Petrol price cap plan announced by Victorian government
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The Victorian state government wants to freeze fuel prices for 24 hours to give motorists a better chance of finding cheaper petrol.
The price of petrol will be capped under a proposal from the Victorian state government announced by premier Jacinta Allan today.
To be phased in during 2025, the 'Fair Fuel Plan' is part of what Ms Allan described as part of a 'cost of living shake up' in the state and will require 1500 service stations across Victoria to report prices in real time.
The prices will be included in the Services Victoria app and be 'locked' for 24 hours, allowing motorists a window of time to purchase fuel at the price shown on the app.
The premier announced the plan – which will require new legislation to pass for it to become legal – at Victoria University in Werribee, a suburb west of Melbourne.
"This is a measure that we expect will save motorists hundreds of dollars and it comes on top of those other really meaningful, practical cost of living measures that we know are about supporting families, supporting household budgets," Ms Allan said.
The RACV (Royal Automobile Club of Victoria) launched a similar app in conjunction with the NRMA (National Roads and Motorists Association) in New South Wales showing real time prices – without the power to 'cap' them – after record highs were recorded in Sydney in 2024.
A study by the NRMA found motorists in New South Wales (NSW) were paying too much for petrol, with prices between the highest and lowest priced close to 60 cents per litre.
For Australia's best-selling petrol vehicle in 2024 – the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid – the cost equates to the price of a tank costing as $16.50 more per fill, or as much as $858 more for the same amount of fuel over 12 months of a weekly fill.
The NRMA claims motorists using its app could save up as much as $1540 annually.
Political commentators suggest the Victorian premier's announcement has been made due to a by-election in Werribee on 8 February, with the increased cost of living a significant election issue.
The cost of petrol is set to increase on 2 February 2025 across Australia, with the latest increase to the fuel excise – which is indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – seeing a rise from 49.6 cents to 50.6 cents per litre.
Last December, the Victorian state government also announced its electric-car incentive scheme will be axed, with registration discounts for electric vehicles coming to an end on 1 January 2026.
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