What it does
The Liquid Fuel Emergency Act 1984 establishes a two‑tier framework for managing Australia’s liquid fuel supplies. Under Part II it confers contingency planning powers on the Minister, enabling preparatory measures before any crisis emerges. Under Part III it provides the legal machinery for declaring and responding to a period of national liquid fuel emergency. The Act is central to Australia’s obligations under the Agreement on an International Energy Program (the Agreement), which is defined in s 3(1) and incorporates Australia’s emergency reserve commitment to maintain oil stocks creditable toward that commitment.
The Act empowers the Minister to direct relevant fuel industry corporations to maintain reserve supplies of liquid fuel, to accumulate stocks, and to develop bulk allocation procedures that would operate during an emergency (ss 12, 13). These planning powers are exercisable only outside a period of national liquid fuel emergency and are designed to ensure that corporations are positioned to comply with subsequent emergency directions.
Once a national liquid fuel emergency is declared by Proclamation under s 16(1), the Minister gains a broader suite of powers. The Governor‑General may declare such an emergency only on conditions: the Minister must be satisfied that a shortage or likely shortage of liquid fuel is of sufficient magnitude to warrant directions under the listed sections, and either a national emergency declaration under the National Emergency Declaration Act 2020 is in force or the Minister has afforded State and Territory Energy Ministers a reasonable opportunity to consult (s 16(2)). The Proclamation cannot exceed three months (s 16(4)) and may be revoked early (s 16(5)).
During an emergency the Minister may direct corporations to maintain or accumulate reserves (s 17), transfer liquid fuel between places (s 18), make fuel available for purchase (s 19), control refinery output (s 20), allocate fuel to bulk customers (s 21), and regulate or prohibit supply of refined liquid petroleum products (s 23). Parallel powers exist for relevant persons - non‑corporate entities in the fuel supply chain - under ss 22 and 24. Critically, s 25 provides that directions under ss 21, 22, 23 or 24 must not regulate price; price regulation is left to State and Territory laws, and s 25(3) confirms that the Act is not intended to exclude such State or Territory price regulation.