Now lawMoney & Tax Introduced in the House of Representatives, 30 Mar 2026

Finance Minister got a $1.2 billion fuel security fund

This law set aside up to $1.2 billion to deal with fuel problems. It covers spending outside normal day-to-day costs, such as payments to states, territories and councils. It is the larger half of a $2 billion package.

Official name: Appropriation (Fuel Security Response) Bill (No. 2) 2025-2026

Who it affects

• Six federal departments: Agriculture, Climate Change and Energy, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Infrastructure and Transport, and Treasury could ask for extra money.
• States, territories and local councils: They could get money through the Infrastructure and Transport department, on terms set by ministers.
• Parts of the economy hit by high fuel prices or shortages: The government said it might need to help some industries facing fuel price and supply problems.
• Taxpayers: Up to $1.2 billion of public money could be spent this way.

Fuel crisis needs emergency money

The government cannot spend public money unless Parliament passes a law that allows it. The money comes from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. That is the government's main bank account.

In March 2026, the government said it might need to act on high fuel prices. Fuel supply problems were also hitting parts of the economy. It asked Parliament for emergency power to spend until 30 June 2026. The next budget laws were due then.

Australia's Constitution is the country's founding rule book. It says normal day-to-day spending must sit in a different bill from other spending. So the government brought two bills. Bill No. 1 covers normal running costs and allows $800 million. This one, Bill No. 2, covers other spending and allows $1.2 billion.

The Finance Minister, Senator Katy Gallagher, brought both bills. Together they are called the Fuel Security Appropriation Bills. An appropriation is money Parliament lets the government spend.

The $1.2 billion fund

The law does not name any program or add new spending in its main table. It creates an Advance to the Finance Minister. That is an emergency pool of money. The Minister can draw on it when there is an urgent need nobody planned for.

This law caps that pool at $1.2 billion. With the $800 million in Bill No. 1, the total is $2 billion. That is on top of the normal emergency pools in the 2025-26 budget laws.

The money can only be used to deal with fuel supply problems and linked needs. Only six departments can ask for it. They are Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The others are Foreign Affairs and Trade, Industry, Science and Resources, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Treasury.

What spending it covers

This bill covers spending that is not part of the government's normal yearly work. The kinds of spending are set out below.

The first kind is payments to the states, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and local councils. In this law, that money sits with one department. Its full name is the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts.

Money can also go to new programs. It can be used to buy or fix up things the government owns, or pay off debts. Departments can get money to build or buy big items, such as buildings. This covers items like large computer systems worth over $10 million.

Companies and bodies owned by the government can also be paid. Money can also go into separate accounts kept for one purpose.

Say a country council needs help to keep fuel moving to remote towns. The Infrastructure department could get part of this fund. It could then pass it on to the council.

Conditions on state payments

The Constitution lets the federal government give money to the states on terms it chooses. This law hands that power to the ministers named in the law.

Those ministers can decide the terms of payments, how much is paid and when. These are everyday office choices, so Parliament does not vote on them.

The government says choices like this are rare. Most payments to states go through other laws, such as the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009, the main law for federal payments to states.

Checks on the spending

Each choice to hand out money from the fund must be given to Parliament. Parliament cannot vote to cancel these choices. The government says cancelling one would leave a department short for its normal programs.

The government says the checks used for COVID-19 emergency funds apply here too. Each choice must be published with a reason. The Minister puts out a public statement in weeks when money is handed out.

The Liberal and National parties have a spokesperson on finance. The Finance Minister will ask that person to agree to any amount over $1 billion. A yearly report goes to Parliament. The Australian National Audit Office checks it. That office checks how the government spends money.

Start date

This is now law. It was brought into the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament, on 30 March 2026. The House passed it the same day.

The Senate, the upper house, passed it on 1 April 2026. The Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signed it into law the same day. It became Act No. 24 of 2026. It started that day.

Any money from the fund not spent by 30 June 2026 could no longer be used from 1 July 2026. The whole law will be cancelled at the start of 1 July 2028.

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum

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