Australia's $2.9billion fuel excise cut to remain temporary in bad news for stretched households

Published: 05:13, 23 May 2026 | Updated: 05:13, 23 May 2026 Australia's temporary fuel excise cut, which has brought down petrol prices, is likely to remain just that, federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen says. The three-month cut to the fuel excise started in April in response to soaring prices caused by the US-Israeli-led war on Iran and will run out at the end of June. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has neither ruled out nor confirmed he will extend the measure, which has reduced the cost of petrol and diesel by 26.3 cents a litre. '(Mr Albanese) has made clear that obviously we will continue to monitor the situation,' Mr Bowen told reporters on Saturday. 'But the excise was a temporary measure and we envisage it being a temporary measure.' There was no money in the May 12 federal budget to extend the excise, but it did include $3.2billion for a new government-controlled fuel reserve. The three-month excise cut has cost the federal budget $2.9billion. In a regular update on Australia's fuel stocks, Mr Bowen said an extra 50million litres of diesel had been secured as a buffer for Western Australia. Australia's temporary fuel excise cut, which has brought down petrol prices, is likely to remain just that, federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen says The three-month excise cut has cost the federal budget $2.9billion (stock image) There was also an additional 50million litres of jet fuel to the nation's stocks amid 'concern internationally' about jet fuel levels, Mr Bowen said. It comes after the government on Tuesday announced extra jet fuel shipments of about 100million litres had been secured from China and would begin arriving in June. As part of its fuel reserves, Australia has 43 days' supply of petrol, 31 days of jet fuel and 38 days of diesel. The war in Iran has resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes, and created volatility in global markets. The Australian government wanted to see a resolution to the conflict but was not a central player, Mr Bowen said. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. 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.