Australia: fuel excise cut ends, watchdog on alert; LinkedIn added to news bargaining rules

Australia’s temporary fuel excise cut ended at midnight on Monday, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned service stations against exploiting the change. Chalmers said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will closely monitor petrol prices to ensure retailers do not raise costs unfairly. The fuel excise was originally halved after the outbreak of war in the Middle East, then increased slightly last month, saving about 16 cents per litre at wholesale prices for another month. The ACCC will step up its monitoring of fuel price movements, and any price increases that cannot be explained will be closely examined. Penalties for petrol stations that break the law have been increased, with potential multimillion-dollar fines. Chalmers gave a similar warning last month when the excise reduction was scaled back. It is expected to take a few days for the changes to appear at the pump.

Separately, the government has published new details of its news bargaining incentive legislation, and LinkedIn will no longer be exempt. Under the proposed scheme, digital platforms including Google, Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn will have to sign deals with at least six media organisations, up from four, or pay 2.5% of their digital advertising revenue in Australia. The charge rate has risen from 2.25%, and the calculation base has changed from total Australian revenue to digital advertising revenue only. This means revenue from products such as Google’s phone sales would not count toward the payment. Microsoft lobbied the government in March 2025 to keep LinkedIn and Bing out of the rules. Bing remains exempt because its Australian digital advertising revenue is below the $250 million threshold. Financial services minister Daniel Mulino said the changes do not alter the legislation’s intent and stay true to its policy rationale.