Motorists play petrol lotto as stations pump up prices in big cities

Extended price rises by fuel retailers in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane must be urgently investigated, the National Roads and Motorists’ Association has declared, after its new finding that the three biggest petrol markets are more expensive than the smaller cities of Darwin, Perth and Adelaide.

The NRMA is demanding the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission review the fuel-price cycles that trap motorists in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, pointing to their analysis that shows an average family spends at least $250 a year more on fuel in those cities compared with Perth.

Motorists in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are being stung as a result of fuel-price cycles.Credit: afr

That’s because Perth has a one-week price cycle among its fuel retailers, while service stations in the nation’s biggest capital cities consistently cycle their prices over a six-week period, which is too long for motorists to wait out high price periods before they fill their tanks.

“There is no justifiable reason for our biggest cities to be among the most expensive – it just doesn’t pass the pub test,” said NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury.

Prices take about two weeks to shift from the lowest point to the peak, but they remain elevated for weeks, taking about a month to cycle back to the budget end of the scale. In Perth, the same cycle takes seven days.

NRMA analysis found the price of unleaded petrol in Sydney was 9.7¢ more per litre compared with Perth in 2024, and 8.9¢ more in Melbourne.

In Brisbane, a litre costs 13.6¢ more this year than in Perth, while the most expensive fuel was in the nation’s capital, Canberra, at 14.9¢ more than Perth.

For an average family that fills one 55-litre tank with unleaded petrol once a week, the annual fuel bill is $277 more in Sydney compared with Perth, and $255 more in Melbourne.

Khoury said petrol was the single largest weekly expense for most households, and the NRMA was eyeing the upcoming federal election, due by May, to get political leaders to focus on the issue.

“It’s growing worse over time, and our expectation is there will be a heightened awareness of it in 2025 because it’s an election year,” Khoury said.

“Cost of living is going to play one of the biggest parts in determining the outcome of the election, and we know that fuel has been a major factor which has put upward pressure on inflation.

“The status quo isn’t working for Australians any more and the only avenue to do something about it is through the ACCC.”

Australia’s major markets have only recently flipped from being among the nation’s cheapest to the most expensive.

“Sydney in 2019 was the second-cheapest city in Australia; in 2020, it was the third-cheapest city in Australia. In 2018, Melbourne was the third-cheapest city in Australia. So they’ve gone from being in the top three cheapest to being in the top three most expensive,” Khoury said.

A spokesperson for the ACCC said the NRMA’s call for an investigation was a matter for the government to consider.

A spokesperson for Treasurer Jim Chalmers, whose portfolio includes the ACCC, said it monitored petrol prices to ensure fair pricing.

“We don’t want to see service stations take Australian motorists for mugs,” the spokesperson said.

“Petrol prices decreased in the last quarter in the five major Australian cities, taking pressure off consumers who are doing it tough.”

Queensland Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg welcomed the prospect of an ACCC inquiry, which he acknowledged must be triggered by the federal government.

“The appropriate mechanism ... would be an ACCC inquiry, noting that the federal government is responsible for price regulation,” Mickelberg said on Monday.

The ACCC monitors fuel prices and its latest quarterly report found that “price cycles only occur at the retail level and are not driven by movements in wholesale prices or underlying costs”.

“While petrol price cycles can be frustrating for motorists – and the longer cycles in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane make it more difficult for motorists to time their purchases in these cities – there are opportunities to save throughout the cycle,” an ACCC spokesperson said.

“There is often a range of petrol prices available throughout any given price cycle.”

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