Fuel-cost recovery returns: a transport contracting check for community organisations
Published 11 November 2026 | Source update: 9 November 2026.
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s 9 November update says obligations under the road transport fuel-cost recovery order restart on 23 November 2026. Affected contractual-chain participants must address increased fuel costs in rates. This is a contractual-chain measure, not an automatic wage rise for every truck driver.
Identify the contracting relationship first
Start with the parties to the arrangement and the transport service supplied. Keep employee wages, contractor invoices and payments between transport businesses in separate records. The description “driver” does not by itself identify the legal or contractual relationship. Read the current order and its coverage before assuming an arrangement is affected.
Keep a rate-change trail
Collect the signed contract, rate schedules, fuel adjustment clauses, invoices and correspondence about proposed changes. A comparison should state the period covered, the fuel-cost information used and how a proposed adjustment was calculated. Ask the other party to explain its approach in writing. Avoid introducing an invented standard surcharge or a universal cents-per-kilometre figure.
Check the updated official material
The Ombudsman notes that its page is being updated following the Commission’s decision. Readers should use the linked current Commission material and confirm the operative terms before acting on historical examples. Where parties disagree about coverage or calculations, identify the exact disputed term and preserve the competing explanations rather than treating one invoice as the whole story.
For regional and community transport arrangements
Community organisations may purchase freight, contract transport providers or run their own vehicles. These are different arrangements and should be mapped separately. Before changing a supplier payment, identify who contracts with whom and obtain the relevant service agreement. A careful contracting review supports continuity of services while avoiding an unsupported assumption that every fuel bill falls within the order.
Source and support
NATSIC-AS provides professional employment and human rights advocacy. General information only; not legal, financial or tax advice. For individual assistance call 1800 238 622 or email gethelp@natsic.org.
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