Competition and Consumer (Price Monitoring—Petroleum Fuels) Direction 2025

The instrument sets out a compact set of concepts and cross-references that determine scope and effect. The core object is stated in s6: to continue the Commission’s monitoring of prices, costs and profits relating to the supply of petroleum products in Australia for five years and to direct quarterly reporting. The direction therefore operationalises two distinct tasks: (1) monitoring, and (2) scheduled reporting. Both tasks are framed by Part VIIA terms and the ANZSIC industry classifications incorporated by reference (s5; s6; s7).

Key definitional practices:

• adoption by reference: ANZSIC 2006 is adopted “as in force on the day this instrument commences” for the purposes of identifying industry classes (s5 ANZSIC definition). The instrument signals reliance on a pre-existing statistical classification rather than bespoke sectoral definitions.
• cross-reference to Part VIIA: several terms , price, goods, services, supply, exempt supply, and State or Territory authority , are declared to have the same meaning as in Part VIIA of the Act (s5). That cross-reference embeds Part VIIA’s statutory meanings and the regime for how the Commission may exercise powers in relation to monitoring and reporting.

Industry coverage is specified by ANZSIC classes and a carved-out sub-industry. The bulk petroleum storage sub-industry is defined not as a single ANZSIC class but as “so much of” two classes as relates to bulk petroleum storage services: other warehousing and storage services (class 5309) and port and water transport terminal operations (class 5212) (s5). This partial inclusion creates an interpretive boundary that will require the Commission to identify, within given ANZSIC classes, which activities are “bulk petroleum storage services”.

Reporting duty frequency and duration: the Commission is directed to prepare and give the Treasurer a report at least once every quarter during the period of five years beginning on 1 January 2026 (s7(1)(b); s6). The statutory note summarises that the Commission must have regard to commercial confidentiality and must make copies of the report available for public inspection as soon as practicable, pursuant to subsections 95ZE(2) and (3) of the Act (note to s7).

Exclusions and limits: the monitoring requirement does not apply to exempt supplies nor to supplies by a State or Territory authority (s7(2)). The instrument thus narrows monitoring away from those categories.

Direction to give “special consideration”: s8 directs the Commission, under subsection 95ZH(1) of the Act, to give special consideration to the instrument’s own sections 5 and 6 and to monitoring prices, costs and profits relating to petroleum fuel products and related services. That language operates as a prioritisation instruction, instructing the Commission to prioritise certain matters when exercising powers and functions under Part VIIA.

Administrative mechanics and formalities: the instrument is made under the Act (s3), commences on a specified date (s2), contains a schedule that repeals the prior 2022 direction in full (Schedule 1), and includes notes clarifying the character of adoption by reference and confidentiality/public access obligations (s5 notes; note to s7).

Collectively, these concepts form a constrained but operational directive: monitor across defined sectors, report quarterly to the Treasurer for five years, give special consideration to the specified matters and respect Part VIIA definitions and the confidentiality/public access balance established by the Act.

The instrument’s principal addressee is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission; the Treasurer gives the direction, and the Commission is directed to monitor and report (s3; s7(1)). The scope of effect reaches four industry groupings identified in the instrument by ANZSIC classification and a specified sub-industry (s7(1)(a); s5 definitions). Entities operating within those classes should expect their market-level price, cost and profitability outcomes to be the subject of regular ACCC monitoring and public reporting.

Specifically affected industry segments are:

• businesses classified under ANZSIC class 4000, the fuel retailing industry (s5);
• businesses classified under ANZSIC class 3321, the petroleum product wholesaling industry (s5);
• businesses classified under ANZSIC class 1701, the petroleum refining and petroleum fuel manufacturing industry (s5);
• entities engaged in bulk petroleum storage services that fall within parts of class 5309 (other warehousing and storage services) and class 5212 (port and water transport terminal operations), to the extent they relate to bulk petroleum storage services (s5).

