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# ServoPro: ServoPro is Australia’s Leading Membership For Petrol + Convenience Retailers

## Sitemaps
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## Posts
- [The Eight Margin Leaks Draining Your Servo Right Now](https://servopro.com.au/the-eight-margin-leaks-draining-your-servo-right-now/): Most operators can quote yesterday's fuel volume to the litre. Far fewer could say whether their site margin moved up or down this quarter. Revenue is the number you watch; profit is the number that pays you, and the gap between them is where money quietly leaks away. Most sites are leaking in three or four of the eight places below right now, and not one of them requires selling a single extra litre to fix.
- [Getting It Right the First Time: New Shell Site’s Fuel Dispenser Choice](https://servopro.com.au/getting-it-right-the-first-time-new-shell-sites-fuel-dispenser-choice/): When the team behind a new Shell site in Dandenong went looking for dispensers, the safe advice was to go with the name their builder always used. They did their own homework instead, chose Wayne® dispensers from Dover Fueling Solutions® (DFS), and since the site opened in late 2024, both the developer and the operator say it was the right call.
- [Tobacco Enforcement Escalates Nationally as Landlord Penalties Take Effect](https://servopro.com.au/tobacco-enforcement-escalates-nationally-as-landlord-penalties-take-effect/): Australia's illicit tobacco crackdown has entered a new phase, with enforcement now running hard in three states and, as of 1 July, extending beyond retailers to the owners of the buildings they trade from.
- [Ampol Completes EG Australia Acquisition, Network Reaches 1,100 Sites](https://servopro.com.au/ampol-completes-eg-australia-acquisition-network-reaches-1100-sites/): Ampol has completed its acquisition of EG Australia, finalising the deal on 30 June for gross consideration of $1.165 billion and creating a company-operated network of approximately 1,100 sites, the largest in Australian fuel and convenience retail.
- [NT Deploys AI to Watch Fuel Prices](https://servopro.com.au/nt-deploys-ai-to-watch-fuel-prices/): The Northern Territory has put an artificial intelligence model to work watching fuel prices, the first government in Australia to do it. The way the model decides a price rise is suspicious is the part that should interest every operator, not just those north of the border.
- [AI Pricing Lands US Fuel Retailers in Court](https://servopro.com.au/ai-pricing-lands-us-fuel-retailers-in-court/): A group of California drivers has put fuel pricing software on trial, and the question behind the case does not stop at the US border.
- [Fuel Excise Relief Extended Into July, at Half the Saving](https://servopro.com.au/fuel-excise-relief-extended-into-july-at-half-the-saving/): The fuel excise relief that has held since April is not ending on 1 July as planned. It is being extended, but at a smaller discount, which means pump prices will drift up even while the government keeps the word "relief" on the policy.
- [Keeping Good Staff in a High-Turnover Industry](https://servopro.com.au/keeping-good-staff-in-a-high-turnover-industry/): Most service station operators do not have a hiring problem. They have a keeping problem. Casual hours, night shifts and tight margins make the forecourt one of the harder places to hold onto good people, and every time someone walks out the door, the cost lands back on you. The good news is that retention is one of the few things on a site you can actually influence, and it costs less than most operators think.
- [Working On Your Business, Not Just Behind the Counter](https://servopro.com.au/working-on-your-business-not-just-behind-the-counter/): Ask most independent operators why they bought a service station and the answer usually comes back to freedom and a better life for the family. Then the reality sets in: you are on the console at 6am, doing the orders at lunch, fixing the roster at night, and the business that was meant to give you time has quietly taken it all. Getting some of that time back is not about working harder. It is about building a site that can run without you standing in the middle of it.
- [Viva Energy Weighs Up Service Station Sale](https://servopro.com.au/viva-energy-weighs-up-service-station-sale/): Viva Energy is understood to be weighing the sale of a portfolio of its petrol stations, most likely as a sale and leaseback, where the company sells the freehold and signs long leases to keep operating the sites. The operating brand would not change. The owner of the underlying property would.
- [One Nation Pushes to Halve Tobacco Excise](https://servopro.com.au/one-nation-pushes-to-halve-tobacco-excise/): Legal tobacco has gone from a dependable convenience category to a problem one, as years of excise rises pushed customers towards a booming illicit market. One Nation now wants to reverse that with a sharp cut to the tax.
