The Malinauskas Government is working with the RAA to arm motorists with even more information about South Australia's fuel supply in response to the ongoing fuel situation caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
Currently, the real time fuel pricing feature on the RAA app and website shows – not only the price – but also the availability of fuel at each outlet across the state.
The RAA will also make information available about the total number of service stations experiencing fuel 'stockouts', via the RAA app. This will be supplemented by the map which shows real time availability and pricing at every fuel outlet across the state.
Presently, almost 90 per cent of all fuel retailers in SA have all types of fuel available. Due to local distribution and other issues, 78 of South Australia's more than 700 service stations are reporting they have no availability of one or more types of fuel.
The additional information seeks to inform and reassure South Australians about the availability of fuel in the retail system, despite a number of regional, localised or isolation station 'stockouts'.
As a result of increased demand, wholesalers have been placing their terminals across Australia on 100 per cent allocations for many fuel grades and types. These allocations to contracted customers have seen some regional retailers unable to source sufficient supply at short notice.
State and federal authorities continue to urge Australians not to rush out and fuel up unnecessarily, with panic buying and the resulting distribution changes seeing dozens of service stations temporarily run out of fuel.
This additional information will provide South Australians with more certainty about where they can fuel-up, as well as a daily snapshot of the number of stockouts affecting SA.
It bolsters the existing real-time petrol price monitoring facility, which the Malinauskas Government has already confirmed will remain in place.
During the State Election campaign, we announced plans to bolster compliance and increase penalties for retailers who fail to update fuel prices appropriately.
We will be tripling the current funding for compliance, allowing an additional 100 fuel inspections each month, while doubling existing penalties for failure to comply with any requirement imposed on a fuel retailer by the fuel pricing scheme.
Under the 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.
As put by Peter Malinauskas
In uncertain times, South Australians are entitled to information about how international shocks are having a local impact at the bowser, and this site will now provide a one-stop shop for motorists.
The RAA will continue to provide this information daily while the uncertainty in the Middle East continues to impact retailers locally, however intermittently.
I would like to thank the RAA for the collaborative way they have engaged with delivering this additional feature on top of the existing real-time fuel pricing information on their website.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
The State Government continues to speak to the Commonwealth regularly about impacts of the Middle East conflict.
While overall fuel supplies into Australia is a Commonwealth matter, we can confirm that supplies continue to reach South Australia as they normally do, and we are advised service stations are being resupplied.
Our advice remains clear – if people re-fuel as and when they require, as normal – South Australian retailers will see significantly fewer, if any, stockouts.
We continue to monitor the situation closely and engage collaboratively with all impacted stakeholders.
As put by RAA General Manager Community & Corporate Affairs Emily Perry
Since the conflict in the Middle East began, RAA has been providing accurate and timely advice and information for all South Australian motorists.
Our advice remains the same – only take what you need and use the RAA app to search for the best deal near you, and availability of fuel.
The best thing motorists can do is let the local distribution network catch up to the huge spike in demand we've seen over the last few weeks.
We've seen a 400% increase in the number of times the RAA real time fuel feature has been accessed showing motorists are more engaged than ever as they shop around for the best deal on fuel.
