Don't pay too much for fuel

Monitoring the highs and lows of WA’s petrol price cycle can, over the course of a year, save you a great deal of money – even as much as $600 a year. But how do you know if you’re paying too much?

For many motorists, the WA Government’s FuelWatch service has become a regular part of their refuelling routine, providing daily prices from fuel retailers across the state. This enables motorists to compare prices and spend their money with those providing the lowest prices at a location near them.

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How FuelWatch works

Central to the operation of FuelWatch is the 24-hour price reporting deadline. Throughout WA, fuel retailers are required to report their fuel price for the next day by 2pm on the prior day. Once this price has been set, the retailer must not alter this pricing for 24 hours from 6am each day. This means WA motorists will never see price fluctuations occurring throughout the day as they did previously - something motorists in other Australian states still experience.

Consumers are also able to use FuelWatch to check what the following day’s pricing will be at each location from 2:30pm each day.

The regulation affects all wholesale and retail fuel operators. Some have tried to bypass the scheme, as did the member-based Costco fuel outlet at Perth Airport. Originally exempt from reporting prices to FuelWatch, authorities revoked their status in April 2020 to level the playing field and allow consumers to compare the retail giant with other fuel stations.

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Why FuelWatch was established

Launched by the Western Australian Government in January 2001, FuelWatch was set up to monitor prices for petrol, diesel and LPG/Autogas within metropolitan Perth and regional areas stretching from Albany to Geraldton.

Providing the most current fuel prices on their website and via a phone service, it was primarily created in response to the fluctuations in fuel prices that occurred within a single day across fuel retail sites, as well as massive differences between city and country pricing.

In WA, retailers are also bound by the Petroleum Products Pricing Act 1983, which legally obliges them to notify the WA State Government of their fuel prices for the following day by 2pm, and then keep those prices unchanged for 24-hours from 6.00am.

Consumers can use this to their advantage and shop around, knowing prices are not going to fluctuate throughout that 24-hour period. If you do shop around, the savings can be substantial over a year.

Visit the FuelWatchsite for up-to-date fuel prices.