MEDIA RELEASE
27 March 2026
Civil Contractors Federation Tasmania has raised concerns about the impact of surging diesel prices on the state’s civil construction sector, with CEO Andrew Winch warning that rapidly rising fuel costs are putting pressure on projects and contractors across the state.
With the diesel price spike expected to last for the foreseeable future, it’s hitting civil construction hard.
Civil construction is one of the largest users of diesel in the Australian economy, with CCF members nationally consuming around one billion litres per annum.
“Ninety-eight per cent of construction equipment runs on diesel, and fuel can represent up to 30 per cent of project input costs. The recent price movements are already having a material impact on project delivery,” CCF Tasmania CEO Andrew Winch said.
“It’s not just diesel. Rising fuel costs flow through to supply and material costs, creating project cost blowouts across the board. Bitumen is a prime example. The cost to seal a regional road has increased by 30 per cent, which has added an extra $9,000 per kilometre in regional areas and an extra $18,000 per kilometre for inner-city roads, based on current bitumen prices alone.
“Tasmania has a strong pipeline of infrastructure work ahead, but diesel is the lifeblood of our industry, so when diesel goes up by 50 per cent in the space of a few weeks, that cost has to go somewhere. For many of our members, particularly smaller operators in regional areas, it has a huge impact.
“We’ve written to the State Government calling for the introduction of a fuel cost relief grant program for government projects and rise-and-fall clauses for future contracts to protect contractors. I’m also representing the civil industry on the Tasmanian Government’s fuel roundtable, which has been a useful way to begin coordinating a response to the challenges ahead of us.”
CCF Tasmania represents civil contractors involved in roads, bridges, subdivisions, earthmoving, dams, pipelines, ports and utilities across the state.
“Our members want to keep building. Tasmania has billions of dollars of infrastructure investment planned and our contractors are ready to deliver it.
“We need governments to work with industry to manage these cost pressures. Rise-and-fall clauses, fuel cost relief for government projects and a coordinated response between state and federal governments would make a real difference.”
ENDS