The national diesel median is 283.4 c/L as at 6 October 2026, 3.1 c/L cheaper than a week ago and 28.7 c/L dearer than a month ago. That is 103.2 c/L above the 180.2 c/L diesel cost in the week before the conflict, and 45.1 c/L above petrol's 238.3 c/L today.
The median diesel price across each jurisdiction's reporting sites, its move on a week earlier, and how far it sits above that jurisdiction's unleaded median. The gap is the number to watch: both fuels carry the same excise and GST, so everything diesel costs above unleaded is the wholesale and retail margin on diesel itself.
| Jurisdiction | Diesel c/L | vs a week ago | Above unleaded |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 285.0 | -2.0 c/L | +45.4 c/L |
| Victoria | 280.8 | -5.9 c/L | +44.0 c/L |
| Queensland | 285.9 | -1.8 c/L | +47.0 c/L |
| Western Australia | 274.8 | -5.0 c/L | +41.8 c/L |
| South Australia | 286.8 | -2.3 c/L | +48.7 c/L |
| Tasmania | 287.9 | -2.0 c/L | +40.0 c/L |
| Northern Territory | 299.0 | 0.0 c/L | +52.1 c/L |
| Australian Capital Territory | 289.9 | -7.5 c/L | +44.0 c/L |
Medians as at 6 October 2026; a jurisdiction whose feed publishes a day in arrears shows its own newest date on its page. Each name opens that jurisdiction's page.
A weekly 65 L tank of diesel now costs roughly $67 more than it did before the crisis.
Daily national retail diesel median, 84 readings, from 193.7 to 283.8 cents per litre. Vertical scale 190 to 290 cents per litre with a gridline every 5 cents; the axis does not start at zero. Against the pre-crisis diesel baseline of 180.2 cents per litre that is about 103.6 cents per litre more, roughly 67 dollars extra on a weekly 65 litre fill. The series starts on 14 July 2026, the first day of the population-weighted median method; the earlier mean-based readings are left out rather than joined on. Marked on the line: full excise resumed, worth about 18.8 cents per litre at the bowser.
Each point is the day's national diesel median, weighted by where people live across the state feeds. The window opens on 14 July 2026 because that is when the median method replaced the earlier mean; joining the two would plant a 1 to 2 c/L step in the line that came from the method rather than the market. The dollar figure above is measured against the pre-crisis diesel price, not against the first point drawn here. Diesel also took the 1 July excise step (about 17.6 c/L at the pump, smaller than the 18.8 c/L step on 3 August 2026), which predates the window and so appears in this note rather than on the line.
Terminal gate diesel, the price importers charge before the retailer's margin, was 264.9 c/L nationally on 6 October 2026, 1.4 c/L lower than a week earlier. Against the 5 trading days before, the latest 5 are easing (-2.2 per cent), the same rule that calls the petrol direction on the homepage, and a wholesale move usually reaches the pump within one to two weeks.
Diesel has no retail discounting cycle in any capital, so there is no cheap day of the week to wait for; its pump price tracks the terminal gate price with that lag rather than swinging with retailer rounds.
| Capital | Terminal gate diesel c/L | As at |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | 263.6 | 6 Oct |
| Brisbane | 266.8 | 6 Oct |
| Darwin | 273.3 | 6 Oct |
| Hobart | 266.5 | 6 Oct |
| Melbourne | 264.5 | 6 Oct |
| Perth | 257.3 | 6 Oct |
| Sydney | 266.5 | 6 Oct |
Source: AIP terminal gate prices; national figure population-weighted across the seven capitals AIP publishes (FuelCrisis-derived)Updated 6 October 2026How we measure this
Australia held 32 days of diesel cover on the official statement for 29 September 2026, exactly on the 32-day line importers are obliged to hold. That obligation is per importer rather than a national floor, and it is under temporary relief to 31 January 2027, which lets suppliers hold less in return for delivering more. Diesel is the fuel to watch here because its cover sits closest to its line; petrol's and jet fuel's are on the supply page.
Reserves and supply health in full and is there a fuel shortage?
In the week before the conflict diesel cost 9.2 c/L more than unleaded nationally; today the gap is 45.1 c/L. The tax line is identical for the two fuels, so the widening is entirely in the price refiners and importers charge for diesel, which is priced against the Singapore gasoil benchmark rather than the petrol one.
Why is diesel so expensive? sets that out with the premium by state, the wholesale direction, diesel cover and what governments have done; why is petrol so expensive? carries the crude, exchange rate and tax arithmetic the two fuels share.
Each state page carries its own diesel median and weekly move beside unleaded, its capital against the rest of the state, and the government feed it comes from.
All fuels and the make-up of a litre: fuel prices. The benchmarks diesel is priced against: oil prices. How the medians are built: methodology.