Mining executives and industry groups pressed their case at the International Mining and Resources Convention in Sydney against the capital gains tax changes Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced in the May 2026 budget, which would replace the 50 percent discount with cost base indexation and a 30 percent minimum tax on gains accruing from July 1, 2027. Evolution Mining chairman Jake Klein called the tax terrible, Minerals Council of Australia chief economist Ross Lambie said the industry had asked for junior explorers to be treated as innovative start-ups are and that the request had so far fallen on deaf ears, and Westgold Resources managing director Wayne Bramwell called the changes an own goal that would damage exploration.
The government confirmed in September that exploration companies would not receive the same treatment as start-ups, and a further round of consultation on the legislation is open. The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, which has also challenged the reforms, warned that the consultation would be meaningless without substantive changes, and Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia chief executive Aaron Morey said the policy sits at odds with the government’s critical minerals ambitions.