Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has confirmed that road user charging is firmly on the government’s reform agenda, following strong support from participants at the Economic Reform Roundtable in Canberra.
Speaking after three days of discussions with economists, industry leaders and state representatives, Chalmers said:
“There was a lot of support in the room for road user charging. There wasn’t a final model settled, but there was a lot of conceptual support for road user charging, and we committed to the group that Daniel Mookhey and I would work with Catherine King and other Ministers to work through a state’s options paper when I meet with the state and territory Treasurers on the fifth of September”.
The Treasurer emphasised that while no model has been finalised, the case for change is clear. The move would modernise the way Australians pay for the upkeep of roads, gradually replacing the declining revenue from fuel excise as the vehicle fleet transitions to electric and more fuel-efficient cars.
When pressed on timing, Chalmers acknowledged that sequencing would be a key issue:
“The key considerations are what’s in and out, and whether that’s sequenced or not, and over how long a time period… people had a view that this is an idea whose time has come, and so we will do that work”.
The Treasurer also credited NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey for his role in steering discussions, describing him as “very informed and very constructive on this question”.
The options paper being prepared for the September Treasurers’ meeting will explore whether a road user charge should be phased in gradually or introduced in a more comprehensive model.
Chalmers underlined that while support at the roundtable was encouraging, any final decision would rest with government and the broader public mandate:
“In a democratic system, a mandate comes from the 27 million people that we work for. We’re very conscious of that… the model is not determined”.
For Fleet Managers, the introduction of a road user charge could mark one of the most significant cost-structure shifts in decades. Moving away from fuel excise will ensure that electric vehicles contribute fairly to road funding, but the design of the system—whether distance-based, weight-based, or a hybrid—will directly influence fleet operating costs.
The September Treasurers’ meeting will provide the first real indication of how and when this reform might be implemented.
