Tell Minister Catherine King: Don’t tax Australians out of EVs

As fuel prices soar, Treasurer Jim Chalmers is threatening to axe the salary-packaging rules that make electric vehicles affordable for everyday drivers.

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For hundreds of thousands of Australian families, driving electric is the one thing standing between us and another year of punishing petrol bills. No more $150 fill-ups. No more wincing at the pump every time oil prices swing.

Now the federal government wants to put a tax on that escape.

It's called a road user charge. It would apply only to electric cars — hundreds of dollars a year, every year, for the cars we bought to get off petrol in the first place. 

And it's being debated right now, between the state and federal ministers, in the middle of a fuel crisis.

The drivers hit hardest would be the ones who drive furthest and would otherwise spend most on fuel: outer-suburban commuters, regional households, rideshare drivers. The Australians who most need to get off petrol would be the ones charged to do it.

It will push people back to petrol cars, right when we need to be making it easier to go electric.

But it's not too late to stop it.

The charge isn't law yet. It's being designed at this moment and right now, the government is listening. Record petrol prices have put EVs front of mind across the country, and drivers' voices are carrying more weight than they have in years.

That's why adding your voice matters. If enough people who drive electric — or are thinking about their next car — speak up before the design is locked in, Transport Minister Catherine King will know there's a real political cost to getting this wrong.

Add your name, and tell Transport Minister Catherine King to halt the EV road user charge and let Australian families get off petrol

SIGN THE PETITION

To: Transport Minister Catherine King
Halt the EV road user charge.

Signed:

FAQs

  • Fuel excise is a tax of about 52 cents on every litre of petrol or diesel that Australians buy. Because EVs don't use petrol, their drivers don't pay it. The government wants to replace that lost revenue with a new per-kilometre charge — but only on EVs. How this is calculated, at what rate and how it’s paid, is all yet to be confirmed by the government.

  • Eventually, sure. A proper road funding reform — one that applies to all vehicles, prices in emissions, and comes in when EVs are genuinely mainstream (around 30% of the fleet) — would make sense. What's being proposed is none of those things. It singles out EVs, at the exact moment households are trying to escape record petrol prices.

  • The federal and state governments are working on a national road user charge specifically for EVs, with a likely rollout around 2028. The rate and design haven't been locked in yet which is exactly why now is the moment to push back.

  • It depends on how many cents per kilometre the government decides to charge. But based on typical Australian driving distances, around $350 a year for an average driver. For families who drive further — outer-suburban commuters, regional households, rideshare drivers — it could be significantly more.

  • The Government is looking for revenue. As more Australians switch to electric, fuel tax revenue falls, and they want a replacement. But taxing the drivers who are doing the most to cut Australia's oil dependence is exactly the wrong place to start.

  • Because this affects whether going electric stays affordable when you're ready to switch. A tax like this keeps more households on petrol for longer and more exposed to global oil shocks. The Iran conflict sent petrol past $2.50 a litre. That won't be the last time.

  • Yes. The policy still in the design phase, and right now the government is paying closer attention to consumer voices than it has in years. Record petrol prices have put EVs front of mind for millions of Australians, and that's given drivers real leverage. Adding your name shows Transport Minister Catherine King that EV drivers are organised, paying attention, and that there are consequences for getting this wrong.

A campaign by EV Drivers Australia

EV Drivers Australia is made up of teachers, nurses, tradespeople, and families who went electric.

There are 500,000+ Australians like us who drive electric. We made the smart choice for families, our wallets, and the long term. Now we're organising to make sure the policies that affect us are shaped by us, not decided without us.

When governments make decisions about EV taxes, charging, and affordability, we should be in the room.

EV Drivers Australia is an initiative of Solar Citizens.

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