Australia: Legislation amending capital gains tax receives Royal Assent; temporary reduction in fuel excise passes Parliament
Legislation received Royal Assent on June 26, 2026.
The legislative package to amend the capital gains tax (CGT) discount, restrict negative gearing in housing to new builds, and introduce a working Australians tax offset and an AU$1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses for individuals, received Royal Assent on June 26, 2026.
The package, comprised of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and its imposition bill, Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, replaces the 50% CGT discount for individuals, trusts and partnerships with cost base indexation to ensure only real gains are subject to taxation and introduces a 30% minimum tax on capital gains (with an exemption for certain income support recipients), effective for all capital gains accruing on and after July 1, 2027, including gains accruing on pre-CGT assets.
Temporary reduction in fuel excise passes Parliament
Legislation to introduce a temporary month-long reduction in the excise duty rates and excise equivalent customs duty rates for fuels, including petrol and diesel and similar petroleum-based products, has passed Parliament.
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Fuel Excise Relief No. 2) Bill 2026 limits the reduction to a 30.4% reduction of the full rate from July 1, 2026, to the day before indexation is applied to excise duty rates and excise-equivalent customs duty rates for fuels in August 2026.
The bill is part of the government's announcement to set a 16 cent reduction of the fuel excise and heavy vehicle road user charge from July 1, 2026, to August 2, 2026, as an extension of three-month cut to fuel excise and heavy vehicle road user charge, which was announced in March and set to expire on July 1, 2026.