New legislation allows the Government to access timely, accurate information about fuel availability.
07 May 2026
In brief:
- The ACT Legislative Assembly has passed the Government’s Fuel Legislation Amendment Bill 2026.
- The Bill allows the Government to access timely, accurate information about fuel availability.
- It also aims to strengthen consumer protections.
The ACT Legislative Assembly has passed the Government’s Fuel Legislation Amendment Bill 2026.
The Bill aims to further strengthen preparedness, transparency and consumer protections in response to global fuel disruptions.
Ensuring the Government has the right information to act early
The Bill gives the ACT Government targeted powers, when required.
The Government will be able to access timely, accurate information about fuel availability. This will help inform decisions that protect:
- households
- businesses
- essential services.
Better access to fuel supply data will allow the Government to:
- better understand real fuel availability in the ACT
- respond proportionately to changing conditions
- safeguard commercially sensitive information.
Changes to ensure fuel supply remains reliable
The Bill amends the Fuels Rationing Act 2019. It allows the Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water to require fuel sellers to provide information about fuel supply. This includes their stock levels and expected deliveries.
Penalties were introduced for those who fail to provide this information, alongside strengthened enforcement powers.
Strong protections are included to safeguard commercial confidentiality. It is now an offence to use or disclose protected information outside the purposes of the law.
The Bill also aims to strengthen consumer protections. Amendments to the Fair Trading (Fuel Prices) Act 1993 will increase the maximum penalty for fuel price mismatching from 20 to 50 penalty units. These measures reinforce transparency and fairness during periods of market stress.
The approach is consistent with measures proposed or adopted in other jurisdictions in responding to the 2026 Energy Crisis and fuel supply disruptions. These include:
- Western Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria.
The Bill does not activate fuel rationing.
Any future decision to introduce restrictions would be carefully assessed and informed by the accurate data provided under these changes.
Fuel supply remains reliable across the ACT.
At this stage, there are no plans to introduce fuel rationing. Fuel supply remains reliable across the ACT.
Any isolated service station outages are being resolved quickly as deliveries arrive.
The ACT Government continues to work closely with the Australian Government and other states and territories to monitor fuel supply and demand nationally.
Canberrans are encouraged to continue as usual.
Canberrans are encouraged to continue to purchase fuel as they normally would. Buying more fuel than needed can put unnecessary pressure on local service stations. It can also lead to local shortages that could be avoided.
The changes are designed to give Canberrans more confidence that fuel supply and pricing are being watched closely. They support fairness at petrol stations and a steady fuel supply across the ACT.
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