment-fuel-excise-relief-bill-2026","collection":"bill","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":446037,"registerId":"commonwealth-BILL-r7477-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-05-05","status":"royal_assent","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[],"analysis":{"summary":{"status_summary":"The bill received royal assent on 1 April 2026, becoming Act No. 22 of 2026.","complexity_score":3,"likely_questions":["How will the fuel excise relief be implemented for consumers?","What impact will this have on fuel prices in Australia?"],"complexity_factors":["Targeted changes to treasury laws on fuel excise","Rapid progression through both houses on a single day"],"plain_english_summary":"The Treasury Laws Amendment (Fuel Excise Relief) Bill 2026 has completed its passage through the federal parliament and received royal assent. This bill amends treasury laws specifically to provide relief in the area of fuel excise. The changes are intended to ease the financial burden associated with fuel costs for a range of users throughout Australia.\n\nThe legislative process began in the House of Representatives. On 31 March 2026 the bill was introduced and read a first time. The second reading was moved on the same day and after debate it was agreed to. The third reading was then agreed to, allowing the bill to proceed.\n\nThe bill was subsequently introduced in the Senate on 31 March 2026. It was read a first time and the second reading was moved. Following debate the second reading was agreed to and the third reading was agreed to on that date. The bill finally passed both houses on 31 March 2026.\n\nRoyal assent was granted the following day on 1 April 2026. The bill is now enacted as Act No. 22 of 2026. The full text of the Act is available on the Federal Register of Legislation website.\n\nThis legislation affects anyone who purchases fuel in Australia. This includes private individuals who drive cars, as well as businesses in the transport, farming, and construction sectors that use fuel for their operations. The relief measures will apply to the excise component of fuel pricing.\n\nNow that the bill has received royal assent, the provisions will be put into operation by the appropriate government bodies. Users of fuel should look out for official guidance on how the relief will be delivered and any conditions that may apply.\n\nAdditional information about the bill can be obtained from the explanatory memorandum and the text of the bill as passed by both houses. These documents are published on the Australian Parliament House website."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act extends beyond a single, simple statutory cut to excise rates by adding two forms of executive discretion: (1) it makes the default temporary excise reduction 50% but expressly allows the Treasurer to select a lower percentage via legislative instrument (Schedule 2, new subsection 6K(5)), and (2) it changes fuel tax credit mechanics by allowing the Transport Minister to determine or vary road user charge rates (including for prior days) during the transitional window (Schedule 3, new subsection 43‑10(13)). Those additions broaden the measure from a fixed short‑term tax cut to a package that includes delegated rulemaking and retrospective administrative flexibility, increasing the law's scope from a time‑limited rate change to an instrument that adjusts how executive decision‑making and fuel tax credit calculations operate for the relevant years."},"complexity_factors":["Three separate Schedules amending three different Acts (Customs Tariff Act 1995; Excise Tariff Act 1921; Fuel Tax Act 2006).","Introduction of defined terms and a limited 'rate reduction period' (1 April 2026–30 June 2026) requiring temporal logic in rate calculations.","Cross‑references to existing indexation provisions (references to section 6A and section 19), so calculation of the reduced rate depends on the otherwise‑applicable (indexation‑affected) rate.","Conditional rule: default 50% reduction but Treasurer may determine a lower percentage (new discretionary power in subsection 6K(5) as a legislative instrument).","Delegated powers that change normal parliamentary oversight (Treasurer's legislative instrument power; Transport Minister's ability to determine/vary road user charge rates, including for prior days), increasing administrative discretion.","Schedule 3 introduces a temporary suspension of subsections (9)–(12) when computing road user charge rates, and allows the Minister to backdate determinations (creates retrospective application risk and potential need for reprocessing).","Staggered commencement (Schedules 1–2 commence on assent date; Schedule 3 commences the day after assent) requiring careful implementation timing."],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law changes (mechanics)\n\n- Temporarily cuts how much fuel excise (fuel duty) is collected for a short, fixed period. Specifically, it changes existing excise and customs tariff rules so that, for the period 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026, applicable fuel excise rates are reduced to a percentage of the otherwise-applicable rate (Schedule 1 and Schedule 2; changes to the Excise Tariff Act 1921 and Customs Tariff Act 1995).\n\n- Sets the default reduced percentage at 50% of the normal excise rate for that period, but gives the Treasurer power to set a lower percentage by legislative instrument (a delegated rule made by the executive) if desired (Schedule 2, amendments to subsection 6K(1) and new subsection 6K(5) of the Excise Tariff Act 1921; corresponding change in the Customs Tariff Act 1995).\n\n- Adjusts how road user charge rates are treated for the purposes of fuel tax credits for financial years beginning 1 July 2025 and 1 July 2026. For the period after this law starts and before 1 July 2027, certain statutory rules that would otherwise lock in those rates do not apply, and the Transport Minister may make (or vary) a road user charge rate for days before the day the determination is made (Schedule 3; new subsection 43‑10(13) of the Fuel Tax Act 2006).\n\n**Who is affected\n\n- Petrol, diesel and other taxed fuel users: The immediate and direct effect is on the excise included in retail and wholesale fuel prices during 1 April–30 June 2026. Reduced excise tends to lower the tax component in the price of fuel (Schedules 1 and 2).