Anthony Albanese considers extending fuel tax cut for Australian drivers

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 00:36, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 00:37, 16 June 2026 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is considering extending the temporary fuel excise cut. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said on Tuesday that the government remained in 'active' discussions about whether to extend the fuel excise reduction beyond its June 30 expiry. The measure, introduced three months ago, halves the fuel excise, a federal tax applied to every litre of petrol and diesel. Combined with reductions in GST charged by states and territories, it is currently saving motorists about 32 cents per litre at the bowser. Global fuel prices fell sharply on Monday after the announcement of a peace deal between the United States and Iran, which led to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. However, prices remain higher than they were before the conflict, with oil trading at about $82 USD a barrel, compared with around $60 before tensions escalated in February. Speaking on Sunrise, Ms Gallagher confirmed no final decision had been made but said the policy remained under close review. 'It's no secret that we'll keep these matters under review. We know that the cut to the fuel excise has really helped households whilst the war in the Middle East has impacted on petrol prices here,' she said. Ms Gallagher said the excise cut had helped ease pressure on motorists, alongside the recent decline in global oil prices. Katy Gallagher (pictured) said the government was considering extending the fuel excise  Anthony Albanese (pictured) said an announcement would be made before June 30  'Petrol prices have come down quite a bit in most capital cities. They're below where they were at the beginning of the war, and that's because the fuel excise has helped, but also because the price of oil has come down,' she said. She added that Australians would be given advance notice before any changes were made. 'The PM said yesterday that we have this under consideration and that there'll be plenty of notice given to people about any decision we take,' she said. In Canberra, Albanese confirmed the government was assessing its next move, warning that global conditions remained uncertain despite signs of easing tensions. 'We know that the end of the conflict doesn't mean that we're back to business as usual, and we know that that has been really important in providing support for people,' he said. 'We obviously need to make a decision prior to June 30, and we need to do that in advance.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.