The instrument expressly excludes two categories from its monitoring obligation: an exempt supply and the supply of a good or service by a State or Territory authority (s7(2)). For practical purposes that means supply arrangements that the Act deems “exempt supply” and supplies provided by government authorities are outside the directed monitoring remit.

Secondary affected parties include:

• the Treasurer, who is the recipient of the quarterly reports (s7(1)(b));
• the public and stakeholders who will have access to the Commission’s reports as soon as practicable after the Treasurer receives them, noting the need to regard commercial confidentiality under subsections 95ZE(2) and (3) of the Act (note to s7);
• other market participants who compete with or contract to the identified classes, as monitoring outcomes and public reporting can influence market perceptions and regulatory attention.

The instrument does not itself confer powers to compel information from specific companies; it directs the Commission to monitor “prices, costs and profits” and to report. The Commission is to give special consideration to the instrument’s prescribed matters while exercising its powers and functions under Part VIIA (s8). As the instrument repeatedly cross-references Part VIIA for meanings and the Commission’s powers, entities should treat Part VIIA as the relevant statutory regime governing how monitoring will be undertaken and how the Commission may act in practice. The instrument therefore affects the behaviour of businesses within the identified classes by making them subject to a sustained monitoring programme and public reporting regime, while excluding exempt supplies and State/Territory authority supplies.

The instrument imposes a clear, time-bound duty on the Commission and sets out related contours; it does not itself impose statutory obligations directly on industry participants. The main duties and entitlements embedded in the instrument are:

Commission’s duties

• Monitor prices, costs and profits relating to the supply of goods and services in the specified industries and sub-industry (s7(1)(a)). The monitoring obligation is not qualified by a narrower scope in the instrument; it is broad in descriptive terms, encompassing prices, costs and profits.
• Give the Treasurer a report on that monitoring at least once every quarter for the five year period beginning 1 January 2026 (s7(1)(b); s6).
• When exercising its powers and functions under Part VIIA, give special consideration to sections 5 and 6 of the instrument and to monitoring petroleum fuel products and services related to their supply (s8). This direction signals that the Commission must prioritise the instrument’s specified matters when operating under Part VIIA.

Reporting and confidentiality obligations

• The instrument’s note refers to subsections 95ZE(2) and (3) of the Act, which require the Commission, when preparing such a report, to have regard to the need for commercial confidentiality and to make copies of the report available for public inspection as soon as practicable after it gives the Treasurer the report (note to s7). The instrument itself therefore embeds a requirement to balance confidentiality with public access in the publication process.

Definition and scope rights

• Several terms are declared to have the same meaning as in Part VIIA, including price, goods, services, supply, exempt supply and State or Territory authority (s5). The Commission’s duty to monitor therefore operates within the definitional framework of Part VIIA.

Limitations and exclusions

• The monitoring duty does not apply to exempt supplies or supplies by a State or Territory authority (s7(2)), which creates an explicit right of exclusion for those categories from the monitoring regime.

Treasurer’s entitlement

• The Treasurer is entitled to receive the reports at least quarterly for the five year period commencing 1 January 2026 (s7(1)(b); s6). The instrument thereby formalises the Treasurer’s right to regular information from the Commission regarding these market indicators.

Rights of the public

• While the instrument does not create a direct right for any particular private person, the note referring to s95ZE(3) of the Act indicates that copies of the report must be made available for public inspection as soon as practicable after the Treasurer receives them. That creates a public transparency expectation subject to confidentiality considerations (note to s7).

What the instrument does not do

• The instrument does not itself prescribe investigatory mechanisms, data collection powers or enforcement action. It refers the Commission to exercise its powers and functions under Part VIIA (s8), but does not alter Part VIIA. It does not create offences or direct sanctions against industry participants.

Practical consequence: the Commission carries the duty to monitor and report, and stakeholders gain an expectation of periodic public reporting. The definitional and exclusion clauses determine the perimeter of that duty; industry actors inside the ANZSIC-defined classes are effectively placed under a sustained observational regime, while exempt supplies and government authority supplies stand outside the directed field of monitoring.

