Before ParliamentEnvironment & Energy Introduced in the House of Representatives, 14 Oct 2026

Gas exporters would have to keep 20% for Australia

This bill would make every company that ships gas overseas get a licence. Each year it would have to sell gas at home equal to 20 per cent of what it ships out. Homes and factories that use gas are the people it aims to help.

Official name: Domestic Gas Reservation Bill 2026

Who it affects

• Companies that ship liquid gas overseas: They would need a licence and would have to sell a set share of their gas in Australia each year.
• Factories and power plants that run on gas: The government says they should find it easier to buy gas at a fair price.
• Households that cook or heat with gas: The government expects lower gas prices to flow through to your bills over time.
• Bosses of gas export companies: They could be fined personally if they knew about a serious breach and did not try to stop it.
• Gas producers that do not export: They could ask the watchdog to count their new gas, which they could then sell to exporters.

Gas sent overseas, prices up at home

Australia digs up a lot of natural gas. Much of it is cooled into a liquid and shipped overseas. This is called liquid gas, or liquefied natural gas.

Gas at home is used to cook, heat homes, make power and run factories. When world prices jump, local prices tend to jump too.

In 2025 the government reviewed the gas market. The report came out on 22 December 2025. It found the current tools mostly deal with short spikes. They do not make sure there is enough gas for years ahead.

Right now there are three main tools. One lets the government limit exports when it expects a shortfall. Another is a set of rules for gas sellers called the Gas Market Code. The third is a deal with exporters on the east coast.

The national energy market operator expects supply risks from 2030. The government accepted every idea in the review. On 7 May 2026 it said it would bring in a gas reserve scheme.

This bill is the main law for that scheme. Two partner bills come with it. One sets a fee to pay for running the scheme. The other changes older laws to fit it.

Who needs a licence

From 1 January 2028, the company that ships liquid gas overseas would need an export licence. The licence must be in force and not paused.

The exporter is whoever owns the gas just before it is loaded onto the ship. Gas is counted as exported when the ship leaves for a place outside Australia.

There is one let-off. A ship can carry liquid gas to burn as its own fuel without a licence.

The law would apply on land and at sea, out to the edge of Australia's ocean zone. Foreign ships and companies are covered there only for gas taken from that zone. It would not apply in a sea area called Greater Sunrise, which has its own special rules.

State laws on gas would keep working beside this law.

The 20 per cent rule

This is the heart of the bill. Each calendar year, a licence holder would have to sell gas in Australia. The amount is set by energy content. It must match 20 per cent of the gas it exported that year.

Australia has more than one gas market. Each one is a network of pipes joined together. The duty applies in the market that the export plant is linked to. So a company only supplies the market it exports from.

Say a company ships out gas worth 100 units of energy in a year. It would need to sell 20 units in its local market that year.

If the company buys gas at home that is not new gas, and then exports it, its target goes up by the same amount. This stops a company from taking gas out of the local market and shipping it away.

What counts as selling at home

The gas must go to a buyer under a binding deal. It must be the company's own gas, or new gas. New gas is gas the watchdog agrees is extra to what would have been made anyway. Deals signed before the scheme can count too.

New deals must say the gas will be used in that market. It cannot be turned back into gas for export. The same gas can only count once.

Some deals let a buyer turn down gas but still pay for it. Gas that a buyer turns down this way can still count.

A company that sells more gas than it buys on the public trading markets can count the difference. More ways to count can be added by detailed rules the government writes without a new vote. These could include green gas made from things like plant waste, or helping people use less gas.

Room to fall short each year

Gas plants break down and buyers change their plans. So the bill gives a little room each year.

A company could sell at least 90 per cent of its target and carry the rest over. It must still show it tried hard to sell that gas, or had a good reason. Up to 10 per cent can be carried over.

Gas carried over must be made up within the next three years. For example, a gap from 2030 must be filled by the end of 2033.

A company that sells more than its target earns a credit. It can keep credit worth up to 10 per cent of its target. A credit runs out after three years.

If a gap is not filled in time, it becomes a debt. That debt is added to a later target, and the company can be fined.

When the share can drop

The minister for resources could lower the share for a whole market. It could be any figure from 0 up to just under 20 per cent. The share can never be set above 20 per cent.

The energy watchdog would also check each year that the target is not more than Australia needs. By 30 June before each year, it would guess how much gas the market will use. It adds a 10 per cent buffer for safety. Then it takes away gas that other sellers will supply.

