Consumer and Business Services compliance and enforcement officers will be out in force in regional areas of South Australia to ensure petrol stations are complying with requirements of the state government’s real-time petrol price monitoring trial.
Officers will be conducting spot checks on petrol stations in the coming weeks, including in the Mid North, Spencer Gulf and Riverland, to ensure they are fulfilling obligations.
Attorney-General Vickie Chapman said the introduction of real-time petrol price monitoring had been a boost for consumers and helped motorists find the cheapest prices near them when they need to fill their tanks.
“According to the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission), Adelaide motorists could save $330 a year by simply choosing to fill up at the lowest-priced service station.
“This is especially important at the end of each price ‘cycle’ to help motorists find prices that can often be 20 or 30 cents a litre cheaper.
“Ensuring petrol stations in regional areas are complying with the scheme, and updating their prices within 30 minutes, in line with the law, is critical to this.”
Commissioner for Consumer and Business Services Dini Soulio said areas to be targeted in the upcoming weeks include Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Whyalla, the Flinders Ranges, Renmark and Tailem Bend.
“Inspectors have already conducted more than 320 checks on service stations in both regional and metropolitan areas,” he said.
“While the level of compliance has been mostly pleasing, 58 matters have resulted in warnings to retailers following the detection of a suspected breach, and two matters have resulted in expiation notices for breaches.”
To track cheaper choices, motorists are encouraged to use an app, such as Fuel Price Australia, PetrolSpy, MotorMouth, Pumped or the RAA App, all of which use the state government’s real-time fuel price data.
RAA fuel expert Mark Borlace said a survey of users of the myRAA fuel prices app found they were saving almost $30 a month in petrol costs by shopping around for cheaper prices.
“Ensuring petrol retailers are providing fuel prices as required by the state government gives motorists confidence that real-time fuel pricing information is accurate and that searching for lower prices is rewarded,” he said.
“RAA supports the Attorney-General’s commitment to continuing the success of the real-time fuel pricing program by having petrol patrol officers checking that fuel retailers are complying with the reporting requirements.”
For more information on real time petrol price monitoring in South Australia, visit sa.gov.au/topics/driving-and-transport/fuel-pricing.
Extracted from The Transcontinental