Quarterly retail petrol prices across the five largest cities were higher in the September quarter 2025, according to the ACCC's latest quarterly petrol monitoring report.
Average petrol prices were also higher in Canberra, Hobart, and Darwin and on average across over 190 regional locations that the ACCC monitors.
Prices across the five largest cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth) were 178.8 cents per litre (cpl), an increase of 3.1 cpl from the previous quarter.
"Although average prices were higher in the September quarter, they were lower than price levels throughout most of 2024," Commissioner Anna Brakey said.
The following figure shows movements in average retail petrol prices across the five largest cities from October 2023 to September 2025.
Seven-day rolling average retail petrol prices across the five largest cities in nominal terms
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
Notes: The grey shaded area in the figure represents the September quarter 2025. A 7-day rolling average price is the average of the current day's price and prices on the 6 previous days.
The following figure shows the increase in average prices in the September quarter 2025 which largely reflects higher international prices for refined petrol (Mogas 95) and increases in other wholesale costs and margins.
"The increase in international refined petrol prices was partially offset by a higher quarterly AUD-USD exchange rate, which made the international cost of refined petrol less expensive in Australian dollar terms," Ms Brakey said.
Components of average retail petrol prices across the five largest cities - Australian cents per litre
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources, Argus Media, Ampol, bp, Mobil, Viva Energy, FuelWatch, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Taxation Office.
Notes:
cents per litre change from the previous quarter.
* Excise and wholesale goods and services tax (66.1 cpl) excludes a component of retail goods and services tax (1.5 cpl) in the above figure. This is for consistency in reporting gross indicative retail difference figures throughout this report, which include a small component of goods and services tax. Total excise and goods and services tax for both wholesale and retail (67.6 cpl) is shown in the petrol bowser in the 'September quarter 2025 - Petrol snapshot'
Other wholesale costs and margins include import and wholesale related costs such as international shipping, the quality premium for Australian fuel standards, insurance and loss, local wharfage and terminal operation, as well as wholesale marketing margins.
Gross indicative retail differences are a broad indicator of gross retail margins and include both retail operating costs and retail profits. Gross indicative retail differences represent the difference between average retail petrol prices and indicative wholesale prices.
Quarterly average petrol gross indicative retail differences were 16.4 cpl across the five largest cities, the same as in the previous quarter.
Diesel prices were also higher in the quarter
Quarterly average retail diesel prices increased in all capital cities. Across the five largest cities, quarterly average retail diesel prices were 181.8 cpl, an increase of 3.4 cpl from the previous quarter.
The increase in average retail diesel prices was driven by higher international refined diesel prices (Gasoil 10 ppm).
Sales of regular unleaded petrol have been declining in Australia
Sales of regular unleaded petrol have been declining over time as petrol vehicles continue to become more fuel efficient and travel patterns evolve, including more working from home arrangements.
The decline of petrol sales has also been impacted by more battery, hybrid, and plug-in vehicles on the road. The number of registered battery electric vehicles has increased significantly over the past few years, although in early 2025 they still made up only around 1.2 per cent of total registered vehicles.
Diesel sales have gradually increased over time, as the number of registered diesel vehicles has grown by more than a million between 2021 and 2025.
Every state and territory now has a fuel price transparency scheme in place
The launch of the Servo Saver feature on the Service Victoria app in October, marked the completion of phase one of the Victorian Government's Fair Fuel Plan.
This near real-time pricing data follows the introduction of mandatory fuel price reporting requirements on fuel retailers and means that every state and territory now has a fuel price transparency scheme in place.
"We are pleased that comprehensive near real-time pricing data is now available to Victorians," Ms Brakey said.
"There is often a range of prices available, and we encourage motorists to utilise fuel price apps and websites to shop around for lower prices to save some money at the bowser."
Note
'Petrol' means regular unleaded petrol unless otherwise specified.
Price changes are reported in nominal terms unless otherwise specified.
Singapore Mogas 95 Unleaded (Mogas 95) is the relevant international benchmark for the wholesale price of petrol in Australia. Singapore Gasoil with 10 parts per million sulphur content (Gasoil 10 ppm) is the international benchmark for the wholesale price of diesel.
Background
The ACCC has been monitoring retail prices in all capital cities and over 190 regional locations across Australia since 2007.
On 14 December 2022, the Treasurer issued a direction to the ACCC to continue to monitor the prices, costs and profits relating to the supply of petroleum products in the petroleum industry in Australia and produce a report every quarter for a further three years.
