Whether Australia is in a fuel crisis is a question about numbers, not adjectives. Days of cover, pump and wholesale prices, supply health, import routes and fuel excise, drawn from government and market feeds. Every figure here is sourced and checkable.
Supply is strained. Stick to normal refuelling and follow official advice; panic-buying is what turns a strained market into a shortage.
The national petrol and diesel averages, how they have moved, and where today sits against the pre-crisis baseline.
| Period | Petrol c/L | Diesel c/L |
|---|---|---|
| Now | 224.0 | 268.3 |
| 1 week ago | 211.0 | 256.3 |
| 1 month ago | 200.1 | 244.7 |
| Pre-crisis (Feb 2026) | 171.0 | 180.2 |
What the national pump price has been doing lately, and which way the wholesale market suggests it heads next.
This week: Petrol 224.0 c/L, up 13.0 c/L on the week; no wholesale direction yet (7 of the 10 consecutive trading days the rule needs); 34 days of fuel cover, supply strained. As of 16 September 2026. All of this week's numbers
No wholesale verdict yet: the last two trading weeks of terminal gate prices are not consecutive, so last week cannot be compared with the week before.
National retail petrol moved from 198.0 to 218.7 cents per litre over 45 daily readings, 5.2 per cent above last week. The chart is drawn on a 195 to 220 cents per litre scale in 5 cent gridlines, not from zero. The verdict compares the mean of the latest 5 trading-day AIP terminal gate prices for petrol with the mean of the 5 before them. A move of more than 2 per cent between the two means is rising or falling; anything smaller is steady. It is called only when the newest reading is no more than 4 days old and the 10 readings span two consecutive trading weeks; otherwise no direction is given. Brent crude is not an input. Wholesale leads pump prices by one to two weeks, and the excise steps are normalised out so a tax change cannot fake a trend.
Source: State government fuel price feeds, population-weighted national retail ULP medianUpdated 15 September 2026Scale 195 to 220 c/L, not from zeroVerdict: latest 5 trading days of AIP terminal gate petrol against the 5 before, 2% thresholdHow we measure this
The temporary relief ended on 3 August 2026 and excise returned to the full 53.7 c/L. Excise rose 17.1 c/L, which is up to about 18.8 c/L at the pump once GST is applied, or around $12.23 on a 65 L tank, if retailers pass it on in full; timing varies as sites restock. This is a scheduled tax change, and it does not itself affect fuel supply.
How much fuel excise went up, and what it costs per tank →See current fuel prices →
Days of cover by fuel, the sea lanes cargoes travel, and where the fuel comes from. The composite index and its six inputs, the refineries and the policy settings are on the fuel supply page.
Practical ways to pay less at the pump, matched to current prices.
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