Heavy vehicle charges for 2026-27

At this year’s August Infrastructure and Transport Ministers’ Meeting (ITMM), ministers supported a preferred 6 per cent increase for heavy vehicle charges for 2026-27 under the current Pay As You Go charging model.

You can read the ministers’ communique here.

Heavy vehicle charges are fees paid by truck and bus operators to cover the extra wear and tear their vehicles cause on our roads. This helps governments pay for building and maintaining safer, more reliable roads that support everyone who uses them. 

Charges are made up of: 

• Annual registration charges – collected by state and territory governments
• Fuel-based road user charges – collected by the Commonwealth government

The NTC does not set heavy vehicle charges. Our role is to research options and undertake consultation and economic analysis to inform decisions made by transport ministers.
 

Ministers asked the NTC to undertake public consultation on the proposed charges increase, consistent with the Fuel Tax Act 2006 (Cth).

To support this, we have published a consultation paper which:

• provides background on heavy vehicle charges
• explains the guiding principles for cost recovery
• outlines how much governments spend on roads compared to what is collected through charges.

You can submit your feedback via our ‘Have your say’ form below or upload a written submission in response to the consultation paper.
Submissions close on Friday, 12 December 2025.

Following the consultation period, the NTC will analyse stakeholder feedback and relevant data to inform recommendations for Australia’s transport ministers.