The Albanese government has just announced, in a press conference, the details of its gas reservation policy.
From 1 July 2027, the policy will require gas companies to reserve 20% of their East Coast production for domestic use. The reserve will apply to spot gas and new contracts, not existing export contracts.
Contracts signed after December 22, 2025, are considered new contracts and can be captured under the new arrangements.
The policy is designed to address forecast shortages in the east coast gas market as supply from Victoria’s Bass Strait continues to decline.
The Albanese government has effectively copied the policy position released by Peter Dutton ahead of the 2025 election, which promised to divert between 50-100 petajoules of spot cargo exports to the domestic market.
We will have further analysis as the details of the policy emerge. While it likely won’t go far enough, it is certainly an improvement on the status quo.