- [Lowes Petroleum Acquires Engineering Firm EMP](https://servopro.com.au/lowes-petroleum-acquires-engineering-firm-emp/): The companies that dig up and replace service station tanks are consolidating, and the latest deal puts more of that work under one regional player. Lowes Petroleum has acquired Tamworth-based Engineering Mining and Petroleum, known as EMP.
- [Get Your POS Ready for EOFY (Part 2)](https://servopro.com.au/get-your-pos-ready-for-eofy-part-2/): In Part 1, we covered what every operator should have sorted before 30 June: stocktakes, reporting, hardware decisions and customer account cleanup. If you haven't read it yet, start there.
- [Three OTR Freeholds Head to Auction with $1.56m Combined Income](https://servopro.com.au/three-otr-freeholds-head-to-auction-with-1-56m-combined-income/): Three OTR convenience retail freeholds, one in Adelaide and two in NSW, go under the hammer at the Sydney Opera House on 23 June, offering investors a combined net income of approximately $1.56 million a year. The properties themselves are worth a look, but the lease terms behind them are the real lesson for anyone who owns the land under a service station.
- [Illicit Tobacco Crackdown Moves from Fines to Closures](https://servopro.com.au/illicit-tobacco-crackdown-moves-from-fines-to-closures/): Four out of five cigarettes smoked in Australia are now illegal, and the states have stopped relying on fines to deal with it. The new enforcement weapon is the closure order, and in the past month it has been used from the Tweed Coast to suburban Adelaide.
- [Make School Holidays Pay](https://servopro.com.au/make-school-holidays-pay/): School holidays change the rhythm of a service station in ways that many operators do not fully capitalise on. Traffic patterns shift. Families are on the road. Kids are in the car. Lunchtime and afternoon trade picks up as parents look for quick, easy stops. For operators who plan ahead, school holidays represent a genuine opportunity to increase shop revenue and attract customers who might not normally stop at your site.
- [The Science Behind the Impulse Buy](https://servopro.com.au/the-science-behind-the-impulse-buy/): Most customers who walk into a service station shop already know what they came in for. Fuel, a drink, a snack, maybe a coffee. But the difference between a $5 transaction and a $12 transaction often comes down to what catches their eye between the door and the counter. Impulse buying is not random. It follows predictable patterns, and operators who understand those patterns can increase basket size without spending a cent on advertising.
- [Ampol to Triple Its Unstaffed Network After EG Approval](https://servopro.com.au/ampol-to-triple-its-unstaffed-network-after-eg-approval/): Ampol is preparing to more than triple its network of unstaffed U-GO service stations, following the ACCC's approval of its $1.1 billion acquisition of EG Australia. The company plans to convert about 125 of the newly acquired EG sites into the low-cost U-GO format, taking its unstaffed network from 46 sites to more than 170 nationwide.
- [Chevron Chairman Flags Rising Fuel Prices](https://servopro.com.au/chevron-chairman-flags-rising-fuel-prices/): The chairman of Chevron has warned that global fuel prices are likely to climb through June and July, as the temporary factors holding them down wear off. For operators planning pricing and stock through the back half of the year, the forecast is the part of his comments worth paying attention to.
- [Ampol Cleared to Acquire EG Australia in $1.1 Billion Deal](https://servopro.com.au/ampol-cleared-to-acquire-eg-australia-in-1-1-billion-deal/): The ACCC has approved Ampol's acquisition of EG Australia, clearing the largest consolidation in the Australian fuel retail market in years. The approval, announced on 3 June, is conditional on Ampol divesting 41 sites, which it has agreed to sell to Metro Petroleum under a binding agreement. Ampol expects to complete the acquisition on 30 June.
- [Why Community Beats Corporate](https://servopro.com.au/why-community-beats-corporate/): Independent service stations have something the major chains will never be able to replicate: a genuine connection to the local area. The operator lives nearby, the staff are from the community, and the customers are neighbours. Yet many independents do not make the most of this advantage. In a market where the majors are investing millions in loyalty apps, unmanned sites and slick convenience offers, the strongest card an independent operator holds is being a real part of the community they serve.
