Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed next week’s budget will include an Australian Fuel Security and Resilience package, which includes:<\/p>\n
increasing Australia’s minimum stockholding obligation by a further 10 days;$7.5 billion in financial support for fuel companies to access loans, insurance and equity to purchase and store more stock;$3.7 billion to establish a government-owned fuel security reserve that would hold 1 billion litres of emergency diesel and aviation fuel.<\/p>\n
Currently, refiners and importers are required to store<\/a> between 20 to 32 days of emergency supplies, depending on the type of fuel they hold.<\/p>\n Under the proposal, which will require government and private-sector funding, Australia’s mandatory petrol stockpiles will increase to about 37 days, while diesel and jet fuel will be about 50 days.<\/p>\n Mr Albanese said the details of how the package will be funded will be announced in Tuesday’s budget.<\/p>\n “This is aimed at making sure that Australians can have more confidence in protecting our energy sovereignty, not just during this crisis, but going forward,” he said.<\/p>\n $10 billion for more fuel and storage capacity<\/p>\n The government’s new funding package includes $7.5 billion in financial support for fuel companies to access loans, insurance and equity so they can buy and store more fuel.<\/p>\n Fuel companies have already used a portion of that funding to acquire extra stock through the government’s new strategic powers,<\/a> which allow Export Finance Australia (EFA) to underwrite fuel purchases.<\/p>\n Ampol, BP Australia and Viva Energy have used the scheme to secure about 450 million litres of extra diesel and 100 million litres of additional jet fuel.<\/p>\n The Viva Energy refinery in Geelong caught fire in April, casting further doubt over Australia’s fuel security.\u00a0 (Supplied: Ben Young)<\/p>\n The government will also spend $3.7 billion to set up a government-owned fuel security reserve that would hold 1 billion litres of diesel and aviation fuel for use in times of crisis.<\/p>\n These stockpiles would be scattered across the country, and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said there would be a focus on regional areas.<\/p>\n “Australia is actually in a minority of countries in the International Energy Agency who don’t have a government-owned fuel reserve,” he said.<\/p>\n “This is a big change in our approach as a country and a good one.”<\/p>\n Federal and state governments will spend $10 million to determine whether Australia needs new or expanded fuel refinery capabilities.<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2c7bd8b0233b0ae96a409a902eae5766.jpeg\")
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