Last week, the global oil security section of the Australian Department of Environment and Energy advised that the new rules for the operation of the Petroleum and Other Fuels Reporting Act (2017) had been formally adopted by the Australian government.
This announcement follows three rounds of consultation conducted with industry – including ACAPMA – over the past 12 months.
The rules were made by the Minister for the Environment and Energy under the Petroleum and Other Fuels Reporting Act 2017 and detail the specific mandatory reporting requirements that will apply to fuel and fuel-related businesses.
The reporting obligations will see businesses producing, refining, wholesaling and storing petroleum and related products (eg, bitumen and biofuels) required to report monthly to the Department for the Environment and Energy.
The new rules detail the conditions under which businesses must report, as well as giving details on exemptions, exceptions and reduced reporting frequencies (where appropriate).
Businesses will be required to report fuel stocks monthly in arrears, starting on January 1, 2018, with the first report due on February 15, 2018.
“Fuel businesses that pay fuel excise and/or have monthly stockholdings of 3,000 tonnes or more will be required to submit monthly reports,” ACAPMA CEO Mark McKenzie said.
“There are several caveats in relation to wholesale stockholdings, particularly where the rights in the stock may be held by a third party, and so fuel wholesalers with facilities for the storage of 3,000 litres of fuel or more are encouraged to carefully review the new rules and assess their liability to report.”
The new Petroleum and Other Fuels Reporting Rules can be downloaded – together with an Explanatory Statement – here.
ACAPMA understands that the Department of the Environment and Energy is currently finalising guidance material, including reporting templates, for reporting businesses.
“These materials will be distributed to ACAPMA members once they are received from the Department,” Mr McKenzie said.
This is an edited version of an article originally circulated by ACAPMA on November 16, 2017.
