As the cost of living keeps creeping up, you’ll be pleased to know you’ll benefit from fairer prices at the petrol pump this Easter.
“We know that people are really struggling with the increased cost of living and that petrol prices are a serious pain point,” Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs Andrea Michaels says.
“The Government will be cracking down to prevent fuel gouging in the run up to the Easter Long Weekend when many people go on road trips to popular tourism spots”.
South Australia’s consumer watchdog, Consumer and Business Services (CBS), will target the state’s tourism hotspots before Easter to enforce petrol price reporting rules.
Real-time petrol price monitoring has been saving motorists money for two years in South Australia and will continue to do so with additional funding provided by the Government.
“We are ensuring fuel retailers are doing the right thing by consumers so people can travel with the peace of mind that they’re not paying more than they should for fuel these Easter holidays,” Andrea Michaels says.
Under the fuel pricing information scheme, fuel retailers are required to report their prices to a central database within 30 minutes of changing the price at the pump.
Drivers can then access free fuel price information via fuel price apps including Petrol Spy, Motor Mouth, myRAA, SA Bowser: Should I Fuel?, Fuel Price Australia and Pumped, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
Starting this week, state-wide inspections will target service stations within regions which are popular tourism destinations over the upcoming Easter long weekend.
Inspection locations include:
• Southeast
• Riverland
• Barossa Valley
• Clare
• Flinders Ranges
• Upper Yorke Peninsula
• Far West Coast
• Fleurieu Peninsula/ Southern Hills
• Metropolitan Adelaide
Since the start of the fuel pricing information scheme in March 2021, CBS has conducted almost 1500 inspections of petrol stations and received more than 1300 complaints about potential breaches of the scheme.
Approximately 250 complaints and inspections have resulted in warning letters, and CBS has issued 18 fines.
In efforts to stop petrol price gouging, station operators face expiations of $550 or fines in court of up to $10,000, especially if they have ignored previous warnings.
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