Drivers are paying more at the bowser this week, and the price rise is not finished. Average petrol across the five largest capital cities jumped 6.6 cents to 158.1 cents a litre on 1 July, the day the government's emergency fuel excise discount was halved, according to the ACCC's weekly monitoring report released Friday. Diesel rose 5.6 cents to 179.1.
The gap between wholesale and retail is what matters now. Terminal gate prices rose 15.1 cents a litre for petrol between 30 June and 1 July, more than double what had reached the pump by the same day. The remainder flows through during this first full trading week under the higher rate. Regional drivers were already paying 171.8 cents on 1 July, and the ACCC found roughly nine in ten regional locations it monitors had moved up by as much as 10 cents.
The excise cut was the government's response to the petrol spike that followed the outbreak of the Middle East conflict in late February. From 1 April the tax was slashed by 32 cents a litre, from 52.6 cents to 20.6. That relief halved on 1 July, taking excise back to 36.6 cents, and the remaining discount expires on 2 August. The ACCC calculates full restoration will add up to 17.6 cents a litre once GST is counted, on top of the rises already in train.
The watchdog wrote to fuel retailers before the change and is not being subtle about the follow-up. "The ACCC expects that fuel retailers will not attempt to take advantage of this increase in excise," Commissioner Anna Brakey said on 29 June. "We will not hesitate to take action if retailers make false or misleading statements about price movements or if there is evidence of anti-competitive behaviour." The commission has been publishing weekly rather than quarterly price reports since March, and maximum penalties for breaches were doubled to $100 million under the April relief package.
Both major parties back the arrangement. "This Bill extends fuel excise relief for another month, making petrol and diesel 16 cents per litre cheaper compared with normal prices, saving Australians around $11 per tank," Treasurer Jim Chalmers told parliament on 22 June. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor backed the extension while claiming paternity: "We have been supportive of cuts to the fuel excise from the start. In fact, we proposed it in the first place and Labor copied us."
Two numbers put the week in context. Even after the 1 July jump, capital-city petrol was still 12.8 cents a litre below its pre-conflict level of 20 February. Diesel, at 2.5 cents above that benchmark, has already given all of its relief back.
The ACCC's next weekly report lands Friday and will show how much of the 15-cent wholesale rise retailers passed through, and how quickly. The harder date is 2 August: when the last of the discount goes, so does the remaining 17.6 cents, and the full 52.6-cent excise returns to every litre sold.
