Electrical car (EV) drivers in Australia are dealing with a brand new road-user cost, one in every of 10 key tax adjustments proposed by the federal authorities throughout a three-day financial summit in Canberra.
The highway consumer cost was one of many “10 key areas” of tax reform led by federal treasurer Jim Chalmers, with plans to introduce highway consumer expenses for automobiles not paying the nationwide gasoline excise.
The gasoline excise is a major supply of presidency income and was elevated to 51.8 cents per litre of petrol and diesel on August 4, 2025.
“There was plenty of help within the room for highway consumer charging,”’ Mr Chalmers mentioned after the summit.
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“There wasn’t a ultimate mannequin settled, however there was plenty of conceptual help for highway consumer charging.
“There was greater than the standard quantity of consensus in a conceptual approach round highway consumer charging. Numerous reform urge for food in that space, which is welcome.”
Mr Chalmers has beforehand raised the difficulty of a highway consumer cost, having put ahead the concept for recommendation to the nationwide cupboard in 2023 as a alternative for the gasoline excise, however no progress was made on the concept.
Earlier this month, the Treasurer mentioned the federal government was “accelerating work” whereas members of the federal treasury attended a road-user charging discussion board in Sydney.
The federal authorities’s plans embrace a phased roll-out of a highway consumer cost, with a long-term purpose of changing the gasoline excise for all automobiles.
This comes as income raised from the gasoline excise is anticipated to fall because the variety of low- and zero-emission automobiles, together with EVs, change into extra widespread.
The highway consumer cost plan is about for additional dialogue on September 5, with the Treasurer asking the states and territories for suggestions.
“The states are placing collectively an choices paper … to provide you a way of the issues that individuals within the room have been grappling with.”
There’s no state or territory in Australia at present issuing a highway consumer cost, with Victoria’s earlier system cancelled after the Australian Excessive Courtroom declared it invalid – deeming it an ‘excise’ not a ‘tax’, and subsequently one thing a state can’t impose.
The federal authorities has already launched a road-user cost, nevertheless, that is a part of pilot program for heavy automobiles.
The Nationwide Heavy Automobile Charging Pilot, of which Part 3 was simply accomplished, is designed to check alternative ways to cost heavy automobiles for his or her highway utilization primarily based on their weight and the gap travelled as a substitute of via registration or gasoline excise.
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