Motorists across the country will benefit from a further discount of 5.7 cents per litre, funded by revenue raised by the goods and services tax (GST) following an agreement between all states and territories.
Effective immediately, the states and territories have agreed to use additional GST revenue generated by higher petrol prices – estimated by National Cabinet at around $400 million – to fund the discount nationwide.
Prices peaked at a national average of $2.59 per litre over the past week, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, with diesel averaging $3.21 per litre.
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The news comes a day after the federal government’s halving of the fuel excise came into effect, reducing it from 52.6 cents per litre to 26.3 cents per litre from April 1 to June 30.
The additional GST-funded 5.7-cent reduction is also set to run until June 30.
Combined, the two measures deliver total savings of around 32 cents per litre, equating to $17.60 off a full 55-litre tank for Australia’s best-selling petrol vehicle in 2025, the Toyota RAV4.
For diesel vehicles such as the Ford Ranger – Australia’s best-selling model overall for the past three years – the changes amount to a saving of about $25.60 per tank.
Prices have already begun to fall following the excise cut.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), daily average retail petrol prices were 16.7 cents per litre lower on April 1 compared with the previous day, with daily average retail diesel prices 15.0 cents per litre lower.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested the additional reduction will take time to fully flow through to the bowser.
“This relief is already starting to show up in petrol prices, and we expect more to flow through in the next one to two weeks,” the Prime Minister said in a release.
“This is more help with the cost of living for millions of Australians when they fill up. People are under cost-of-living pressure, and a lot of that pressure is being piled on at the petrol pump due to the conflict in the Middle East.”
The federal government also confirmed it has enacted stage two of its four-stage emergency fuel strategy, with the Prime Minister and Energy Minister Chris Bowen again steering away from speculation about fuel rationing.
Lower fuel standards have been temporarily allowed to ensure more fuel can be imported, while the government has also underwritten fuel shipments to guarantee supply.
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