Now lawMoney & Tax Introduced in the House of Representatives, 12 May 2026

Main 2026-27 Budget law includes $2 billion fuel fund

This is the law that lets federal departments pay their normal running costs for 2026-27. It also gives the Finance Minister a much bigger emergency fund. Most of it is kept for fuel supply problems.

Official name: Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027

Who it affects

• Public servants and government departments: Their wages and running costs for 2026-27 come from this money.
• Anyone who relies on fuel, such as drivers, truckies and farmers: The government has up to $2 billion it can move fast if fuel supply runs short.
• The Liberal and National parties: The Finance Minister has promised to ask their finance spokesperson before using over $1 billion at once.

Departments need yearly running money

The government cannot spend public money unless Parliament agrees. All tax and other income goes into one pot. It is called the Consolidated Revenue Fund. A law has to say how much can come out and what it is for.

Every May the Treasurer puts out the Budget. Three main spending bills come with it. This is Bill No. 1, the biggest of the three for day-to-day costs.

It covers the normal yearly running of government. That means the day-to-day work of departments and their regular programs. Australia's Constitution is the country's founding rule book. It says this money must sit in a bill of its own. Other spending goes in Bill No. 2. Parliament's own departments get a third bill.

What the words mean

The first part explains the words used in the bill. It says the detailed budget papers can be used to work out what the law means. These papers say what each department plans to do with its money.

It also covers money that moves between two parts of the government. No cash really leaves the pot in that case. The bill still treats it as a real payment. This means the spending is counted and can be seen.

Three kinds of money

The long table at the back of the bill lists the money for every department and agency. It comes in three kinds.

The first kind pays a department's own costs. That means staff, suppliers, office costs and equipment worth $10 million or less. A department can move it between its goals.

The second kind pays for programs run for the government. Examples are grants, benefits and other payments. It is tied to a set goal and cannot be shifted.

The third kind is for government bodies that stand apart in law from the federal government. Examples are some agencies and government companies. Their department passes the money on. They must use it for their own purpose.

Say the government asks a department to do an extra job halfway through the year. The department usually pays from what it already has. It may be topped up in the next year's budget.

Bigger emergency fund for fuel

The Advance to the Finance Minister is an emergency fund. The Finance Minister can use it for an urgent cost that was missed, set too low, or not expected.

In the 2025-26 law this fund was $400 million. In this law it is $2.4 billion. Of that, $400 million can be used for any urgent need. The other $2 billion can only be used to deal with fuel supply problems.

The government's notes on the bill say the fuel money lets the government act fast on fuel if needed. It could pay for fuel costs that are not planned yet. Any department listed in the bill could ask for some.

Money from the fund that is not spent by 30 June 2027 can no longer be used from 1 July 2027.

Checks on the emergency fund

Each use of the fund must be published with a reason. It goes on the Federal Register of Legislation, the official website of federal laws. The Finance Minister will put out a public statement in weeks the fund is used.

The Liberal and National parties have a spokesperson on finance. The Finance Minister has promised to ask that person before using over $1 billion at once. The notes on the 2025-26 version of this law did not list this promise.

A yearly report on the fund goes to Parliament. The Australian National Audit Office checks how the government spends money. It looks at the report every year the fund is used.

Parliament cannot vote to cancel a use of the fund. The notes say cancelling one would leave a department short for its other programs. They say both major parties agree with this rule.

Special accounts and end date

Some money sits in separate accounts kept for one purpose. If a spending line in the bill has the same purpose, the money can be moved there.

The money is set aside in law from the day the law starts. Amounts can shift when work moves between departments. They can also shift when the goods and services tax is paid back. The Finance Minister can also control when, and how much, money goes to each department.

The law switches itself off at the start of 1 July 2029.

Start date

The bill was brought into the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament, on Budget night, 12 May 2026. It was debated through late May. The House went through it line by line from 2 to 4 June. The House passed it on 4 June 2026.

The Senate, the upper house, got it on 22 June 2026 and passed it on 29 June 2026. The Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signed it into law on 30 June 2026. It became Act No. 54 of 2026.

The bill was set to start on 1 July 2026 or the day it was signed, whichever came later. So it started on 1 July 2026. That is the first day of the financial year.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

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

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