Fuel, Energy and Power Resources (State of Emergency) Regulations 2026

The regulations introduce and rely on several defined terms set out in regulation 3. The Minister is defined as the Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation. A relevant authority means the Minister or an authority, department, instrumentality, person or body that is carrying out the administration of the Act under section 42 of the Act. Specified means specified or described in an order or direction made or given under regulation 4(1). These definitions limit the operation of the regulations to the Minister and those entities administering the Act, while allowing orders and directions to target particular persons or classes.

The central mechanism is the order or direction power in regulation 4(1), which applies to producers, holders, suppliers, transporters or users of fuel or diesel exhaust fluid. Regulation 4(2) expands the potential scope of required material to include written agreements or other documents, contractual commitments, current or expected capacity, pricing and customer behaviour. This creates a broad but bounded information-gathering tool that can encompass both current operational data and forward-looking details such as expected capacity or customer behaviour.

Regulation 6 establishes the concept of authorised giving, disclosure and use. Under regulation 6(1), a person required to provide material is authorised to give it to the specified relevant authority. Regulation 6(2) restricts use or disclosure by the relevant authority to the two stated emergency purposes linked to Part III of the Act. Regulation 6(3) permits onward disclosure to national bodies or interstate or territorial agencies, while regulation 6(4) imposes a prohibition on public disclosure in identifiable form. Regulation 6(5) provides that authorised actions incur no civil or criminal liability and are not to be regarded as a breach of any duty of confidentiality or secrecy imposed by law, a breach of professional ethics or standards, or unprofessional conduct.

Delegation is addressed in regulation 7, which allows the Minister to delegate powers or duties to State Government Departments, State instrumentalities or persons referred to in section 47(2)(f) of the Act. Regulation 7(3) prevents further delegation by the delegate, and regulation 7(4) deems the delegate to act in accordance with the terms of the delegation unless the contrary is shown. Regulation 7(5) preserves the Minister's ability to perform functions through officers or agents. Regulation 5 ties penalties directly to offences under sections 50(7) or (8) and 49(6) of the Act when those offences arise from non-compliance with a regulation 4 order or direction.

The regulations primarily affect persons who are producers, holders, suppliers, transporters or users of fuel or diesel exhaust fluid when they are specified, or fall within a specified class, in an order or direction made or given under regulation 4(1). Because the power extends to each person of a specified class, the regulations can reach broad categories within the fuel supply chain in Western Australia, including entities involved at any stage from production through to end use, as well as those handling diesel exhaust fluid. The requirement to provide information or documents applies only once a person or class is specified in the relevant order or direction.

Relevant authorities are also directly affected. These include the Minister and any authority, department, instrumentality, person or body carrying out administration of the Act under section 42. Such entities receive the information or documents and are authorised to use or disclose them under the limits in regulation 6(2) and (3). National bodies and agencies or authorities of other States or Territories may receive disclosures under regulation 6(3), though the regulations do not impose obligations on those recipients.

The Minister is affected through the power to make orders or give directions and the ability to delegate under regulation 7(1). Delegates, being State Government Departments, State instrumentalities or persons referred to in section 47(2)(f) of the Act, assume the delegated powers or duties and are taken to act in accordance with the delegation terms under regulation 7(4). Persons providing consent for email service under regulation 4(6) are affected by the method of receiving directions. The regulations do not extend to the general public, and regulation 6(4) expressly prevents disclosure that would allow ready identification of specific persons.

Persons specified in an order or direction under regulation 4(1) have a duty to give the specified information or documents to the specified relevant authority by the specified time or within the specified period. Regulation 4(4) permits the order or direction to require that the material be given in a specified manner or verified by statutory declaration. Regulation 4(5) imposes a duty on the Minister to give any direction in writing to each person required to comply. Where email service is used under regulation 4(6), the person must have consented to that method by providing an email address to a relevant authority.

