The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to extend fuel excise and heavy vehicle road user charge relief until the end of July.
Under the revised arrangements, effective from 1 July, fuel excise will remain 16 cents per litre below its standard rate. The heavy vehicle road user charge will also continue at a rate 16 cents per litre lower than normal.
The relief package had been due to expire on 30 June, which would have resulted in a 32 cents per litre increase in fuel excise and a 32.4 cents per litre increase in the road user charge for heavy vehicles.
ATA CEO, Mathew Munro, said the extension would help ease pressure on transport businesses already facing significant operating cost challenges.
“There are trucking businesses teetering on the brink, and such a large jump could have been disastrous for them,” said Munro.
“Trucking businesses and their customers will still face an increase in the effective tax rate on fuel, but it will be more manageable.”
While welcoming the extension, Munro said the ATA would have preferred the full reduction to remain in place until market conditions improved.
“The Government’s decision will soften the blow and give it the scope to extend the timing of further increases if there are delays in the US-Iran negotiations under last week’s Memorandum of Understanding,” he said.
In other news, the ATA has announced the recipients of its 2026 National Trucking Industry Awards.
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