Road user charging continues to be a consideration for federal and state governments following a meeting of treasurers on 5 September.
Their statement, issued following the meeting, recognised that fuel excise revenues are expected to decline over the longer term as more efficient and electric vehicles enter the market, and that a fair and sustainable funding model is needed to maintain Australia’s roads.
It also noted that there was support for a simple phased approach that did not discourage EV uptake while still ensuring that all road users contribute.
The FCAI has long supported the principle of a nationally consistent and technology-agnostic approach to road user charging, ensuring fairness across all vehicle types. We recognise that while a road user charge is not applied on vehicles, the way in which it could be applied will potentially impact different powertrains as we observed in Victoria.