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Twenty-three petrol stations across South Australia have been named for a combined 27 breaches of the state’s real-time fuel pricing rules, as significantly tougher penalties come into effect.
Petrol stations that fail to update their prices or mark fuel as unavailable within 30 minutes can now receive an expiation notice of $5,000, up from $550.
The maximum penalty that can be imposed by a court has also doubled from $10,000 to $20,000.
Under South Australia’s real-time fuel pricing scheme, retailers must report any change in fuel price or availability to a central database within 30 minutes of the change occurring at the pump.
The information is then made available through free services including the RAA app, Petrol Spy, Motor Mouth, SA Bowser: Should I Fuel? and ServoTrack.
Consumer and Business Services has increased inspections across the state, conducting more than 1,000 inspections and issuing almost $20,000 in expiations since March.
The State Government’s published list records 27 breaches across 23 outlets, relating to fuel being incorrectly listed as available or a discrepancy between the price displayed online and the price at the petrol station.
Fuel availability breaches were recorded at Ampol Renmark Depot, Bulls Garage Coober Pedy, Caltex Darlington, Caltex Parafield Gardens, Caltex Park Holme, Coffin Bay Supermarket, Karoonda Fuel Stop, Klingner Bros Jamestown, OTR Littlehampton, OTR Newton, OTR Salisbury Park Terrace, Solo Edinburgh North, Solo Windsor Gardens, United Berri, United Pooraka, United Strathalbyn, United Tintinara and X Convenience Goodwood.
Karoonda Fuel Stop was listed for two fuel availability breaches.
Price discrepancies were recorded at Bulls Garage Coober Pedy, Caltex Bordertown, Caltex Islington, Klingner Bros Jamestown, Shell Tintinara and United Somerton Park. Caltex Bordertown and Shell Tintinara were each listed for two price discrepancy breaches.
Acting Consumer and Business Affairs Minister Nadia Clancy said the higher penalties were designed to ensure drivers could rely on the prices displayed through monitoring apps.
“We know rising petrol prices are having a real impact on South Australians’ budgets, making transparency and accountability more important than ever,” she said.
“We moved quickly to introduce tough new penalties – almost ten times higher than the previous penalties – for petrol stations who fail to update the real-time price monitoring apps when they run out of fuel or the price changes.”
CBS Commissioner Brett Humphrey said accurate real-time information was becoming increasingly important as fuel costs placed additional pressure on household budgets.
“Significantly increasing the penalties for breaches helps act as a strong deterrent and sends a clear warning that service station operators need to abide by the law and update prices and availability within 30 minutes of any change,” he said.
The RAA estimates a typical South Australian driver who uses real-time fuel pricing information could save about $117 each year, representing approximately $58 million in combined annual savings across the state.
