Federal treasurer Jim Chalmers says the Australian Government will act against fuel suppliers accused of price gouging, promising to pursue businesses who are “ripping off” motorists.
Since tensions escalated in the Middle East, petrol and diesel prices have hit record highs in Australia, impacting both motorists and the transport industry.
Fuel prices are also rising in other countries, including the UK and US, where they have reached around $US4 per gallon (A$5.83 per gallon, or A$1.54 per litre).
However, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), “Australian refined international petrol and diesel benchmark prices have increased more than international oil prices during the initial period of the conflict”.
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National average petrol prices for the week ending March 29, 2026 reached $2.53 per litre, up from $2.38 the previous week and $2.27 one month ago.
Diesel prices averaged $3.10 per litre, up from $2.82 the previous week and $2.58 over the past month.
The largest retail increase was recorded in Perth, which saw a 59.5 cents-per-litre rise between February 20 and March 11.
The spike prompted the ACCC to write to petrol retailers including 7-Eleven, Mobil, BP, Chevron, United Petroleum, Viva Energy and EG Australia to seek transparency on how the price increases were determined.
“We know that many consumers are doing it tough and are frustrated by the rapid changes they have seen. We expect petrol retailers to explain to us and the Australian public how they have arrived at their prices,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said in a statement.
“Fuel companies should be open and honest about the reasons for such widely varying and rapid increases across the country and treat their customers fairly.
“We urge petrol retailers to explain their positions to the Australian community.”
Speaking in Parliament following today’s announcement of measures to combat rising fuel costs and prevent supply shortages, Mr Chalmers said the government would not tolerate price gouging.
“We’re coming after sources of some of that gouging… when we came to office, we increased penalties, allowed the ACCC to issue on-the-spot fines,” he said.
The federal government also announced it will halve the fuel excise on petrol for three months from April 1, 2026.
The current excise of 52.6 cents per litre will be reduced to 26.3cpl, lowering the cost of filling a 55-litre tank in Australia’s most popular passenger vehicle, the Toyota RAV4, by around $14.47.
The road user charge for vehicles over 4.5 tonnes GVM will also be halved for the same three-month period, in an attempt to reduce transport costs and ease cost-of-living pressures across the broader economy.
Mr Chalmers was asked how the government could ensure fuel retailers pass on these savings at the bowser.
In response, he said strengthened ACCC powers mean “they can come down like a ton of bricks on anyone who is doing the wrong thing”.
Amid the broader fuel crisis, the federal minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, said Australia currently has around 39 days’ worth of petrol and 30 days of diesel in reserve, noting fuel imports are arriving at “record levels”.
While still stable, these figures remain well short of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) requirement for member countries – including Australia – to hold at least 90 days of net fuel imports. MORE: Fuel excise cut by Australian Government as petrol and diesel prices surge amid fuel crisis