A person required to give material under regulation 4(1) has the right under regulation 6(1) to provide it to the specified relevant authority. Relevant authorities have the right under regulation 6(2) to use or disclose the material for the limited purposes of providing or securing community supplies and services or preventing prejudicial disposal under Part III of the Act. Regulation 6(3) grants the right to disclose to national bodies or other State or Territory agencies. Regulation 6(5) confers protection from civil or criminal liability for any authorised giving, disclosure or use, and confirms that such actions are not breaches of confidentiality duties, professional ethics or employment conduct principles.

The Minister has the right under regulation 7(1) to delegate powers or duties under the regulations, subject to the requirement in regulation 7(2) that the delegation be in writing and signed. Delegates have the right to exercise or perform the delegated power or duty, with the protection in regulation 7(4) that they are taken to act in accordance with the delegation unless the contrary is shown. Regulation 7(5) preserves the Minister's right to perform functions through officers or agents without relying on delegation. No duty exists under the regulations to disclose information or documents to the public in identifiable form, as regulation 6(4) prohibits such disclosure.

Regulation 5(1) applies to offences under section 50(7) or (8) of the Act where the order or direction is one made or given under regulation 4(1), and to additional offences under section 49(6) of the Act where the deemed continuing offence under section 49 relates to an offence covered by paragraph (a). Regulation 5(2) sets the penalty for these offences at a fine of $10 000 for an individual and a fine of $100 000 for a body corporate.

Enforcement occurs through the mechanisms of the Fuel, Energy and Power Resources Act 1972. The regulations do not create standalone offences but prescribe the applicable penalty when the Act's offence provisions are triggered by non-compliance with a regulation 4 order or direction. Section 49 of the Act provides for continuing offences, and regulation 5(1)(b) ensures that the prescribed penalty applies to the additional offence arising from continuation. The regulations contain no provisions for infringement notices, civil penalties or other enforcement tools beyond the penalty prescription in regulation 5.

Relevant authorities may use the information obtained to support actions under Part III of the Act, but the regulations themselves do not authorise direct enforcement measures such as seizure or suspension of operations. Compliance with an order or direction under regulation 4 protects the provider from liability under regulation 6(5), while non-compliance exposes the person to the penalties in regulation 5(2).

The regulations interact principally with the Fuel, Energy and Power Resources Act 1972. They rely on section 57(2) for their continued operation during the declared state of emergency, section 42 for the definition of relevant authority, section 47(2)(f) for the scope of possible delegates, sections 49 and 50 for the offences to which penalties attach, and Part III for the purposes that justify use and disclosure under regulation 6(2). Regulation 6(5) expressly authorises actions that would otherwise constitute breaches of duties of confidentiality or secrecy imposed by law, thereby overriding general confidentiality obligations that might arise under other statutes or common law when the disclosure is for the permitted emergency purposes.

Regulation 6(3) permits disclosure to national bodies or agencies of other States or Territories, creating a pathway for information sharing that may engage laws of those jurisdictions governing the receipt and handling of information. The prohibition in regulation 6(4) on public disclosure in identifiable form interacts with privacy-related provisions in other laws by limiting the form of any onward disclosure. Regulation 4(6) interacts with the Interpretation Act 1984 section 76 by allowing email service where consent is given, providing a specific method that supplements general service rules.

The regulations do not directly amend or override the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000, but both instruments address aspects of fuel in Australia. The 2026 regulations focus on emergency supply chain information during a state of emergency under the 1972 Act, while the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 regulates fuel quality to reduce pollutants and facilitate engine technology. Where an emergency involves fuel quality or supply, authorities may need to consider both frameworks, though the regulations contain no express provision linking the two.

The Fuel, Energy and Power Resources (State of Emergency) Regulations 2026 constitute a new legislative instrument, published as SL 2026/40 on 1 April 2026 and commencing on 2 April 2026 under regulation 2. The compilation table records no prior versions, confirming that these regulations are the first of their kind under this title. They were made to support the state of emergency declared in the Fuel, Energy and Power Resources (Declaration of State of Emergency) Order 2026, with their operation tied directly to the subsistence of that declaration via section 57(2) of the Act.