- [Turn Regulars into Recruiters](https://servopro.com.au/turn-regulars-into-recruiters/): Every service station has them. The customer who fills up every Tuesday morning. The tradie who grabs a coffee and a pie on the way to site. The parent who stops in after school drop off. These regulars are already choosing your site over the alternatives, and that loyalty is worth more than most operators realise. The question is whether you are doing anything to turn that quiet loyalty into active advocacy, where customers are not just coming back, but telling other people to do the same.
- [Cut-Price Fuel Heads West: What the LMCT+ Expansion Reveals](https://servopro.com.au/cut-price-fuel-heads-west-what-the-lmct-expansion-reveals/): Adrian Portelli has signalled Tarneit as the next location for his LMCT+ Petrol cut-price fuel model, with southeast Melbourne flagged to follow. The expansion comes after his Preston site drew sustained queues earlier this year by selling fuel as low as 49.99c a litre, generating police attention and questions in state parliament.
- [Costco’s New 32-Bowser Pakenham Site](https://servopro.com.au/costcos-new-32-bowser-pakenham-site/): Costco has cleared planning approval for a $74 million warehouse and service station in Pakenham, southeast Melbourne. The site will include a 14,268 square metre store, a 32-bowser petrol station, and 836 car parks. It will be Costco's 16th Australian location and its fifth in Victoria. Cardinia Shire Council approved the planning permit at its 18 May meeting.
- [How to Reduce Energy Costs at Your Service Station](https://servopro.com.au/how-to-reduce-energy-costs-at-your-service-station/): Energy is one of the largest overhead costs for a service station, and it is one that many operators accept without questioning whether they are paying more than they need to. Between lighting, refrigeration, air conditioning, fuel pump systems, compressors, signage and POS equipment, most sites are running a significant electrical load around the clock. Even modest reductions in energy consumption or smarter purchasing of electricity can deliver meaningful savings over the course of a year.
- [Understanding Your Obligations When Hiring Staff Under 18](https://servopro.com.au/understanding-your-obligations-when-hiring-staff-under-18/): Hiring younger workers can be a practical solution for service station operators, particularly for after school shifts, weekends and school holiday periods. Many operators rely on employees under 18 to fill gaps in the roster, and for many young people a job at a local servo is their first experience of the workforce. But hiring minors comes with specific legal obligations that operators need to understand and comply with.
- [Five Weeks to Decide: The Fuel Excise Cut and What Happens on 1 July](https://servopro.com.au/five-weeks-to-decide-the-fuel-excise-cut-and-what-happens-on-1-july/): The Prime Minister was asked again on Saturday whether the halved fuel excise will be extended beyond 30 June. The answer, for the second time in a week, was that the decision will be made "in the lead up to July 1." The window for that decision is now five weeks.
- [Queensland Invests US$17.8M in Renewable Diesel](https://servopro.com.au/queensland-invests-us17-8m-in-renewable-diesel/): The Queensland government is investing US$17.8 million in developing renewable diesel production at Ampol's Lytton refinery, the first project to receive funding under the state's new US$128 million Sovereign Industry Development Fund.
- [The 7-Eleven EV Rollout and What It Signals for Independents](https://servopro.com.au/the-7-eleven-ev-rollout-and-what-it-signals-for-independents/): Energy Australia has begun installing ultra-fast EV chargers at 7-Eleven service stations across Victoria, with another seven sites planned across New South Wales and Queensland by the end of 2026. The first 200kW charger is already operational at a Melbourne site.
- [Get Your POS Ready for EOFY (Part 1)](https://servopro.com.au/get-your-pos-ready-for-eofy-part-1/): June 30 will be here before you know it. For most independent operators, that means stocktakes, accountant meetings and the usual scramble to get the books in order. But your POS system plays a bigger role in EOFY than most people give it credit for, and a bit of preparation now can save you hours of headaches in July.
- [How to Handle a Staff Member Who Is Consistently Late](https://servopro.com.au/how-to-handle-a-staff-member-who-is-consistently-late/): A staff member who is five minutes late once is not a problem. A staff member who is consistently late is. In a service station environment, where shift handovers are time sensitive and the site may be running on minimal staffing, repeated lateness creates a ripple effect. The previous shift cannot leave, customer service drops, and the rest of the team starts to feel like the rules do not apply equally. Left unaddressed, it becomes a culture issue, not just an individual one.
