The Energy Minister says the Federal Government is working to bolster Australia’s domestic fuel security and ease pressure on refineries.

This includes a new temporary change to the diesel standard that will enable all Australian refineries to utilise excess jet fuel supplies.

“This will ease the storage pressures currently being felt by refineries from the drop in demand for fuel products as a result of COVID-19,” Energy Minister Angus Taylor said in a statement.

“High quality diesel will continue to be supplied to the retail market and the change will not affect the operation of vehicles, the environment, or health and safety.”

The government is also talking with industry stakeholders about domestic fuel storage projects.

“The Australian government has a comprehensive fuel security package, with the next steps of this plan focusing on strengthening Australia's local industry,” Mr Taylor said.

“The government wants to assess how we can best partner with industry to increase our storage capacity to further enhance our onshore fuel security.”

An announcement on new domestic storage facilities is expected later this year.