Australian Biofuel Producers Alliance
Producers of Australian ethanol and biodiesel
Latest: Alliance submission lodged on the cleaner fuels demand mechanism, 15 September 2026. Read the update →
Key facts
The evidence base, with its sources
Every figure below is drawn from a published source that can be checked. Where a figure is a range or dates from an earlier year, we say so rather than round it into something firmer than the evidence supports.
JUMP TO Fuel position · Ethanol · Biodiesel · Vehicles and standards · International Last updated 29 September 2026
— Fuel security — Ethanol — Biodiesel — Vehicles and standards
Australia’s liquid fuel position
80–90%
Imported
Around 80 to 90 per cent of Australia’s fuel supply is now imported.
NRMA, Australia’s fuel supply chain explained, 2026
2
Refineries
Two refineries remain in operation: Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery and Ampol’s Lytton refinery in Brisbane. Australia had eight major refineries in 2005.
NRMA, Australia’s fuel supply chain explained, 2026
44 / 92
ML per day
Australia consumes about 44 million litres of petrol and 92 million litres of diesel every day.
NRMA, Australia’s fuel supply chain explained, 2026
24 / 17
Days of cover
At 27 March 2026, reserve stockholding stood at 1.072 billion litres of petrol, about 24 days of supply, and 1.596 billion litres of diesel, about 17 days.
NRMA, Australia’s fuel supply chain explained, 2026
55%
Petrol from Singapore
Singapore supplies 54.7 per cent of Australia’s imported petrol, followed by South Korea at 22.5 per cent and India at 11.5 per cent. For diesel the largest suppliers are South Korea at 28.8 per cent, Singapore at 15.4 per cent and Malaysia at 14.4 per cent.
NRMA, Australia’s fuel supply chain explained, 2026
Ethanol
360 ML
Operating capacity
Two fuel ethanol plants operate in Australia: Manildra’s Shoalhaven plant in New South Wales at 300 million litres a year, and Wilmar’s Sarina refinery in Queensland at 60 million litres. United Petroleum’s 80 million litre Dalby plant closed in mid-2020.
Grain Central, Australia’s ethanol plants underutilised by 60pc
40%
Utilisation
Australian ethanol production was about 175 million litres in 2022 against 440 million litres of installed capacity, a utilisation rate of roughly 40 per cent.
Grain Central, Australia’s ethanol plants underutilised by 60pc
196 ML
East coast sales
East coast fuel ethanol sales totalled 196 million litres in 2023: 108 million litres in New South Wales, 57 million in Queensland and 30 million in Victoria.
Grain Central, Australia’s ethanol plants underutilised by 60pc
Biodiesel
110 ML
Built capacity
Three biodiesel plants operate on the east coast with a combined capacity of 110 million litres a year: Just Biodiesel at Barnawartha in Victoria at 60 million litres, EcoTech Biodiesel in Brisbane at 30 million litres, and Biodiesel Industries Australia in Newcastle at 20 million litres.
Australian Biodiesel Producers, position statement, to the Commonwealth LCLF consultation, June 2024
10–20%
Utilisation
Only 10 to 20 per cent of that combined 110 million litre capacity is currently in use.
Australian Biodiesel Producers, position statement, June 2024
Feedstocks
Australian biodiesel is made from tallow, used cooking oil and canola oil, residues and crops sourced domestically.
Australian Biodiesel Producers, position statement, June 2024
Vehicles, standards and existing obligations
E10
Compatibility
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries advises that “all new and most older vehicle models effectively operate on petrol with up to 10% ethanol, i.e. E10”. Drivers should still check the manufacturer’s specification for their own vehicle.
4% / 0.5%
Queensland
Queensland requires fuel retailers to have biobased petrol make up 4 per cent of regular unleaded and ethanol-blended sales, in force since 1 July 2018, and requires wholesalers to have biobased diesel make up 0.5 per cent of diesel sales, in force since 1 January 2017.
Business Queensland, Queensland biofuels mandates
6% / 5%
New South Wales
Under the Biofuels Act 2007, New South Wales requires that ethanol account for at least 6 per cent of the total volume of petrol sold in a quarter, and that biodiesel account for 5 per cent of diesel sales. The obligations apply to primary wholesalers and volume fuel retailers. IPART sets the wholesale ethanol price determination against which exemptions are assessed. Note that the New South Wales biodiesel obligation is already set at the B5 level the Alliance is seeking nationally.
IPART, Ethanol; Biofuels Act 2007 (NSW) as amended 2016
Nil
Commonwealth
There is currently no Commonwealth volumetric obligation for ethanol or biodiesel. The demand mechanism now under consultation would be the first.
DCCEEW, Securing Australia’s Cleaner Fuels Industry, 2026
International experience
60+
Countries
More than 60 countries operate biofuel mandates, covering markets that account for more than 80 per cent of global fuel demand. At the end of 2022, 56 countries and 30 sub-national jurisdictions had biofuel blending mandates in force for road transport, down from 65 countries in 2021 as some mandates were temporarily suspended.
Biofuels Digest, Biofuels Mandates Around the World 2026; REN21, Global Status Report 2023
E30 / B15
Brazil
Brazil raised its ethanol blend from E27 to E30 and its biodiesel blend from B14 to B15, both effective 1 August 2025. The increases were approved by the National Energy Policy Council on 25 June 2025 under the Fuel of the Future programme, with fuel security and domestic production capacity given as the objectives.
Fuels & Lubes, Brazil to implement B15 and E30 fuel mandates from August, 2025
20%
India
India reached 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol in 2025, five years ahead of the 2030 target set in its National Policy on Biofuels 2018. Blending rose from 1.5 per cent in 2014 to 10 per cent in 2021–22, 14.6 per cent in 2023–24 and 19.2 per cent in 2024–25. It is a demonstration that a volumetric obligation can move a national fuel pool quickly.
Government of India, Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme, Press Information Bureau
B40
Indonesia
Indonesia’s biodiesel obligation has been set at B40 since 2025, having moved through B20, B30 and B35, with a further increase under staged consideration. Indonesia has used the mandate explicitly to reduce diesel imports.
Biofuels Digest, Biofuels Mandates Around the World 2026
E10 / B7
European Union
E10 is the common petrol grade and B7 the standard diesel grade across European Union member states, within a framework that sets a 29 per cent renewable energy share in transport by 2030 under RED III. E10 is also the reference fuel against which European vehicle emissions certification is conducted.
Biofuels Digest, Biofuels Mandates Around the World 2026
A note on the numbers
Production and utilisation figures for both fuels are published irregularly and lag by a year or more. We use the most recent published figures available and identify the year they describe. Where members hold more current commercial data, it is provided to government directly rather than published here.