- [How to Plan for and Manage a Major Equipment Failure](https://servopro.com.au/how-to-plan-for-and-manage-a-major-equipment-failure/): A fuel dispenser stops working during the morning rush. The POS system goes down on a Saturday afternoon. A refrigeration unit fails overnight and you arrive to a shop full of spoiled stock. Major equipment failures at a service station are not a matter of if, but when. The operators who handle these situations best are the ones who have thought about them before they happen.
- [NSW Tobacco Crackdown Now Reaches the Landlord](https://servopro.com.au/nsw-tobacco-crackdown-now-reaches-the-landlord/): NSW Parliament has passed legislation making it a criminal offence for commercial landlords to knowingly permit their premises to be used by tenants for the sale of illicit tobacco and illegal vaping products. The new offence carries a maximum penalty of one year's imprisonment, a fine of $165,000, or both.
- [SA Secures 20 Million Litres of Diesel](https://servopro.com.au/sa-secures-20-million-litres-of-diesel/): The South Australian government has secured access to up to 20 million litres of diesel through a commercial agreement with fuel supplier IOR, using spare capacity at the company's existing storage facility at Port Bonython in the Upper Spencer Gulf. The state will immediately purchase and store 10 million litres, with an option to expand to 20 million litres, and a refill provision if the reserve is drawn down.
- [What the 2026 federal budget means for service station operators](https://servopro.com.au/what-the-2026-federal-budget-means-for-service-station-operators/): The 13 May federal budget confirmed and expanded the $14.8 billion Strengthening Australia's Fuel Resilience Package. The structural elements are now locked in. The temporary elements (most importantly, the halved fuel excise) are still scheduled to expire on 30 June, with no extension announced.
- [How to Negotiate Better Terms with Your Landlord at Lease Renewal](https://servopro.com.au/how-to-negotiate-better-terms-with-your-landlord-at-lease-renewal/): For service station operators who lease their site, the lease renewal is one of the most consequential commercial decisions they will face. Yet many operators approach it passively, accepting whatever terms the landlord puts forward without negotiation. The reality is that a lease renewal is a two way conversation, and operators who prepare properly and understand their position often achieve significantly better outcomes.
- [Understanding the True Cost of Staff Turnover at Your Service Station](https://servopro.com.au/understanding-the-true-cost-of-staff-turnover-at-your-service-station/): Losing a staff member is rarely just an inconvenience. For service station operators, every resignation triggers a chain of costs and disruptions that go well beyond the time it takes to find a replacement. When turnover is high, these costs compound quickly, eating into margins and pulling the owner's attention away from running the business. Yet many operators have never stopped to calculate what turnover is actually costing them.
- [The federal fuel security package: what’s in it and what it changes](https://servopro.com.au/the-federal-fuel-security-package-whats-in-it-and-what-it-changes/): The Albanese government has announced a $10.7 billion Australian Fuel Security and Resilience package, with full detail to land in next week's federal budget. The headline change is structural rather than operational. Australia is moving from a system where private importers and refiners hold all of the country's emergency fuel stocks to one where the federal government will own around a billion litres of reserve fuel directly.
- [Geelong refinery: the next six weeks](https://servopro.com.au/geelong-refinery-the-next-six-weeks/): Viva Energy expects production at its Geelong refinery to return to more than 90 per cent of capacity in June, around six weeks from the company's 5 May update. Until then, the refinery is running at reduced output: about 80 per cent of capacity for diesel and jet fuel, and about 60 per cent for petrol.
- [FuelCheck penalties just tripled. Here’s what NSW operators need to do this week.](https://servopro.com.au/fuelcheck-penalties-just-tripled-heres-what-nsw-operators-need-to-do-this-week/): NSW service station operators have until the Fair Trading (FuelCheck) Amendment Bill 2026 passes to make sure their reporting systems are watertight. The bill, introduced last week, doubles on the spot fines for individuals to $1,100 and triples them for companies to $3,300. A second offence within 12 months pushes those figures to $5,500 and $11,000. Court-imposed maximum fines for individuals rise to $55,000.
