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 | 217.7 | 264.4 |
| 1 week ago | 207.8 | 255.8 |
| 1 month ago | 199.9 | 243.8 |
| 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.
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 197.6 to 215.1 cents per litre over 45 daily readings, 3.9 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. The chart marks excise step changes: full excise resumed, about 18.8 cents per litre at the pump.
Source: State government fuel price feeds, population-weighted national retail ULP medianUpdated 14 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 →
A single composite of six inputs, placed on a five-band scale from secure to critical, with the inputs it weighs shown alongside.
Supply health 37 out of 100, in the Strained band, band 2 of 5 from Critical to Secure.
Shipping diversions, export curbs and refinery recovery are shaping supply.
Thresholds on the methodology pageNational days of cover for each fuel, shown against the per-importer Minimum Stockholding Obligation. The tick marks that obligation level; the bar shows how national cover compares.
Petrol: 41 days of cover, 14 days above the 27-day importer MSO obligation, down 4.7% on the week. Diesel: 32 days of cover, 0 days above the 32-day importer MSO obligation, down 3% on the week. Jet fuel: 30 days of cover, 3 days above the 27-day importer MSO obligation, down 9.1% on the week.
Watch: jet fuel cover fell 9.1% on the week, still 3 days above the importer MSO obligation.
The MSO is a per-importer holding obligation, not a national floor, and is currently under temporary relief to 30 September 2026. How cover and the MSO compare.
Most of Australia's fuel is imported. Where it comes from, and the sea lanes it has to travel to get here.
About 77% of the refined fuel Australia burns is imported as finished product, and counting the imported crude that domestic refineries run on, overall import dependence is about 96%. Shares below are the 2026 crisis-era, against the FY2024-25 DCCEEW baseline.
Cargoes reach Australia through a handful of maritime chokepoints. When one closes, flows reroute and freight costs climb.
| Source | Current share | Baseline share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 32% | 23% | +9 percentage points |
| Singapore | 23% | 22% | +1 percentage points |
| Malaysia | 23% | 14% | +9 percentage points |
| Others | 22% | 41% | -19 percentage points |
Practical ways to pay less at the pump, matched to current prices.
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