News

It’s Getting Harder Out There

If you’re running a transport business right now, you already feel it. Diesel prices have surged sharply across Australia in 2026, and for an industry where fuel is one of the single biggest operating costs, that hits differently than it does in most sectors. There’s not a lot of fat to trim when margins were already tight to begin with.

According to a report by Big Rigs, operators across the country have been absorbing significant cost increases with limited ability to pass them on quickly. Ross Transport, a family-owned NSW business running around 55 trucks, took on an additional $550,000 in fuel costs in March alone. For smaller owner-operators, weekly fuel bills jumped by hundreds of dollars almost overnight.

The Government has stepped in with some relief, but as many operators are pointing out, the timing leaves a lot of businesses still carrying the weight of costs already incurred.

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

What Relief Has Been Put in Place

From 1 April 2026, the Australian Government’s National Fuel Security Plan introduced a set of measures that are now law. For transport businesses, the key changes are:

• Fuel excise reduced by 32 cents per litre for 3 months
• Heavy vehicle road user charge reduced to zero for 3 months, which lifts Fuel Tax Credit (FTC) rates from 20.2 to 26.3 cents per litre
• Total saving at the pump: 32.4 cents per litre for heavy vehicle operators
• The next road user charge increase deferred by 6 months
• A new ATO fuel response payment plan — letting eligible businesses defer tax debts over 3 years with no upfront payment

Industry bodies including the Australian Trucking Association (ATA), NatRoad, and Road Freight New South Wales have welcomed the measures as a meaningful step forward. The ATA’s Mark Parry described the combined saving as “the lifeline that small trucking businesses need.”

Why Some Operators Still Feel the Pressure

The relief is real, but it starts from April. For businesses that spent all of March absorbing prices well above $2 per litre — sometimes closer to $2.70 or higher in some areas — the existing bills don’t disappear. NatRoad’s Warren Clark acknowledged it simply: “These companies still have March’s fuel bill to pay.”

There is also the fuel levy issue. Some transport operators have contracts where major customers set the fuel levy, and those customers have been slow to adjust rates to reflect actual diesel costs. When a levy is locked in well below what fuel is costing you, the gap comes straight out of your pocket. Industry bodies are urging operators to have those conversations with customers now and not wait for the next scheduled rate review.

The ATO Payment Plan — Worth Knowing About

If your business is carrying tax debt linked to the fuel crisis, the ATO fuel response payment plan is specifically designed for your situation. It is not a standard payment arrangement — it was created in direct response to the current cost pressures operators are facing.

Here is what it offers:

• Tax debts spread over 3 years
• No upfront payment required
• 36 equal monthly instalments
• Interest charges and penalties can be waived if you stay current with repayments and lodgements
• Applications close 30 June 2026

Your registered tax or Business Activity Statement (BAS) agent can apply on your behalf with your written authority. It is also worth checking whether varying your Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalments makes sense if your income has changed during this period. Full details are available on the ATO fuel response page.

Making Sure Every Job Counts

When fuel costs are this high, the last thing any transport business needs is revenue slipping through the cracks. Missed charges, jobs that don’t make it cleanly to invoice, consignment costs that weren’t captured properly — in normal times these are frustrating. Right now, they are genuinely costly.

That is where ConNote comes in. Built specifically for Australian transport and logistics operators and trusted in the industry for over 25 years, ConNote manages the entire consignment process from quote through to invoice. Every job tracked, every cost captured, nothing left behind. Request a demo to see how it works for your business.

Logical Developments also offers an ATO-accredited Single Touch Payroll solution for businesses that want to keep their compliance obligations tidy without the extra admin.
Find out more at www.logicaldevelopments.com.au or call the team on (08) 9458 3889.

Sources

1. Big Rigs — Relief Falls Short as Diesel Costs Soar for Trucking Industry, bigrigs.com.au, 8 April 2026.
2. Australian Taxation Office — ATO Fuel Response, ato.gov.au, last updated 2 April 2026.