Around 80% of Australia’s gas is exported as liquefied natural gas (LNG), the gas industry pays ZERO royalties on more than half the gas exported.
Australia has an abundance of gas. In fact, Australia is one of the biggest exporters of gas in the world, alongside Qatar.
Australia Institute research shows over half (56%) of gas exported from Australia attracts zero royalty payments, effectively giving a public resource to multinational gas corporations for free.
It’s time the gas industry started paying its fair share.
Gas in Western Australia
90% of WA’s gas exported by foreign owned companies who get most of the gas for free.
The WA Government is expected to receive $522 million in royalties from the gas industry in 2024-25, down from $660 million in 2023-24, and will contribute just 1.3% to state government revenue.
This is less than half of the $1.319 billion expected from vehicle registration fees, up from $1,263 billion in 2023-24.
The gas industry also pays little in federal tax – the combined tax payments of Chevron, Exxon, Woodside and Shell raise less money than beer excise.
Just 0.7% of the state’s workforce is employed in oil and gas extraction.
In the current skills shortage, new gas projects will divert jobs from other industries rather than create additional jobs.
Gas in the Northern Territory
If the NT were a country it would be the highest per capita polluter in the world, far higher than even petrostates like Qatar, Saudi Arabia or Brunei – mainly due to its massive export gas industry. Yet Territorians receive few benefits from the gas industry, which is a small employer, a systematic non-payer of tax and crowds out other industries.
The Northern Territory is facing a wave of gas mega-projects. But gas development has few economic benefits beyond those that flow to the gas industry itself. In fact, NT drivers pay 30 times more in vehicle registration than the gas industry pays in royalties.
Australia Institute analysis shows the benefits of gas development in the NT have been overstated.
Key points
- Gas projects lead to poor social and economic outcomes for local communities.
- The gas industry is a small employer, employing less than 1 job in 100 (or 0.7%) of the NT workforce, and around 0.2% nationally. In other words, 99% of Territorians don’t work in the gas industry.
- The Northern Territory Government is misrepresenting headline economic figures on gas development.
- Australian governments charge no royalties on 56% of the gas that is exported from Australia, which includes all the gas exported from the Northern Territory.
- Over the last four years, multinational companies made $149 billion exporting gas they got for free including $37 billion from the NT. If royalties had been charged on this gas, at least $13.3 billion ($3.4 billion from NT) in revenue could have been raised
Take Action
Demand the gas industry pays its fair share. Fix the PRRT!
Take Action
Make Gas Corporations Pay Royalties
It’s time Australians got a fair return for its petroleum resources. Add your name to the petition calling on the Australian Government to impose royalties on all gas exported from Australia.
Help fuel the campaign taking on the gas industry
Can you chip in to help fuel the campaign to end the gas industry’s free ride?
All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.
Watch Now
“The Australian public thinks the gas industry should be paying for the gas. We can keep doing dumb things if we want to. But if this Government wants to have more money for schools, more money for hospitals…there is a simple tax reform opportunity here.”
Dr Richard Denniss, Executive Director of the Australia Institute joins ABC’s The Business to discuss our new research.
Fact Sheets
Download our Gas in Western Australia: The Facts PDF
Download our Gas in the Northern Territory: The Facts PDF
Learn More
Most of Australia’s gas is extracted from Commonwealth waters, but the Australian Government chooses not to charge royalties on gas feeding six of the seven LNG export terminals operating in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Over the past four years, multinational gas companies made $149 billion exporting gas they got for free. If royalties had been charged on this gas, at least $13.3 billion in revenue could have been raised and used to increase living standards of Australians by funding schools, hospitals, renewable energy, and other needed public infrastructure.
New Research:
+ Australia’s Great Gas Giveaway
Myths Busted: Gas Industry Claims Debunked
Gas in WA: The Economic Reality
