Section 3(2) of the Trade Practices (Industry Codes – Oilcode) Regulations 2006 (the Oilcode) requires the Australian Government to conduct a review of the Oilcode after it has been in operation for 12 months.
The Oilcode Review was conducted by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism and focused on whether the Oilcode has been successful in achieving its objectives to:
- establish standard contractual terms and conditions for wholesale supplier-fuel retailer re-selling agreements for both franchise and commission agency arrangements
- introduce a nationally consistent approach to terminal gate pricing (TGP) arrangements and improve transparency in wholesale pricing and allow access for all customers, including small businesses, to petroleum products at TGP
- establish an independent, downstream petroleum Dispute Resolution Scheme (DRS) including the appointment of a Dispute Resolution Adviser (DRA) to provide the industry with a cost-effective alternative to taking action in the courts.
After the Oilcode Review had commenced, the Australian Government asked for the Review to also examine the appropriateness of the arrangements for TGP publication. This direction stemmed from the Government’s response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) December 2007 report, Petrol Prices and Australian Consumers – report of the ACCC inquiry into the price of unleaded petrol.
The review process
The Department commenced the Oilcode Review in March 2008. Interested parties were invited to provide submissions to the Department in relation to issues that were raised in the Oilcode Review Issues Paper 
PDF, 22KB] or any other issues that they considered relevant to the inquiry. Submissions to the Oilcode Review are available via the Oilcode Review Submissions webpage.
The Minister for Resources and Energy released the Oilcode Review report on 24 August 2009. The Review concludes that the Oilcode has met its key objectives and that the current arrangements for TGP publication are appropriate.
The Review also makes 11 recommendations to increase disclosure obligations, further clarify the dispute resolution scheme, examine options for amalgamating the procurement process for the dispute resolution services and conduct another review in three years time.
The Oilcode Review report is available in the attachment below. The Government will carefully consider the review’s recommendations in consultation with interested parties before finalising its response.
The government response
The Government has finalised its consideration of the recommendations contained in the Oilcode Review and has decided to accept all 11 recommendations.
Accordingly drafting instructions will be provided to the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing to commence the process to amend the Oilcode to implement the recommendations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9. The ACCC and DRA will be approached to prepare the necessary information required to implement recommendation 8.
The Department will establish a petroleum industry collective bargaining working group consisting of Treasury, ACCC and key industry members to facilitate the implementation of recommendation 6.
A further review of the Oilcode will be conducted in 2013 in accordance with recommendation 11.
Enquiries may be directed to:
The Manager
Transport Fuels Section
e-mail: via the Department’s Contact Us webpage