- [FOR SALE – Compac OPT & POSTEC Units (Great Condition!)](https://servopro.com.au/for-sale-compac-opt-postec-units-great-condition/): 1. Compac OPT Unit – $5,000
- [The Partner Behind the Product: How Joyquip Is Getting More Out of ATG Systems](https://servopro.com.au/the-partner-behind-the-product-how-joyquip-is-getting-more-out-of-atg-systems/): When operators invest in automatic tank gauging (ATG) equipment, most assume the hard part is over once the system is installed. Andrew Joyce, founding director of Joyquip, would tell you that is exactly where the real work begins.
- [Building a Maintenance Log That Actually Gets Used](https://servopro.com.au/building-a-maintenance-log-that-actually-gets-used/): Most service station operators know that regular maintenance is important, but the gap between knowing and doing is where problems tend to appear. Equipment breaks down, inspections get missed, and when something does fail, there is no record of when it was last checked. A simple maintenance log can close that gap, but only if it is set up in a way that makes it easy to use and hard to ignore.
- [Should Your Service Station Offer EV Charging?](https://servopro.com.au/should-your-service-station-offer-ev-charging/): Electric vehicles now account for close to 15 per cent of new car sales in Australia, nearly double the share recorded just a year ago, and the public charging network has grown to more than 5,000 sites nationally. Ampol is rolling out its AmpCharge network at pace, BP Pulse is expanding across the eastern states, and even shopping centres and local councils are installing chargers. For independent service station operators, the question is no longer whether EV charging is coming. It is whether your site should be part of it.
- [LMCT+ isn’t selling fuel. It’s selling memberships.](https://servopro.com.au/lmct-isnt-selling-fuel-its-selling-memberships/): Adrian Portelli's Preston site has dominated the fuel news cycle this fortnight. First 99 cents a litre, then 49.99 cents, an Instagram video kicking the price sign, supercars in the queue, police managing traffic. The coverage has framed it as cost of living relief, disruption of the majors, a billionaire taking on the big end of town.
- [Fair Work fuel cost recovery order: what it means for your site](https://servopro.com.au/fair-work-fuel-cost-recovery-order-what-it-means-for-your-site/): A Fair Work Commission order that took effect on 21 April is reshaping how diesel cost increases move through road transport contracts. For independent service station operators, the practical question is whether you sit inside the contractual chain, and what that means for your invoices over the coming weeks.
- [Understanding Your FSOP: Is Your Service Station Still Compliant?](https://servopro.com.au/understanding-your-fsop-is-your-service-station-still-compliant/): Nick Caltabiano, General Manager at environmental consulting firm NEO Consulting, provides environmental due diligence to service stations, banks, developers, and other land buyers across Greater Sydney and New South Wales. Nick shares his advice on why a firm understanding of the environmental health of your service station site is essential when it comes to protecting your business, meeting legal obligations, and avoiding costly surprises.
- [What Every Servo Operator Should Know About Workers Compensation](https://servopro.com.au/what-every-servo-operator-should-know-about-workers-compensation/): Workers compensation is one of those areas that most service station operators know they need to have in place, but few fully understand until something goes wrong. A workplace injury at a service station, whether it is a slip on the forecourt, a manual handling strain in the storeroom, or a burn from a coffee machine, can trigger a process that is complex, time consuming and expensive if the business is not properly prepared.
- [Training Your Staff to Deliver Better Customer Service](https://servopro.com.au/training-your-staff-to-deliver-better-customer-service/): In a market where most service stations sell the same fuel at similar prices, customer service is one of the few things that genuinely differentiates one site from another. A friendly greeting, a clean store and a staff member who goes out of their way to help can be the reason a customer keeps coming back rather than pulling into the competitor down the road. Yet for many operators, customer service training is something that gets covered briefly during onboarding and then never revisited.
- [Domestic Fuel Manufacturing Is Finally on the Agenda](https://servopro.com.au/domestic-fuel-manufacturing-is-finally-on-the-agenda/): The Albanese government has added fuel manufacturing as the eighth priority area for investment from the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund. It is a small change to the fund’s mandate on paper, but a significant one in substance. For the first time, taxpayer money earmarked for building Australia’s industrial base can be directed toward expanding domestic refining capacity and fuel storage. Industry Minister Tim Ayres has confirmed there is no prohibition on the NRF investing in refineries, storage, or other fuel security measures. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged fuel security as a focus of next month’s budget.