Petrol prices Brisbane: Fuel giants profiting most in Qld capital

Fuel giants are profiting more from Brisbane motorists than any other Australian city, triggering renewed calls for government intervention to regulate the failing market.

Brisbane motorists are still paying through the nozzle.

Brisbane motorists are being shaken down at the bowser, with a new report revealing retailers are raking in higher profits in the city compared with other capitals.

The RACQ has once again called for government intervention to regulate the failing fuel market, as rising prices of fuel continue to threaten Queenslanders’ hip pockets.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s quarterly fuel price report has revealed fuel retailers charged Brisbane motorists the highest retail margins among Australia’s capital cities.

While Brisbane’s average fuel price fell in the December quarter, the data showed fuel company profits increased, with motorists in the Queensland capital stung the hardest.

Brisbane ranked the highest of all capital cities at 24.1c a litre profit, 4.1c/l higher than Sydney and nearly 6c/l more than Melbourne.

Just two months ago state Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said a cap on daily fuel price hikes should be considered by the ACCC.

However, any inquiry would need to be ordered by the ­federal government, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers so far playing a dead bat on the issue.

RACQ economist Dr Ian Jeffreys said the report added to the mounting evidence that the fuel market was not operating in the best interest of Queensland motorists.

Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg.

“There is absolutely no reason why drivers in Brisbane should be paying so much more to fill up their cars compared to drivers in other capital cities,” he said.

“This is why we’re calling for the state government to regulate the market and impose a 5c daily cap on fuel price increases to bring an end to dramatic and unjustified margins.”

Brisbane had the second-longest fuel price cycle in Australia, the report found, lasting six weeks, second only to Melbourne at 7½ weeks.

Fuel price maps on Wednesday showed most petrol stations sold unleaded petrol for more than 200c/l, with only three stations advertising between 195c/l and 199c/l.

The cheapest diesel in Brisbane was 185.9c/l at Freedom Seven Hills, with others ranging from 190c/l to 206c/l.

The ACCC data comes after the NRMA found Brisbane had the highest average petrol price of any capital city in 2024.

Last year, unleaded petrol in Brisbane averaged 195c/l compared with 191.1c/l in Sydney and 190.3c/l in Melbourne.

It meant the average unleaded petrol price in Brisbane was also the highest it had ever been, surging from a Covid-19-induced low of 125.8c/l in 2020.

The findings prompted the NRMA to call for an ACCC ­inquiry into fuel price cycles.