Fast-Tracking of Road Transport Contractual Chain Orders due to fuel price surges

Written By Norton White

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘FWA’) was amended 2 April 2026 to create an emergency fast-track mechanism for Road Transport Contractual Chain Orders (RTCCOs). This is a direct response to recent surges in fuel prices and greatly speeds up the ability for mandatory revisions of contracts across supply chains. It is anticipated that the Minister or Commissioner will use this power to make industry wide orders more frequently in future.

The first application – MS2026/1 – has been made under this mechanism by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and Australian Road Transport Industrial Organisation (ARTIO) and is a useful working example of the changes. It was filed on 2 April 2026 and heard before a Fair Work Commission (FWC) Expert Panel on 8 April 2026. A further hearing is scheduled for today before the full bench of the Commission.

1. RTCCOs Defined

RTCCOs are a binding FWC order which set out certain standards and terms across a road transport contractual chain. This contractual chain concerns the series of contracts or arrangements covering certain workers and businesses within the road transport industry.

  • An RTCCO can be made by the FWC on its own motion or by application.

  • An application can be made by:

    • an organisation representing the interests of persons in a contractual chain (e.g. an Employer or Employee organisation).

    • a regulated business in a contractual chain.

    • a person who is a primary party to the first contract in a chain.

    • the Minister for Employment and Workplace relations.

  • They can revise payment terms, cost recovery entitlements and fuel levies.

  • RTCCOs are binding on all parties, irrespective of contractual terms.

  • One of these parties must be a constitutional corporation.

  • They must not include terms about overtime, rostering, changing forms of engagement or status, or work health and safety matters already comprehensively dealt with by other legislation.

2. Changes made to RTCCOs

RTCCOs can now be made under an emergency application. RTCCOs made like this are time-sensitive RTCCOs. Previously, RTCCOs could not come into effect until after a consultation period of at least 12 months after a notice of intent and draft order were published. This could be shortened to 6 months in urgent circumstances.

The new pathway significantly compresses this timeline to days or weeks. Once an emergency designation is made, the FWC has discretion to compress the timeline to what it considers reasonable. This compressed timeline is deemed a reasonable opportunity: s 536PH(1A) FWA.

3. Special features of time-sensitive RTCCOs

  • Operate for 3 months maximum, compared to 12 months for a standard RTCCO

  • It must include one or more terms relating to the circumstances to which the order relates: s546PQA FWA

  • Such terms might include, but are not limited to, payment times, fuel levies, rate reviews, termination, and cost recovery: s546PG(2) FWA

4. MS2026/1 TWU/ARTIO Application Scope

The current application seeks to cover the following road transport sectors:

  • General freight.

  • Car carrying.

  • Cash in transit.

  • Meat.

  • Milk and cream.

  • Oil and gas.

  • Passenger vehicles.

  • Quarried materials.

  • Waste.

  • Digital labour platform operators.

It explicitly excludes:

  • On demand delivery work

  • Passenger road transport

5. MS2026/1 TWU/ARTIO Application Content

The application asks for:

  • all parties to conduct weekly fuel cost reviews, benchmarked to publicly available price data.

  • payment terms must be amended to achieve full cost recovery.

  • anti-avoidance clauses to prevent clawing back of gains elsewhere.

  • any disputes arising from any orders that cannot be resolved between the parties be referred to the FWC.

6. Commercial Implications

  • Retailers, miners, manufacturers: fixed-price freight contracts can be overridden, increasing costs.

  • Transport operators: acquire a right to recover fuel costs. Note operators must ensure their own subcontracts are amended.

7. Anticipated actions following Application:

  • Possible further hearings.

  • Consideration of whether the Minister will make a determination.

  • Outcome of expert panel hearing.

  • FWC adoption of draft order.

  • Commencement of any order made.

8. Conclusion

This Amendment is likely to be useful for operators seeking to address fuel-induced industry shocks. It is likely that we will see emergency RTCCOs becoming a more likely and frequent outcome of applications and ministerial determinations, certainly until the current fuel crisis stabilises.

This application and the consequential orders and determinations made will set a clear precedent for operators in other sectors struggling with rising fuel prices and illustrates how RTCCOs can be used effectively to manage the impact of sudden change in industry, especially where that change causes significant hardship to operators through no fault of their own.

Contacts 

Adam Martin
+ 61 3 9119 2585
adam.martin@nortonwhite.com

Alison McKenzie
+ 61 3 9119 2585
alison.mckenzie@nortonwhite.com

Renay Sumercan
+ 61 3 9119 2584
renay.sumercan@nortonwhite.com

Norton White
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