The instrument itself does not create penalties, criminal offences, or civil sanctions. It is a direction issued by the Treasurer to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (s3). The text confines itself to directing monitoring and reporting obligations for the Commission (s7), giving special consideration under Part VIIA (s8), and repealing the prior 2022 direction (Schedule 1). No provision in this instrument imposes penalties on market participants for failing to provide information or for conduct related to prices, costs or profits.

Enforcement and compulsory powers, if any, would derive from the Act, specifically from Part VIIA and other provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, not from this instrument. The instrument repeatedly cross-references Part VIIA for the meanings of key terms and the Commission’s powers and functions (s5; s8). Any use of statutory information-gathering or enforcement powers by the Commission in pursuit of the monitoring obligation would therefore be exercised pursuant to the Act rather than the direction itself. The instrument does not amend Part VIIA or expand or curtail statutory enforcement regimes; it directs the Commission to exercise its existing powers and functions under that Part (s8).

Reporting obligations and public access obligations carry procedural constraints referenced in the instrument’s notes. The note to s7 refers to subsections 95ZE(2) and (3) of the Act, which impose obligations on the Commission to have regard to commercial confidentiality when preparing reports and to make copies of the report available for public inspection as soon as practicable after giving the Treasurer the report. Those statutory duties influence how the Commission will present findings in public reports but are statutory in origin and thus enforceable through the usual statutory accountability mechanisms, not by this instrument directly.

In short, the instrument creates no direct penalty regime. Any enforcement activity, compulsory information requests or other coercive actions would need to be grounded in the powers and enforcement mechanisms of the Act, particularly Part VIIA. Industry participants should therefore look to the Act for the statutory bases of compulsion and sanctions; the instrument places upon the Commission a direction to monitor and report, and the Commission’s actions in fulfilling that direction will be constrained and enabled by existing statutory powers rather than by any new enforcement provisions in the direction itself.

The instrument is explicitly made under, and interacts with, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Section 3 records the statutory authority, and multiple provisions adopt meanings from Part VIIA of the Act (s5). The Commission is directed to exercise its powers and functions under Part VIIA and to give special consideration to the instrument’s provisions when doing so (s8). Consequently, this direction injects a priority for petroleum fuel price monitoring into the Commission’s Part VIIA activities, without amending Part VIIA itself.

Definitions and cross-reference mechanics

• The instrument delegates definitional content to Part VIIA for important concepts including price, goods, services, supply, exempt supply and State or Territory authority (s5). That means interpretive work and legal boundaries for those terms will be determined by Part VIIA and any applicable judicial interpretation of that Part, not by the instrument.

Reporting and confidentiality statutory overlay

• A statutory overlay is created by the instrument’s note referring to subsections 95ZE(2) and (3) of the Act, which require the Commission to balance commercial confidentiality with public access in preparing and publishing reports (note to s7). The instrument thereby aligns its reporting duty with the Act’s confidentiality and publication framework.

Interaction with ANZSIC classification as external instrument

• The instrument incorporates ANZSIC 2006 by reference for industry classification (s5). ANZSIC is an external statistical instrument; by adopting it the direction links regulatory monitoring scope to an administrative classification system. Any changes to or revisions of ANZSIC after commencement will not affect the instrument’s text because the instrument adopts ANZSIC “as in force on the day this instrument commences” (s5 ANZSIC definition). Thus the instrument fixes the relevant ANZSIC edition for determining coverage.

Overlap and carve-outs

• The instrument excludes exempt supplies and supplies by State or Territory authorities from its monitoring remit (s7(2)). That exclusion interacts with statutory definitions of exempt supply and the legal status of State or Territory authorities under the Act. Whether a particular arrangement qualifies as an exempt supply will be governed by Part VIIA and related law, not by the direction itself.

