Australia's Treasurer tells regulator to watch service stations 'like a hawk' as fuel excise cut ends

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has placed service stations on high alert, instructing the consumer watchdog to "watch them like a hawk" as the temporary fuel excise cut ends. The government's decision to temporarily halve the fuel excise, implemented partly in response to rising costs exacerbated by the war in the Middle East, concluded at midnight on Monday.

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watch them like a hawk

Chalmers emphasized that the fuel excise relief "was never intended to be permanent." While acknowledging that prices have slightly increased since the cut ended, he stressed that they remain "substantially lower" than before the relief measure was introduced. He stated that the government cannot afford to continue the subsidy indefinitely, despite the ongoing cost-of-living pressures faced by Australians.

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Investment in housing is a long-term investment. People don’t make investments in housing from day to day or week to week, month to month. And so, from time to time, you will see movements in prices like these. But housing is a long-term investment, and we continue to expect over the course of the coming years that prices will continue to rise, but more modestly than before.

The Treasurer confirmed that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will intensify its monitoring of fuel price movements. Any price hikes that cannot be justified will face "serious scrutiny," and Chalmers highlighted that penalties for petrol stations found to be ripping off consumers have been significantly increased, with potential multimillion-dollar fines for violations.

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Prices have come up a bit, but they are substantially lower than when we first introduced this excise relief. The excise relief has played a really important role in taking some of the edge off these cost of living pressures that have been turbocharged by a war in the Middle East. It was never intended to be permanent. … It’s done a really important job, but we can’t afford to continue it forever.

It is anticipated that it may take a few days for the full impact of the excise cut's end to be reflected at the bowser. In separate news, the government has also updated its news bargaining incentive legislation, notably removing LinkedIn's exemption, meaning the social media platform will now be subject to the agreement.

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The regulator will step up its monitoring of fuel price movements. Any price increase that can’t be explained will face serious scrutiny from the ACCC. We’ve jacked up the penalties for petrol stations that rip off Australians. They face multimillion-dollar fines if they break the law.