The regulations address the need for timely information on fuel and diesel exhaust fluid production, holding, supply, transportation and use during the emergency. By enabling orders or directions that can require details on agreements, capacity, pricing and customer behaviour, they provide the Minister and relevant authorities with tools to monitor and secure supplies under Part III of the Act. The inclusion of diesel exhaust fluid reflects its role in modern fuel systems, particularly for emissions control in diesel engines. The penalty provisions in regulation 5 and the delegation framework in regulation 7 ensure that the information-gathering powers are backed by enforceable consequences and administratively workable delegation arrangements.

The regulations themselves contain no references to court challenges or judicial proceedings. No cases are named in the source text or the related retrieval context that would indicate prior litigation concerning these specific provisions. As a 2026 instrument tied to a particular state of emergency declaration, the regulations have a limited temporal scope that may reduce the opportunity for extended judicial review during their operation.

Any potential challenges would likely focus on the scope of an individual order or direction made under regulation 4(1), the reasonableness of the time or manner requirements, or the limits on disclosure under regulation 6(4). The authorisation in regulation 6(5) that protects against liability for authorised disclosures may also be tested where a person claims that disclosure exceeded the permitted purposes in regulation 6(2). The delegation provisions in regulation 7, particularly the prohibition on sub-delegation in regulation 7(3) and the deeming provision in regulation 7(4), could give rise to questions about the validity of actions taken by delegates. However, the text provides no indication of actual controversies or proceedings.

Persons receiving an order or direction under regulation 4(1) must verify whether they fall within the specified class and whether the required material includes sensitive items such as pricing information or details of customer behaviour, which may have commercial implications. Regulation 4(6) permits email service only where the person has consented by providing an email address to a relevant authority; without consent, service must occur by other means consistent with the Interpretation Act 1984 section 76. Failure to comply with the time or manner requirements, or to provide a statutory declaration where required under regulation 4(4), triggers the penalties in regulation 5(2).

Relevant authorities must restrict use and disclosure strictly to the purposes in regulation 6(2) and must not release material to the public in a form that identifies specific persons, as prohibited by regulation 6(4). Onward disclosure to national bodies or other jurisdictions under regulation 6(3) remains subject to the same purpose limitation. Delegates under regulation 7(1) cannot sub-delegate, and any action taken must align with the written terms of the delegation signed by the Minister; regulation 7(4) places the onus on the delegate to demonstrate compliance with those terms if challenged.

The regulations continue only while the specific state of emergency order subsists, so any order or direction made under regulation 4(1) loses force once the emergency ends. Regulation 7(5) preserves the Minister's ability to act through officers or agents independently of formal delegation, which may affect how compliance is structured in practice. Information provided under regulation 6(1) receives protection from liability only when the giving is authorised; providing material outside the scope of a valid order or direction may not attract the same safeguards.

Entities that may be producers, holders, suppliers, transporters or users of fuel or diesel exhaust fluid should monitor official channels for publication of orders or directions under regulation 4(1), including any specification of classes or required material. Upon receipt of a direction, confirm the method of service and, if email is proposed, ensure prior consent has been recorded by providing an email address to the relevant authority. Prepare to supply the requested information or documents by the stipulated time or period, in the required manner, and consider whether statutory declaration verification is mandated under regulation 4(4).

Internal procedures should include identification of responsible personnel for collating material on agreements, contractual commitments, capacity, pricing and customer behaviour. Accuracy is essential, as non-compliance attracts the penalties in regulation 5(2). Where material is provided, retain records of what was supplied and to whom, to demonstrate that disclosure occurred under regulation 6(1). Relevant authorities should establish protocols to limit use and disclosure to the purposes in regulation 6(2), document any onward disclosures under regulation 6(3), and ensure that no public release occurs in identifiable form.

The Minister or proposed delegates should prepare written delegations under regulation 7(2) that clearly set out the scope of powers or duties transferred, noting that sub-delegation is prohibited by regulation 7(3). Delegates must act in accordance with the delegation terms under regulation 7(4) and may rely on regulation 7(5) for actions taken directly by the Minister through officers or agents. Legal and compliance teams should review any order or direction for consistency with the regulations and the underlying Act, particularly the limits on disclosure and the connection to Part III purposes. Where uncertainty exists about the scope of a request or the application of protections under regulation 6(5), seek clarification from the issuing relevant authority before providing material.