No amendment of Part VIIA

• The instrument instructs the Commission to exercise its Part VIIA powers and gives priority to particular matters (s8), but it does not change Part VIIA’s substance. Powers to compel information, impose penalties, or undertake investigations remain functions of the Act and any other relevant Commonwealth laws rather than of this instrument.

Transition from prior direction

• The instrument repeals the 2022 direction in full (Schedule 1). That repeal interacts with the continuity of the Commission’s monitoring work. Entities should treat the 2025 direction as the operative instrument from its commencement date (s2; Schedule 1), and Part VIIA as the continuing legal framework for Commission action.

In sum, the direction operates as an administrative instruction to the ACCC that must be executed within the boundaries and using the authorities of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, with definitional and procedural elements anchored to Part VIIA and ANZSIC 2006 as in force at commencement.

The instrument is short and contains a focused amendment action: it repeals the Competition and Consumer (Price Monitoring,Petroleum Fuels) Direction 2022 in full (Schedule 1). The body of the new 2025 direction replaces the earlier direction and establishes a new five year monitoring period commencing 1 January 2026 (s2; s6). The commencement table in s2 makes clear that the whole instrument is to be taken to have commenced on 1 January 2026 (s2(1)). The instrument notes that the commencement table relates only to the instrument as originally made and will not be updated to reflect later amendments (s2 note).

There are no other amendments, insertions to existing legislation, or modifications of Part VIIA or the Act contained in the instrument. Section 4 merely records that instruments specified in a Schedule are amended or repealed as set out in the Schedule; in Schedule 1 the only item is the repeal of the 2022 direction (s4; Schedule 1). The instrument therefore effects substitution rather than incremental amendment: it substitutes a new direction for the prior direction.

The new direction expressly adopts ANZSIC 2006 “as in force on the day this instrument commences” (s5). Because that adoption is time-stamped to commencement, changes to ANZSIC after that date do not alter the instrument’s reach. The instrument’s approach to adopting an external classification instrument at a specific point in time is an important amendment-history detail: future updates to ANZSIC will not by themselves expand or contract the classes covered by this direction.

There are notes accompanying provisions that clarify interpretive points but do not themselves have amendment effect. For example, the note to s5 reminds the reader that expressions have the same meaning in the instrument as in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 as in force from time to time (s5 note), and the note to s7 refers to subsections 95ZE(2) and (3) of the Act regarding confidentiality and public inspection (note to s7). These notes do not amend the Act; they indicate how the instrument sits relative to existing statutory provisions.

No later amendments are recorded in the instrument text supplied. The instrument therefore creates a discrete legislative record: repeal of the 2022 direction and replacement with the 2025 direction, commencing 1 January 2026, with a five year reporting and monitoring horizon.

The instrument’s text contains no account of litigation and names no cases. It repeals a prior administrative direction (the 2022 Direction) and issues a new direction to the Commission; it does not itself create new statutory offences or enforcement powers, nor does it alter Part VIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Consequently the instrument does not record any litigation, nor does it cite or rely on judicial authorities.

Because the instrument operates by directing the Commission to exercise its powers and functions under Part VIIA (s8), any litigation arising from activities undertaken by the Commission in fulfilment of this direction would be based on Part VIIA or other statutory powers contained in the Act, and not on the direction itself. The instrument also references subsections 95ZE(2) and (3) of the Act concerning confidentiality and public inspection of reports (note to s7). Any legal challenges concerning disclosure, confidentiality, or publication of reports under the instrument would therefore engage those statutory provisions and the Act’s judicial framework.

