Fuel guide
Australia Fuel Supply (2026)
How refined-fuel imports, international benchmarks, the Australian dollar, domestic stock rules and local supply affect fuel prices and availability.
Key points
Key takeaways
Imports supplied 79% of Australia's refined petroleum-product consumption in 2023–24.
International crude and refined-fuel benchmarks and the AUD/USD exchange rate affect the cost base.
Australia's Minimum Stockholding Obligation sets separate baseline stock requirements for petrol, diesel and jet fuel.
A market headline does not predict the timing or size of a price change at one service station.
Using this guide
Before you act on the guide
Check the station price, report time and distance before changing your route.
How much fuel Australia imports
Australian Energy Statistics reports that imports supplied 79% of refined petroleum-product consumption in 2023–24. Australia also has two operating refineries. Import dependence means overseas refining and shipping conditions matter, but it does not mean every international event causes a local shortage.
What affects the cost of imported fuel?
Australian fuel costs are influenced by international crude-oil prices, refined-fuel benchmarks in the Asia-Pacific market and the AUD/USD exchange rate. A weaker Australian dollar makes US-dollar fuel purchases more expensive. Refining, freight, storage, wholesale and retail costs then sit between the international benchmark and the pump price.
Terminal gate prices
A terminal gate price is a wholesale spot benchmark for fuel collected from a terminal. It is useful for tracking the cost trend before retail operating costs and margins. It is not the price a motorist will pay and it does not tell you when every service station will change its board.
Australia's domestic stock rules
The Minimum Stockholding Obligation requires covered fuel importers and refiners to hold baseline stocks. For 2025–26, the required baseline is 24 days of petrol for refiners and 27 days for importers. Diesel requirements are 20 days for refiners and 32 days for importers. These figures are one stock measure; IEA days and consumption-cover days use different definitions and should not be compared as if they were the same number.
| Measure | What it is used for |
|---|---|
| Minimum Stockholding Obligation | Baseline domestic stocks held by covered importers and refiners. |
| IEA days | Australia's international stockholding measure relative to net imports. |
| Consumption-cover days | End-of-month stocks compared with recent domestic consumption. |
What a supply disruption means for drivers
The effect depends on the event, available stocks, shipping, local distribution and retailer pricing. There is no dependable rule that a particular crude-oil move will add a fixed number of cents per litre after a fixed number of days. Check recent terminal gate prices and station reports, and follow government supply advice if an actual disruption is announced.
Source notes
See Australian Energy Statistics: energy trade, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water pages on minimum stockholding obligations and fuel-stock measures. Source details last checked 8 July 2026.