Each licence holder gets a share of what is left, based on its exports. If that share is lower than its 20 per cent target, the lower figure applies.

The watchdog must tell the company and post its decision online within one business day.

Old contracts and state deals

Some exporters already have long deals to sell gas overseas. The bill says it does not want to break these.

A company could ask for a lower target because of an export contract in place by 22 December 2025. It must show it would otherwise break that contract. It must also show it cannot reasonably find other gas. Extra cost alone is not a good enough reason.

A company could also ask for a lower target because a state already makes it keep gas for local use. Pipes or plants that make supply too costly can also count, if the problem existed before the law began.

Some states already have their own gas reserve rules. For those companies, the minister could measure the target over several years together.

Most of these requests must be made and decided by 31 December 2027. The minister for energy must agree to each one. All of these decisions must be posted online within one business day.

Plans, reports and money set aside

Each licence holder would need a written plan for every year, approved by the watchdog. The plan shows how it will meet its gas target. It must be handed in at least three months before the year starts.

Within 60 days after each year ends, the company must send a yearly report. The watchdog can order an outside check of that report.

The company must keep enough money set aside to cover its costs and any fines. This could be a bank guarantee.

Each export plant must be joined to the local gas pipes. Plants that were already exporting without such a link can ask for a let-off.

A company with a lowered target must tell the minister if things change. A rise or fall of 5 per cent or more in its gas output or exports counts as a change.

Getting and keeping a licence

The minister for resources would decide who gets a licence. The minister for energy must agree. The minister for industry must be asked, and the watchdog gives advice.

The company must be fit and proper to hold a licence. Past crimes or fines for fraud or dishonesty can count against it.

If no decision is made within 12 months, the answer is taken to be no.

A licence would last between 20 and 50 years. A company must ask to renew at least 12 months before it ends.

A licence cannot be sold or handed to another company. If someone new takes control of the company, the minister must agree. Without that, the licence is paused after 90 days and later cancelled. Anyone who takes or gives up control must tell the minister within 30 days.

The minister could pause or cancel a licence if the company breaks its duties. Not paying the fee within 90 days of the due date is also a reason. A company cannot hand back its licence while it still owes gas.

Later laws could change or cancel licences. The bill says no payment would be owed if that happens.

Energy watchdog runs it

The Australian Energy Regulator would run the scheme. It is the national body that watches the energy market. Its job would be to check the rules are kept and act when they are not.

It could make people hand over papers and answer questions. Ignoring one of these notices could mean up to two years in jail.

The watchdog could post details about licences, plans and reports. Private business details can be held back. It could share what it learns with other energy and government bodies.

Gas companies would pay a yearly fee to cover these costs. The fee for each year is due on 31 January of the next year. A late payer is charged one third of 1 per cent of the unpaid amount for each day. The watchdog can cancel this late charge for a good reason.

Checks and fines

The watchdog would get the usual federal powers to check on companies. It could ask a court for fines, issue on-the-spot fines and accept written promises. It could ask a court to order a company to stop.

It could audit a company itself or appoint an outside auditor. It could direct a company to take steps to fix a problem.

The biggest fines are for exporting without a licence and for missing the gas target. A court could order the largest of three amounts. These are three times what the company gained, a set high dollar figure, or 10 per cent of its yearly sales up to a cap.

Bosses could be fined personally if they knew about a serious breach and did not take steps to stop it.

Giving false or misleading facts would also lead to fines. So would setting up a scheme to dodge the rules.

Appeals and other rules

A company could ask the Administrative Review Tribunal to look again at many decisions. The tribunal checks government decisions and is less formal than a court. This covers the watchdog's yearly target and the minister's choices on lowered targets.

The minister for resources could write detailed rules under this law. Those rules cannot create fines or taxes. Parliament can cancel them.

The law would sit beside the main competition and consumer law. Both would keep working together.

Waiting in the House

Most of the law would start on a date the Governor-General sets. It would start by 1 July 2027 at the latest. The licence rule and the 20 per cent duty would start on 1 January 2028. That gives companies time to apply and get ready.

The bill was put to the House of Representatives on 14 October 2026. The minister gave the speech on its main idea that same day.

Next, the House debates it and votes. Then it goes to the Senate. If both houses pass it, the Governor-General signs it into law.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

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

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