Absent textually provided cases or litigation history, users should note the following about potential dispute vectors that the instrument’s provisions could create in practice, without implying historical litigation:

• classification disputes: the instrument adopts ANZSIC 2006 classifications and carves out “so much of” certain classes for the bulk petroleum storage sub-industry (s5). That factual and legal boundary could give rise to disagreements over whether a particular entity’s activities fall within the defined coverage.
• confidentiality and public access: the statutory requirements for the Commission to have regard to commercial confidentiality while making reports publicly available (note to s7, referencing ss95ZE(2) and (3)) could produce disputes over redaction, timing of publication, or adequacy of confidentiality protection.
• exclusion questions: whether a particular supply is an “exempt supply” or is made by a State or Territory authority will depend on legal tests under Part VIIA and may arise as litigated issues in future disputes.

The instrument itself contains no litigation record. Any future litigation connected to the Commission’s monitoring activity directed by this instrument would be litigated under the statutory framework of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and relevant administrative law principles.

This compact direction contains several details that could produce consequential interpretive or practical issues. The following are risks, ambiguities and implementation points that arise directly from the instrument’s text.

ANZSIC adoption date and classification boundaries

• The instrument adopts ANZSIC 2006 “as in force on the day this instrument commences” (s5 ANZSIC). Because that edition is fixed to the commencement date, later ANZSIC revisions will not change who is captured. Entities should therefore not assume that newer ANZSIC updates change coverage. The instrument’s reliance on a statistical classification to define regulated sectors can create borderline cases where a business’s operations span multiple ANZSIC classes, and the text’s “so much of” language for bulk petroleum storage sub-industry tightens that interpretive challenge (s5).

Partial inclusion of bulk petroleum storage

• The bulk petroleum storage sub-industry is defined as “so much of” two ANZSIC classes insofar as they relate to bulk petroleum storage services (s5). Identifying what activities within class 5309 or 5212 “relate to bulk petroleum storage services” will be a fact-sensitive exercise and could lead to disputes about whether particular port or warehousing operations fall inside the monitoring perimeter.

Exclusions are specific, not general

• The monitoring duty is explicitly subject to two exclusions: exempt supply and supplies by State or Territory authorities (s7(2)). Entities might erroneously assume broader exclusions. Whether a supply qualifies as an “exempt supply” will be determined by Part VIIA definitions and possibly by the Act’s ancillary instruments, not by the direction alone (s5 note).

Confidentiality versus public inspection

• The instrument refers to subsections 95ZE(2) and (3) of the Act, which require the Commission to consider commercial confidentiality but also to make copies of the report available for public inspection as soon as practicable after providing the Treasurer with the report (note to s7). That creates a potential tension: stakeholders may expect commercially sensitive material to be withheld but must also account for likely public disclosure of at least some report content. The instrument does not set out how confidentiality claims will be balanced or how redactions will be handled.

No express data-collection mechanism in the direction

• The direction requires monitoring of prices, costs and profits but does not itself provide information-gathering powers. The Commission must exercise its powers under Part VIIA to obtain information if it chooses to do so (s8). Entities should therefore consult Part VIIA for the legal basis for any requests or compulsory notices the Commission may issue; the direction does not itself authorise compulsion.

Temporal scope and continuity

• The instrument sets a five year period beginning 1 January 2026 for the monitoring and quarterly reporting duty (s6; s7(1)(b)). That timeframe is finite. Stakeholders should note the end of the five year period will terminate the direction unless a new direction is issued. The instrument repeals the earlier 2022 direction (Schedule 1), which means continuity of monitoring is preserved by replacement rather than extension of the prior instrument.

Narrowness of remedies in the instrument

• The instrument imposes duties on the Commission, not on private parties. It contains no penalty provisions or obligations to act for industry participants. Any consequences for market conduct remain matters for the Act and not for this direction. Parties should not treat the direction as changing the statutory liability landscape but rather as altering public reporting and monitoring emphasis.

Interpretive reliance on Part VIIA

• The instrument repeatedly cross-references Part VIIA for meanings and directs the Commission to act under Part VIIA (s5; s8). That means disputes about scope, powers and procedure will centre on Part VIIA, not on this instrument. Legal advice or compliance planning should therefore be grounded in the Act.

