Portfolio — 20 March 2026

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy advanced two parallel policy tracks across the day's media releases: immediate fuel security measures responding to Middle East conflict-driven price pressures, and longer-term energy transition infrastructure.

On fuel security, the Minister confirmed that the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has asked Treasury to model new levy options to tax windfall profits of gas companies amid rising fuel prices [TA-260320-climat-8e267c3faa6e]. The government has released more than 500 million litres — roughly 20 per cent of the strategic fuel reserve — with conditional requirements for companies to direct supply to regional areas experiencing shortages [TA-260320-climat-8f38ce16a46d].

The portfolio's approach prioritises immediate fuel supply stability and demand management over immediate tax reform, deferring any budgetary announcements to the Treasurer in May [TA-260320-climat-8e267c3faa6e].

The Minister also announced a liberalisation of the fuel security payment formula for Ampol and Viva refineries to better reflect the global operating environment while maintaining the current payment rate [TA-260320-climat-8f38ce16a46d]. The portfolio frames the current situation as a demand surge rather than a supply disruption, relying on existing minimum stock obligations and full refinery operations to maintain national security.

Separately, the Government amended the Fuel Security Services Payment trigger mechanism to better reflect market conditions, a change the Minister described as fixing a flawed design that previously limited refiner access to payments [TA-260320-climat-ccae8e8a5f1b].

On energy transition, the Minister announced that the 500MW Liddell Battery is completing commissioning on the site of the former Liddell Power Station and will be operational by mid-year to support 200,000 homes [TA-260320-climat-c19241e878aa].