In a recent announcement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese clarified that his administration currently has no plans to prolong the existing fuel excise discount. However, he suggested that additional updates regarding fuel policies will be revealed in the coming days.
The initial 32 cents per litre reduction on fuel excise concluded on June 30 but was briefly extended by an additional month at a reduced rate of 16 cents per litre.
This temporary relief is slated to end on August 2. Thereafter, Australian motorists are likely to face increased fuel costs when filling up their tanks.
In recent days, petrol and diesel prices have surged considerably. For instance, in Melbourne, the cost of unleaded fuel has jumped by six percent, reaching $1.80 per litre, while diesel has seen a 12 percent hike, climbing to $2.17 per litre.
Similarly, in Sydney, the average price of regular unleaded petrol increased by 10 cents per litre, reaching 171.5 cents, and diesel surged by 22 cents to hit 209.2 cents per litre, as reported by the NRMA.
Regionally, the NRMA said the average price of unleaded rose 5.7 cents per litre, while diesel went by 17.4 cents per litre.
The NRMA said it expected prices to rise further when the fuel excise discount comes to an end next Sunday, amidst rising wholesale costs.
Global oil prices soared this week, with Brent crude spiking above US$100 a barrel for the first time since May.
Albanese was asked on the ABC’s Insiders program whether his government was considering a further extension of the excise discount.
“That’s not in our planning at this point in time,” the prime minister said, adding that the government would deal with cost of living issues “as they arise”.
He said his government had set aside $10 billion dollars for a fuel security plan and hinted that more of this funding was going to be allocated.
“That [the fuel security plan] was about better fuel security going forward, including a government-owned reserve,” he said.
“We’ll have some more announcements about fuel in the coming days and weeks as well.”
He would not say whether these “announcements” related to fuel supply or storage, saying Australians would have to wait for the details.
The statement comes as the ongoing war in the Middle East and the Houthi Rebel blockade of the Bab al-Mandab Strait continues to create chaos in global energy markets by restricting oil trade.
Around seven per cent of the world’s oil output now transits through Bab al-Mandab, off the coast of Yemen. Experts say a blockade there could push prices into the US$120–150 per barrel range— creating further concern for domestic energy supplies.
Albanese said that figures released on Sunday showed fuel usage had “come down” since the US’s strikes against Iran sparked a war in the Middle East and led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz early this year.
“It’s lower than it was a year ago.”
“That’s a good thing … the longer [the war] goes, the bigger the conflict, the bigger the impact will be.
“This is a war on the other side of the world; we are not protagonists in it, but we are impacted by it, and we’ve consistently called for a de-escalation, and we’ll continue to do so.”
According to federal government data, the country has 42 days of petrol, 38 days of diesel and 32 days of jet fuel — all higher stocks than the country had in the March 2026 quarter.
Will raise tariff concerns
Albanese also hit out at the Trump administration’s announcement of a new round of trade tariffs on Friday, after it accused Australia of not doing enough on modern slavery.
Many Australian exports to the US will now be subject to a 12.5 per cent tariff, replacing a temporary 10 per cent levy that the Trump administration introduced earlier this year.
The prime minister said he would “absolutely” be raising the “unjustified” tariff with his American counterpart.
“We’ll raise it at every level of the Australia-US relationship,” he said.
“This will lead to higher costs in the United States and undermine the trading relationship that we have with our US friends.”
— With additional reporting by Reuters news agency.