ACCC to Scrutinise Fuel Pricing Amid Middle East Crisis

ACCC News Centre

Published March 11th, 2026

Detected March 13th, 2026

Summary

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will increase scrutiny of fuel pricing and distribution amid the Middle East crisis. The ACCC will hold urgent meetings with fuel market participants and commence weekly market updates to enhance transparency and address consumer concerns about price spikes and regional supply issues.

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What changed

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced an urgent increase in its scrutiny of the fuel market, prompted by the Middle East crisis and subsequent price spikes. The ACCC will meet with fuel retailers to seek explanations for recent pricing conduct, investigate potential collusion or misleading practices, and explore measures to assist with diesel distribution issues in regional and rural areas. The agency also highlighted upcoming legislative changes that would increase maximum penalties for breaches of Australian Consumer Law and the Competition and Consumer Act by fuel companies from $50 million to $100 million.

Regulated entities, particularly fuel retailers, should prepare for increased ACCC engagement and potential investigations into pricing behaviour. The ACCC expects responses to its information requests by the end of the day and has called an emergency meeting with the industry. Companies engaging in collusive or misleading conduct face significant penalties, with the ACCC signalling its intent to seek the highest penalties available under the law once new penalty limits are enacted. Businesses facing diesel distribution challenges in regional areas may apply for authorisation of conduct that provides a net public benefit.

What to do next

Respond to ACCC requests for information regarding recent fuel price increases.
Prepare for and attend emergency meetings with the ACCC to explain pricing conduct.
Review conduct for potential breaches of Australian Consumer Law and competition provisions, particularly concerning collusion or misleading practices.

Penalties

Potential for highest penalties sought by ACCC, with proposed maximum penalties for breaches of Australian Consumer Law and the Competition and Consumer Act increasing from $50 million to $100 million.

Source document (simplified)

Date

11 March 2026

Topics

Petrol and fuel The ACCC will urgently meet with fuel market participants to seek more detailed explanations for recent pricing conduct during the current Middle Eastern crisis, amid consumer concerns about sudden petrol and diesel price spikes and distribution issues in regional and rural Australia.

The ACCC will also commence weekly market updates to provide increased transparency to consumers and enhanced scrutiny of retailers’ behaviour.

“We know the impact that higher prices are having on Australian consumers. We have been watching pricing behaviour closely since the outbreak of recent hostilities in the Middle East and will take action against any case of misleading consumers about the reason for the steep and rapid increase in prices by individual retailers or any breaches of the competition provisions,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.

“We are closely watching market behaviour and if there is conduct that is collusive or misleading or deceptive, we will investigate it and take action where appropriate.”

In addition, the ACCC is urgently exploring measures to assist with diesel distribution issues in regional and rural areas, in partnership with other relevant agencies.

“We are aware of concerning reports about diesel availability in regional and rural Australia. We know how critical diesel supply is to primary producers, transport businesses and many others, so we are prioritising our work to assist with this,” Ms Brakey said.

“The ACCC is able to authorise conduct, such as coordination or agreements relating to distribution, where it provides a net public benefit. We stand ready to receive an application for authorisation.”

The ACCC wrote to petrol retailers last week seeking information about recent price increases and are expecting their responses by the end of the day.

“We are now calling the industry into an emergency meeting to explain their actions during this period of volatility,” Ms Brakey said.

“At that meeting we will reiterate our expectations to industry and ask that they explain to the Australian community the reasons behind recent price spikes. We are also inviting representatives of motoring organisations representing the voice of consumers to be part of these discussions.”

“The petrol industry should be under no illusions. We will act decisively and to the fullest extent of the law,” Ms Brakey said.

The ACCC also welcomes government plans to move to increase the maximum penalties for relevant breaches of Australian Consumer Law and the Competition and Consumer Act by fuel companies from $50 to $100 million and will seek the highest penalties appropriate in any cases we bring to the courts.

We have today published the letters received from the Treasurer, as well as the letters written to the major fuel companies.

Letter from the Treasurer to the ACCC about fuel retailer conduct - 3 March 2026 (PDF 59.89 KB)
ACCC letter to fuel companies - 6 March 2026 (PDF 146.13 KB) “We strongly recommend that, where possible, consumers use information on our website and on fuel apps to shop for the cheapest fuel, to locate retailers that are pricing moderately compared to others and reward those that offer the best deal.”

Background

On 6 March, the ACCC issued the latest Petrol Monitoring Report. It will soon commence publishing weekly updates on its website.

Consumers in major capital cities can find information about current fuel prices on the ACCC website.

On 10 December 2025, the Treasurer issued a new Ministerial Direction to the ACCC to monitor the prices, costs and profits relating to the supply of petroleum products in the petroleum industry in Australia, for a further five years commencing on 1 January 2026. The ACCC is required to give the Treasurer a report on the monitoring at least once every quarter.

In February 2026, The Federal Court ordered Mobil Oil Australia to pay $16 million in penalties for making false or misleading representations about the fuel sold at nine petrol stations in north and central Queensland, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.

Release number

14/26

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