What it does to four different businesses
The same rule, four shapes. If one number were the answer there would be no need for any of this.
| Business | A year | Worked out from |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitality, 24 staffcasual-heavy — where the leave rules bite | −$117 to $309 | 28000 km of petrol driving at 8.4 L/100km pays $1,894 of excise today. A distance charge on the same distance is $2,128 at today's $76 rate, plus $75 of licence fees. The switch is neutral at 9.44 L/100km. |
| Trades, 18 staff and a fleetovertime and vans | −$3,130 to −$1,357 | 116667 km of petrol driving at 11.2 L/100km pays $10,522 of excise today. A distance charge on the same distance is $8,867 at today's $76 rate, plus $299 of licence fees. The switch is neutral at 9.44 L/100km. |
| Aged care, 60 stafflong shifts — some of it comes back | $85 to $632 | 36000 km of petrol driving at 7.6 L/100km pays $2,203 of excise today. A distance charge on the same distance is $2,736 at today's $76 rate, plus $100 of licence fees. The switch is neutral at 9.44 L/100km. |
| Professional services, 15salaried — most of this misses you | $81 to $263 | 12000 km of petrol driving at 7.1 L/100km pays $686 of excise today. A distance charge on the same distance is $912 at today's $76 rate, plus $37 of licence fees. The switch is neutral at 9.44 L/100km. |
What you can do about it
Licence fees are per licence, not per kilometre — buying the year in one block instead of 1,000 km at a time is the whole fee, and it is the only part of this bill you choose. The rest is a replacement-cycle question: the road-tax saving on a thriftier vehicle disappears.
How much to trust this
rate not set. This is stated government intention without a final rate, and it may change or not happen. The figures above are a range whose width is the width of what has not been decided, not a guess at the middle of it. Plan for it; do not bank it.
Source: Beehive — replacing petrol tax with electronic road user charges · in the register since 27 Aug 2026
This one has a proper model behind it
The figures above are a screen: they work from nine numbers about a business. RUC Switch models this rule per employee or per vehicle, from your own data, and will disagree with this page — it knows more.
Price it against your business
This rule alongside the other 4, on a dated calendar, from nine numbers.