AFP reveal officers filling cars with wrong fuel increased threefold

Federal police officers mistakenly picked the wrong petrol nozzle when filling up fleet vehicles once every three weeks, with taxpayers picking up the bill, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

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Federal police officers have repeatedly filled patrol cars with the wrong type of fuel, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars in repair bills.

The figures, released following a Freedom of Information investigation by The Sunday Telegraph, reveal police picked the wrong nozzle once every three weeks on average in the past financial year.

The Australian Federal Police said the number of incidents increased threefold this year, with officers putting diesel in petrol cars, or vice versa.

Officers from the Australian Federal Police have been putting the wrong fuel into their vehicles. Picture: Supplied

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According to the documents, three Hyundai vans had the wrong fuel put in them in the past financial year. Two Toyota landcruisers and two Holden Trailblazers were also damaged.

The AFP refused to reveal the cost of the 16 incidents reported in the past financial year but experts said the average repair price is more than $7000, with some damage bills as high as $15,000.

If drivers notice their mistake before leaving the bowser, the mistake can be rectified for less than $500.

It is understood that most incidents would have been picked up before the driver left the service station as transactions covered by AFP fuel cards would be declined if the wrong fuel was put in a tank.

At least 16 incidents were reported in the past financial year. Picture: Brendan Radke

A spokesman said the AFP had implemented “several control measures” to assist members when filling up fleet vehicles.

“The number of incidents is extremely low,” the spokesman said. “Fuel cards are only programmed to accept the fuel specified by the manufacturer.

“For instances, where the members has incorrectly fuelled the transaction will be declined at the register allowing immediate remediation to occur.”

“This prevents much more costly and extensive damage where a vehicle is driven with the incorrect fuel.”

The AFP has also taken the step of labelling some fuel cards and fuel caps with the fuel type to prevent more incidents.

The most recent Australia-wide study into misfuelling estimates that about 7500 vehicles are filled with the wrong fuel each year costing motorists more than $10 million to fix.