These gotchas are factual and legal friction points that flow directly from the instrument’s text. They indicate areas where businesses, authorities and the Commission will need to pay attention to definitional and procedural details when implementing the quarterly monitoring and reporting regime.

Compliance under this instrument is primarily a matter for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission because the instrument creates duties for the Commission to monitor and report (s7). Nevertheless, entities in the identified industries will need to prepare for how the Commission might carry out monitoring within its statutory powers under Part VIIA (s8). The following practical steps are grounded in the instrument’s text and logical extensions consistent with its structure; they do not presume additional statutory powers beyond Part VIIA.

1. Confirm ANZSIC classification

• Review your business activities against ANZSIC 2006 classifications as in force on the day this instrument commences (s5 ANZSIC). If you operate in fuel retailing (class 4000), petroleum product wholesaling (class 3321), petroleum fuel manufacturing (class 1701) or provide bulk petroleum storage services that fall within class 5309 or 5212 to the extent they relate to bulk petroleum storage, be prepared to be within the scope of monitoring (s7(1)(a); s5).

2. Segment records to match the instrument’s scope

• Prepare internal records that separate prices, costs and profits for activities within the ANZSIC classes and for distinct supply chains (retailing, wholesaling, manufacturing, storage). The instrument specifically directs monitoring of “prices, costs and profits” (s7(1)(a)), so having clear, auditable accounting lines and product/service segmentation will assist in responding to any Commission information requests made under the Act.

3. Preserve confidentiality and document commercial sensitivity

• The instrument’s note references the statutory obligation to have regard to commercial confidentiality and to make reports publicly available (note to s7, referencing ss95ZE(2) and (3)). Identify and document which elements of any information you may provide are commercially sensitive and retain contemporaneous justification for confidentiality claims, because the Commission must weigh confidentiality against public inspection requirements.

4. Prepare for information requests under Part VIIA

• The direction requires the Commission to exercise powers under Part VIIA (s8) to perform monitoring. While the direction does not itself grant compulsory powers, the Commission may rely on Part VIIA powers to collect data. Ensure your legal and compliance teams are ready to engage with any regulatory notices, information requests or compulsory processes founded on the Act.

5. Clarify whether supplies are “exempt” or by State/Territory authority

• If you operate in marginal areas, determine whether particular supplies are “exempt supply” or are provided by a State or Territory authority, because the monitoring duty expressly excludes those categories (s7(2)). Document legal bases for any position that your supply is excluded.

6. Engage proactively with the Commission

• The Commission is required to report quarterly to the Treasurer (s7(1)(b)). Consider engaging proactively with the Commission to explain business models, cost structures and price formation processes, including providing non-sensitive summaries that the Commission can use in public reporting while negotiating confidentiality protections for sensitive data.

7. Prepare for public profile and stakeholder communication

• The Commission must make copies of the report available for public inspection as soon as practicable after providing it to the Treasurer (note to s7). Plan communications strategies for how your organisation will respond to public reporting that references market-level or firm-level findings, including media, investor and customer communications.

8. Monitor the scope of “bulk petroleum storage services”

• If you operate in port operations or warehousing and storage, map operations to the “so much of” language in s5. Where bulk petroleum storage functions are performed as part of broader port or warehousing activities, document the activities specific to petroleum storage to avoid ambiguity over coverage.

9. Review contractual arrangements that could affect reporting

• Contracts that bundle supplies or that involve State or Territory authorities may affect whether supplies are monitored or excluded. Review and document contractual structures and any legal opinions regarding exemption status.

10. Track the five year period and regulatory continuity

• The direction runs for five years beginning 1 January 2026 (s6). Be prepared for the possibility of successor directions or policy changes as the five year horizon approaches its end date and engage with policy or industry consultation processes if appropriate.

These compliance steps are designed to align internal recordkeeping, legal positions and stakeholder communications with the instrument’s monitoring and reporting regime. Entities should coordinate with legal counsel to interpret Part VIIA implications for compulsory information requests and for confidentiality protections.