The Treasurer’s 2026-27 Federal Budget is being sold as a “resilience and reform” budget – built around the global economic disruption and the need to lift productivity over the longer term.
Whilst much of the attention is on negative gearing and Capital Gains Tax reforms, the Government highlighted productivity, competition reform, infrastructure resilience and fuel security – areas HVIA has been pushing for years.
Besides last week’s announcement of a multi-billion-dollar boost to fuel security, including establishing a permanent government-owned fuel security reserve and lifting the Minimum Stockholding Obligation to circa 50 days, for heavy vehicles there’s not much in the Budget that’s new or purpose-built for road freight productivity and safety.
Fuel Shock Puts Freight Resilience In Spotlight
Budget papers point to slower growth, with real GDP growth forecast to ease from 2.25 per cent in 2025-26 to 1.75 per cent in 2026-27 as higher fuel prices hit households and business costs.
Inflation is expected to stay higher in the short term because of the oil shock, before returning to the Reserve Bank’s target band by mid-2027.
Unemployment is forecast to sit around 4.5 per cent, and the 2026-27 deficit is expected to improve to $31.5 billion.
HVIA CEO Todd Hacking says the fuel shock is a timely reminder of how important energy resilience is for freight, manufacturing and supply chains.
“This Budget clearly recognises how exposed Australia is to global fuel shocks,” he says.
“For the heavy vehicle industry, fuel security isn’t an abstract concept – it directly affects freight costs, regional communities and national resilience.”
Productivity Reform Is Back – Now It Needs To Deliver
A big theme in the Budget is a fresh push on productivity and competition reform. The Treasurer is pitching a new National Competition Policy agenda as a way to help bring costs down and lift efficiency across the economy.
In his Budget speech, the Treasurer encouragingly highlighted heavy vehicle reform – especially smarter regulation, access and permitting – as a key Government priority. This lines up with HVIA’s advocacy and the Productivity Commission inquiry into heavy vehicle reform, which is due to report by June 30.
“It’s positive to see heavy vehicle reform named as part of the national productivity agenda,” Hacking says.
“The challenge now is turning that intent into practical change – faster access decisions, consistent national rules and modern permitting systems that help freight move.”
Even with the productivity focus, there’s no Budget funding for specific heavy vehicle reforms like a National Automated Access System or nationally consistent access decision-making – both long-standing HVIA priorities.
Infrastructure: Welcome Investment, But Detail Matters
The Budget includes $8.6 billion for nationally significant road and rail projects, and it acknowledges that freight infrastructure is critical for supply chains, regional growth and resilience.
HVIA welcomes the ongoing spend, but Hacking says what gets built – and how quickly – will be the real test.
“Investment is important, but it has to lift freight productivity where it counts – on the ground,” he says.
“That means projects that improve first- and last-mile access, clear bottlenecks and support modern heavy vehicles.”
Decarbonisation: Little Detail On Freight Measures
The Government again backed the Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Roadmap, noting heavy road freight is one of the harder parts of the economy to decarbonise.
The Budget’s focus on fuel security and cleaner energy fits with HVIA’s technology-neutral approach, including the need to recognise lower-carbon liquid fuels.
But there are no freight‑specific measures like purchase incentives, dedicated hydrogen or charging networks, or finance options to help fleets transition.
“Heavy freight can’t decarbonise with one solution or one technology,” Hacking says.
“We need practical, staged policies that support fleet renewal, low-carbon fuels and emerging zero‑emissions vehicles – without sacrificing productivity or safety.”
Manufacturing And Small Business Tax Support
The Budget continues the “Future Made in Australia” agenda through tax relief, interest-free loans and other finance measures aimed at supporting industry.
There are some small-business tax settings that will matter for workshops, body builders and component suppliers across the heavy-vehicle supply chain – such as the permanent extension of the $20,000 instant asset write-off from July 1, 2026 for businesses under $10 million turnover, supporting investment in tools, equipment and productivity upgrades.
The Budget also flags cash-flow support through a two-year loss carry-back from 2026-27 for companies under $1 billion turnover, refundable loss offsets for eligible start-ups from 2028-29, and expanded PAYG instalment options from 2027-28.
On skills, the Budget includes measures to speed up trade skills recognition and skilled migration pathways – expected to support around 4,000 additional skilled trades workers each year and cut the time it takes to get people into the workforce.
HVIA says the changes are welcome, but they don’t yet tackle the ongoing cost pressures in apprenticeships, the shortage of heavy automotive trades and the capacity limits in training.
Safety And Fleet Renewal: Still Missing From The Package
While infrastructure spending helps road safety, the Budget doesn’t include a dedicated heavy vehicle safety retrofit fund, fleet renewal incentives, or an expansion of no-fault crash investigations to road transport (as proposed by HVIA).
“Modernising the fleet is one of the fastest ways to lift safety and cut emissions,” Hacking says. “There’s a strong case for targeted policies that help operators move into newer, safer and cleaner vehicles.”
What Happens Next?
Overall, the 2026-27 Federal Budget heads in the same direction as HVIA’s priorities – productivity, competition reform, infrastructure, fuel security and the move to net zero – but it doesn’t yet come with much heavy vehicle-specific funding or reform.
HVIA will keep working with Government, regulators and industry to make sure the productivity and competition agenda turns into real improvements for the heavy vehicle sector.
“The signals are there,” Hacking says. “Now we need road freight front and centre as these reforms are designed and delivered – because nothing moves in this economy without trucks.”