The Cartel Switch

STATUS · Ongoing · unresolved13 daysBill s1493 originated in the Senate, portfolio Treasury. It was introduced and read a first time on 13 May 2026 and…

09/2026Opened on fileThirteen days, pointed backwards

Coordination between competitors in a crisis was already lawful, and the regulator authorised it in two days when the fuel majors asked. A statute passed in thirteen days kept the coordination and removed what surrounded it: the public benefit test, the conditions, and the requirement that anyone see the authorisation while it is in force.

Fig. 01 /The record6 exhibits

13 daysBill s1493 originated in the Senate, portfolio Treasury. It was introduced and read a first time on 13 May 2026 and assented to on 26 May 2026 as Act…Not defined'Exceptional circumstances' is not defined anywhere in the Act. Section 92A, the definitions provision for the new Division 1A, defines only…6 months, then 3 at a timeA declaration may run no longer than six months under s 95AE(3)(b). Under s 95AF(2) it may be extended 'more than once', each period 'must not exceed…7 business days after the declaration endsSection 92H(1) requires a register of determinations, variations and revocations, and s 92H(2) requires reasons. Section 92H(3) then suspends the…56 daysSection 92E(a) sets an authorisation's start as the day specified in the determination, 'which may be before the commencement of this section, but…2 daysApplication AA1000717-1 was lodged on 18 March 2026 by B P AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VIVA ENERGY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MOBIL OIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMPOL…

Fig. 01Source: case record · each fact carries the article that documented itAs of 2026‑09Auto-assembled

Fig. 02 / What happened

01Thirteen days, pointed backwards

Fig. 02Source: case chain · every article in this case, in sequenceAs of 2026‑09Auto-assembled

Fig. 03 / Who the record names

The ACCCFEDERAL REGULATOR · 1 Sunset ClausesMECHANISM · SAFEGUARD THEATRE · 1 The exceptional circumstances declarationMECHANISM · STATUTORY SWITCH · 1 Jim ChalmersPERSON · TREASURER · 1

Fig. 03Source: entity scan · names appearing across this caseAs of 2026‑09Auto-assembled

How we know

The exhibits sit beside the title above, each tied to the article that documented it. How evidence and sources are graded: evidence grade, source tiers.

Evidence strength · 16 sources across 1 article

Primary 13
Aggregator 2
1 not yet graded

What else is connected

Named in this case and in others. A count of where the record names them, not a finding about what they did.

The ACCC8 other rortsThe Inflation Rort The Airline Rort The Roads Rort The Triple Zero Rort Australia's Gas Heist The Surcharge Rort The Privacy Rort The Reporting Rort

Jim Chalmers4 other rortsThe Inflation Rort The Surcharge Rort Australia's Gas Heist The War Trade

Sunset Clauses1 other rortThe Surveillance Rort

The exceptional circumstances declaration1 other rortThe Reporting Rort

From the desk

12 January 2027Watch
Register blackout lifts, check the ACCC register
Thirteen days, pointed backwards · The Cartel Switch
Section 92H(3), seven business days after the declaration ends
Read the desk note
Once the declaration has ended, calculated as 22 December 2026, the register obligation resumes seven business days later under section 92H(3). Allowing for the Christmas and New Year public holidays that falls on or about 5 January 2027, and this date leaves a week of buffer for the register to populate. Check the ACCC authorisations for exceptional circumstances and emergencies register for any individual authorisation under section 92D that was granted while the declaration was in force but became visible only after it ended. That is the story's own test and the natural article 2: check the ACCC register for authorisations that only appeared after the declaration ended.
22 December 2026Watch
First declaration calculated to end
Thirteen days, pointed backwards · The Cartel Switch
Section 95AE(3)(b), six months from the 23 June 2026 commencement
Read the desk note
The Competition and Consumer (Exceptional Circumstances) (No. 1) Declaration 2026 runs no longer than six months under section 95AE(3)(b); the ACCC calculates the period as ending 22 December 2026. The 18 August 2026 amendment did not extend it. On this date, confirm whether the declaration actually ended or was extended under section 95AF(2), where extensions run in blocks of up to three months with no cap on the number. If it was extended, push the register check out to seven business days after the new end date.
8 October 2026Updated
Article updated
Thirteen days, pointed backwards · The Cartel Switch
Reference now links directly to the Revised Explanatory Memorandum, which carries the passages quoted here, in place of the Parliament's bill home page. Reference no longer lists the exclusion of Tribunal merits review among the passages of the Act it supports, because the Act's text does not mention it; that point rests on the Revised Explanatory Memorandum at paragraph 1.85. Reference now says…
7 October 2026Updated
Article updated
Thirteen days, pointed backwards · The Cartel Switch
The references, previously bare links, now name each document. The Bills Digest reference now links to the Parliamentary Library's web edition of Bills Digest No. 64, 2025-26 rather than its PDF, and the Senate debate reference now links to OpenAustralia's record of the 13 May 2026 Senate debate on the Bill. Nothing in the text changed.
15 September 2026Record
Attended: register watch checkpoint, 15 September 2026
Thirteen days, pointed backwards · The Cartel Switch
Declaration still in force to 22 December 2026; ACCC authorisations register empty
Read the desk note
Attendance record for the 14 September 2026 calendar checkpoint, run on 15 September 2026.
Checked live and read-only. The Competition and Consumer (Exceptional Circumstances) (No. 1) Declaration 2026 (F2026L00769) is still in force. The Federal Register of Legislation shows no extension or repeal since the 18 August 2026 amendment (F2026L01068), which widened the scheme to the state and territory Competition Code and fixed the start at 23 June 2026 but did not extend the period. The ACCC calculates the declaration as ending on 22 December 2026.
The ACCC authorisations for exceptional circumstances and emergencies register is empty: no applications under consideration and none recently completed. No individual authorisation under section 92D is visible, exactly as section 92H(3) predicts while a declaration is in force.
What stays open: the register blackout. Under section 92H(3) an individual authorisation need not appear on the public register until seven business days after the declaration ends, so any section 92D authorisation made under this declaration stays invisible until after 22 December 2026.
Next dates set: 22 December 2026, when the declaration is calculated to end, and 12 January 2027, to check the register once the seven business day blackout has lifted. That check is the story's own test and the natural article 2.

The desk record →