Voluntary Rationing, WFH but No 'COVID-Style' Measures: Inside Fuel Talks

Everything you need to know about the Australian fuel crisis response

National cabinet is meeting on Monday morning to consider responses to the global oil shock caused by the US-Israel war on Iran. It is the second meeting to take place since the outbreak of the war, with the first establishing a fuel supply co-ordinator after petrol stations around the country reported shortages amid surging demand.

Leaders eye cut to fuel excise, work from home measures

State and territory leaders are meeting on Monday to thrash out ideas to curb the ongoing fuel crisis...

Voluntary rationing, WFH but no 'COVID-style' measures: Inside fuel talks

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host an urgent national cabinet meeting today alongside state and territory leaders to formulate a federal response to Australia's escalating fuel crisis.Today marks the second cabinet meeting in Canberra since the war in the Middle East began, and over a month since the US-led strikes on Iran triggered a global oil crisis.Australia's supply of petrol and diesel is running dry – despite assurances from the…

National cabinet to plan for fuel rationing, but hopes to avoid it

Australia’s big miners have asked the competition watchdog for permission to collaborate on fuel security strategies as the Middle East war enters its fifth week.

Australian National Review - Labor Pledges No Return to COVID-Era Restrictions Amid Fuel Crisis

Fuel prices are displayed at a petrol station in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown in Australia on March 26, 2026. William West/AFP via Getty Images Federal Labor Treasurer Jim Chalmers has reassured Australians the government will avoid COVID-style restrictions or rationing as fuel prices surge and supply tightens across 500 service stations. “One of the reasons why the prime minister has brought the states and territories together today [f…

If Australia introduced petrol rationing in response to Iran, how would it work and which sectors would be impacted?

Australia has not had petrol rationing since 1979. The last time it did, the mechanism was simple: a ration book, enough fuel for approximately 32km of driving per week, and a queue. Nearly five decades later, the mechanism has been updated, but the underlying problem, namely our structural dependence on imported refined fuel, has not.…