An open-data investigation
Your Gas.
Their Profit.
Australia is one of the world’s top three LNG exporters. Multinational companies extract it, ship it overseas, and make billions. Almost none of that money comes back to you.
$527B
gas exported since 1988
$42B
collected by Australians
8.0%
effective tax rate
For every $100 of gas sold, Australians got roughly $8 back.
Who’s taking our gas — and what did they pay?
Six companies dominate Australia’s LNG industry. Between 2014 and 2023, they earned $183 billion in income. Three of them — INPEX, Shell, and ExxonMobil — paid $0 in income tax on $63.8 billion of income.
$108.6B left Australia (2014–2023)
Sent to headquarters in Houston, Tokyo, and London
$9.6B was all Australians got (2014–2023)
5.3% of $183B in income — band width = dollars
Hover a company to trace its money. Data covers FY 2014–2023. Source: ATO Corporate Tax Transparency.
“Your slab of beer contributes more to Australia than some of these multinationals. Beer excise alone raises ~$1.8B/yr — more than the PRRT collected from gas in most years.”
How do they pay nothing?
The gas belongs to all Australians. When companies extract it, they’re supposed to pay a special tax called the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT). Think of it as rent for taking something that belongs to the public.
🏗️
Step 01
Build
Company spends $50B building a gas platform with borrowed money.
📈
Step 02
Inflate
PRRT lets them "uplift" costs by up to 15% per year, compounding. $50B becomes $100B+ in paper deductions.
💸
Step 03
Pay Nothing
Revenue is offset by inflated deductions. Tax bill: $0. For years. Sometimes forever.
In plain English: Imagine you own a house and rent it out. Your tenant says “I spent a lot renovating, so I’m not paying rent for 20 years.” Oh, and they also charge you interest on what they spent. That’s the PRRT.
Meanwhile…
Japan buys our gas, resells it, and makes more profit than we collect in tax
In 2022, Japanese utilities bought Australian LNG under long-term contracts at ~$10–15/MMBtu, then resold surplus cargoes on the European spot market at $40–70+/MMBtu during the energy crisis. Japan’s estimated resale profit: ~$3–5 billion. Australia’s total PRRT revenue that year: ~$2.6 billion.
Source: Australia Institute, “Liquid Gold” report, July 2022
Every other gas nation taxes their gas.
We don’t.
Australia is the world’s second or third largest LNG exporter — behind the US and neck and neck with Qatar. But we collect a fraction of what every other major producer earns from their resources.
The Global Comparison
Four major gas exporters, four very different public returns. Norway exports mostly via pipeline (not LNG), but the principle is the same — they tax their gas. We don't.
Gas Export Volume (Million Tonnes, LNG-equiv)
Government Revenue ($AUD Billions)
Australia collects 28× less than Norway per tonne exported
Norway
$1170M
per million tonnes
Qatar
$727M
per million tonnes
Malaysia
$571M
per million tonnes
Australia
$42M
per million tonnes
2022 data. Norway exports mostly via pipeline, not LNG — 88MT is total gas exports in LNG-equivalent for comparison. Australia exports 62MT as actual LNG. Malaysia revenue = Petronas dividend to government (RM50B, includes oil & gas). Sources: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, Qatar Ministry of Finance, Petronas Annual Report, DISR.
🇳🇴 Norway
78%
Pipeline gas, 22% corporate + 56% special petroleum tax
🇶🇦 Qatar
~26%
State-owned QatarEnergy controls all production
🇦🇺 Australia
~8.0%
PRRT loopholes mean most companies pay nothing
What if we actually taxed our gas?
Use the sliders below to set the rules. Drag the items to choose what matters most to you. See what Australia could fund if we stopped giving our resources away for free.
You're the Treasurer. What would you do?
Three policies, three votes. Tap to pass the ones you agree with, set the rate, and see what Australia could fund.
1. Tax What They Take — No More Free Gas for Billionaires
The PRRT is supposed to tax oil and gas extraction — but loopholes mean companies deduct so much that Australia collects just 3% on $85B/yr of oil and gas exports. Qatar charges 26%. Fix the PRRT and make them pay proper rent for our gas.
2. The Norway Rule — Tax Oil & Gas Profits
This only targets oil and gas companies — not your local business, not miners, not retailers. Norway charges a 78% total tax on petroleum profits (22% company tax + 56% special petroleum tax) and built a $2.6T sovereign wealth fund. Australia's rate is 30% — but oil & gas companies pay an effective rate of just 5.2% on their income. INPEX, Shell and ExxonMobil paid $0 in tax on $32.6B of income.
3. End the Corporate Tax Dodge
One in three large corporations in Australia pay zero income tax. The ATO estimates a $12B/yr corporate tax gap. Make them pay what they owe.
Source: Michael West Media / ATO Corporate Tax TransparencyCombined impact
No policies selected
$0M
per year
$0M
over 10 years
Your budget — drag to prioritise
Revenue is allocated top-down. First priority gets funded first — once it's fully funded, the surplus flows to the next. Grab the handle to reorder.
Uni or TAFE places fully funded
Skills shortages across every trade and profession while students graduate $30K+ in debt
0
$0M
Years of free dental on Medicare
12M Australians skip dental care every year because they can't afford it — the single biggest gap in Medicare since 1984. A filling costs $250+, dentures $3,000+
0
$0M
Hospital EDs expanded — target: urgent wait under 30min
45% of urgent patients miss the 30-min triage target — ambulance ramping, corridor beds, nurses quitting (AIHW)
0
$0M
Km of motorway upgrades (widenings, overpasses, new lanes)
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane choked with 460 km of aging motorway — missing overpasses, bottleneck interchanges, no room for population growth
0
$0M
Home solar + battery systems installed
Power bills doubled in 5 years — Australians pay some of the highest energy prices in the world
0
$0M
Oil refineries (fuel self-reliance)
We only have 2 refineries left and import 80% of our fuel — every conflict sends bowser prices through the roof
0
$0M
Public housing homes built
175K+ families on waitlists, rents up 30%+ since 2020 — nowhere affordable left
0
$0M
Km of high-speed rail (350 km/h east-coast network)
Australia is the only wealthy country without high-speed rail. Melbourne–Sydney takes 11 hours by train — or 2h44 by HSR. Japan built theirs in 1964. We're still talking about it
0
$0M
Years of free childcare for all families
Australian families pay $100+/day per child for childcare — some of the highest costs in the world. 1 in 4 mothers don't return to work because it costs more than they'd earn
0
$0M
Years of half-price beer tax
Australians pay $1.40 tax on every schooner — the 4th highest beer tax on Earth. Meanwhile Shell, INPEX and ExxonMobil paid $0 tax on $32.6B of income. Your slab of beer contributes more to Australia than a multinational gas giant
0
$0M
Pay down government debt
Australia's net government debt is ~$940B. This 10-year revenue would cover 0.0% of total net debt.
0.0%
of national debt
Resource royalties
$0M
Not enabled
Oil & gas profits tax
$0M
Not enabled
Corporate tax enforcement
$0M
Not enabled