The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has unveiled a plan it says will save 60,000 Australian trucking businesses impacted by fuel prices caused by the war in Iran.
ATA chair Mark Parry released the plan following a meeting of the association’s member council yesterday, responding directly to the terminal gate price of diesel increasing more than 105 cents per litre since the start of the war.
“The ATA is calling on the Australian and state governments to activate the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements immediately to help small trucking businesses. The DRFA typically offers cash grants and concessional loans to businesses with fewer than 20 employees,” he says.
“The fuel crisis is a DRFA trigger because it is due to terrorism against commercial shipping in the gulf.
“The DRFA is a mechanism that can be used to help small businesses quickly.”
Parry says the government should also temporarily reduce the industry’s road user charge to zero from 32.4 cents per litre.
“The government should temporarily reduce the charge and review the reduction on a month-to-month basis,” Parry says.
“This would cost the government $248 million per month, and it would flow through to trucking businesses as larger BAS refunds or offsets to their BAS payments, once their activity statements are due and processed.”
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Parry adds that truck businesses need help to recover the cost of fuel from their customers.
“Trucking businesses need immediate help to get through our cashflow crisis, but we also need to address the underlying problem: many trucking businesses cannot pass their fuel costs on to their customers,” he says.
“The government has empowered the Fair Work Commission to issue contractual chain orders that cover the whole of the road transport contract chain, including industry customers.
“The commission is considering a TWU application for an order that would require rate reviews, but the order could not come into force until late 2026 at the earliest, even if it was expedited.
“We propose that the government immediately amend the Fair Work Act to empower the FWC to make urgent fuel price contractual chain orders.
“Only the minister would be able to apply for such an order, and it would be subject to expedited consultation and hearing requirements, including mandatory consultation with the Road Transport Advisory Group.
“A fuel price order would only be able to deal with fuel levies, rate reviews involving fuel or charges involving fuel.”
The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) and road transport employers’ association ARTIO have already applied to the Fark Work Commission for a formal conference with major industry customers to discuss the need for fuel levies.
“The ATA has been invited to participate in the conference and is attending the directions hearing,” Parry says.
He says the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and state governments should urgently allow longer, high productivity trucks on key freight routes.
“A 36.5 metre long A-double with two trailers can transport 1,000 tonnes of payload in 21 trips compared to 42 trips for a standard semi-trailer, while using only 72 per cent of the fuel,” he says.
“Allowing more high productivity vehicles on major routes like the Hume and Pacific highways would save fuel and reduce costs for trucking businesses and their customers.”
This call follows the Western Australian government announcing last week that it’ll allow 27.5 and 36.5 metre road trains to carry an extra 10 tonnes of diesel, petrol and fertiliser to priority regions in the state.
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