\n\n- Businesses and organisations that claim fuel tax credits (for example, many transport and heavy‑machinery users): Schedule 3 changes how the road user charge is determined for fuel tax credit calculations for the affected financial years and allows the Transport Minister to set or vary those rates (Fuel Tax Act amendment). That affects how much credit some businesses can claim.\n\n- The Treasurer and the Transport Minister: Both obtain additional regulatory discretion — the Treasurer to set a lower excise percentage by legislative instrument (delegated power), and the Transport Minister to set or vary road user charge rates (including for days before the determination is made) for a transitional period.\n\n**Why it matters (official claim and practical effects)\n\n- Officially, the law reduces the rate of fuel excise for a defined short period and provides administrative flexibility for fuel tax credits. Mechanically, this lowers the statutory excise component that would otherwise have been payable on fuel during 1 April–30 June 2026 (Schedules 1–2) and changes how road user charge rates feed into fuel tax credit calculations for certain financial years (Schedule 3, Fuel Tax Act).\n\n- Who pays: the government forgoes some excise revenue while the reduction lasts. Consumers and businesses pay less excise during the reduction period if retailers pass on the tax cut; if retailers do not pass on the reduction fully, the fiscal cost accrues to government while some intended price relief may not reach buyers.\n\n- Who decides: the Treasurer can choose a lower percentage than the default 50% for the reduction period via a legislative instrument (delegated rulemaking); the Transport Minister can determine or vary road user charge rates for the transitional period (Fuel Tax Act change).\n\n**Trade‑offs, incentives, costs and implementation risks\n\n- Revenue and budget cost: Reducing excise reduces Commonwealth tax receipts for the quarter 1 April–30 June 2026. The Act does not itself specify offsets; the fiscal cost depends on the final effective percentage and on how much of the excise cut is passed through to prices.\n\n- Pass‑through and price effects: The Act changes the statutory tax rate, but retailers and wholesalers decide prices. If businesses pass the excise cut on to end buyers, consumers and transport businesses benefit at the pump; if they retain part of the cut, the government bears more budget cost than consumers receive in price relief. There is no mechanism in the text requiring pass‑through.\n\n- Delegated power and discretion: Allowing the Treasurer to pick a lower percentage by legislative instrument (Schedule 2, new 6K(5)) and allowing the Transport Minister to vary road user charge rates retroactively for the transitional period (Schedule 3, new subsection 43‑10(13)) increases executive flexibility. That reduces parliamentary scrutiny relative to a strict, fixed statutory reduction because legislative instruments are subject to a different parliamentary process (disallowable instrument) than primary legislation.\n\n- Compliance and administrative burden: Tax administrators (Australian Taxation Office and relevant agencies administering customs/excise entries and fuel tax credits) must apply the temporary reduced rates and the transitional rules for road user charges. This requires system changes, guidance to industry, and potentially reprocessing of records if the Transport Minister varies rates retrospectively.\n\n- Interaction with indexation rules: The amendments work by overriding or altering the operation of existing CPI‑indexation and rate provisions (references to section 6A and section 19 in the Excise and Customs Tariff Acts). That creates conditional logic for calculating rates: start from the otherwise‑applicable rate, then apply the percentage reduction (50% default, unless the Treasurer sets a lower number).\n\n- Concentrated vs diffuse effects: The direct benefit (lower excise for a quarter) is concentrated on fuel buyers and fuel‑using businesses; the fiscal cost is borne by the broader taxpayer base. The ability to vary road user charges affects businesses that claim fuel tax credits and so concentrates effects on commercial users of fuel.\n\n**Key specific legal mechanics to note (section references)\n\n- Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 amend the Excise Tariff Act 1921 (section 6K as replaced) and the Customs Tariff Act 1995 (section 19AABA), defining the rate reduction period as 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026 and establishing the percentage‑of‑rate rule (default 50%; Treasurer may set a lower percentage under the new power) (Schedules 1–2).\n\n- Schedule 3 inserts subsection 43‑10(13) into the Fuel Tax Act 2006, suspending certain subsections when determining road user charge rates for the affected financial years and allowing the Transport Minister to determine (and vary) a rate of road user charge for days before the determination is made for the transitional period.\n\n**Summary statement of effect\n\nMechanically, this Act imposes a temporary, statutory reduction in fuel excise for 1 April–30 June 2026 (defaulting to 50% of the otherwise‑applicable rate) while giving the Treasurer power to reduce the rate further by delegated instrument, and it makes transitional changes to how road user charges are determined for fuel tax credit purposes for certain financial years, including permitting retrospective determination by the Transport Minister. The law shifts short‑term tax receipts away from the Budget and changes the regulatory discretion available to two Ministers, while leaving price pass‑through and commercial behaviour to market actors."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/treasury-laws-amendment-fuel-excise-relief-bill-2026","history":"/api/acts/treasury-laws-amendment-fuel-excise-relief-bill-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/treasury-laws-amendment-fuel-excise-relief-bill-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/treasury-laws-amendment-fuel-excise-relief-bill-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/treasury-laws-amendment-fuel-excise-relief-bill-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/treasury-laws-amendment-fuel-excise-relief-bill-2026/documents"}}