Ninety-three service stations in New South Wales have been fined $1,100 each for misrepresenting fuel prices during a two-week compliance blitz. The inspections covered about 75% of stations registered with the FuelCheck app, with 23 fines issued in Sydney and 70 in regional areas.
Under NSW fair trading standards, stations must update prices on FuelCheck in real time to match bowser prices. The fines were for price mismatching, not price gouging, according to the state government. The NSW government has allocated an additional $2.2m to FuelCheck and urged the public to report exploitative pricing.
The Labor government rejected opposition calls for a 24-hour fuel price cap similar to systems in Victoria and Western Australia. Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said FuelCheck already achieves similar transparency, though it does not fix prices.
Fuel prices have dropped since the federal excise was halved on Wednesday as part of emergency measures responding to the Middle East conflict. An agreement by state and territory leaders to pass on increased GST revenue from fuel sales has reduced petrol and diesel prices by up to 32 cents per litre.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced a crackdown on price gouging and called on retailers to pass on cuts quickly. It also issued notices to businesses in South Australia, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia to justify fuel surcharges on remote deliveries.
Meanwhile, Western Australia expanded its FuelWatch program to require all retailers to register and increased penalties for non-compliance from $1,000 to $4,000.
