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Status: Closed 25 October 2013
A proposed national standard for fuel price boards is under review. The standard will allow only undiscounted prices to be displayed, as well as requiring all prices to be of equal prominence.
Consumer Protection was seeking views on the proposed national information standard for fuel price boards.
In particular, comments about the impact on Western Australia’s existing regulatory requirements in relation to price boards. The options are:
Importantly, there would be no change to the requirement for fuel retailers to provide daily price notifications to the WA Government’s FuelWatch service.
Ministers responsible for consumer affairs around Australia will use the feedback to assist in deciding what action to take at the next meeting of the Minister’s Consumer Affairs Forum (CAF) in late 2013.
The proposed information standard has the following features:
The proposed national information standard:
In summary, the concerns are:
Shopper docket discount schemes have been established in Australia for about 15 years and while they may be well known, consumers still report concerns about discounted prices on fuel price boards being confusing or misleading.
Discounted prices often appear as the most prominent price displayed on fuel price boards, sometimes appearing in illuminated text, larger font size or a different colour than the display of the undiscounted price. Potential confusion is compounded where discounts are restricted to particular fuels.
At present, only Western Australia, New South Wales and South Australia have specific laws regulating the usage and content of fuel price boards. Other jurisdictions rely on general consumer protection laws,
In 2001, Western Australia introduced the Petroleum Products Pricing (PPP) Regulations 2000 under the PPP Act which requires fuel retailers within certain town and regional boundaries to display their fuel prices in a suitable position and sufficiently illuminated, if necessary, to enable the description and price of each fuel to be clearly legible to passing motorists. Where three or more fuel types are available for sale, the prices for at least three types must also be displayed, one of which must be unleaded petrol and the other LPG (if both are available).
Where a retailer sells fewer than three fuel types, the prices for all fuels available must be displayed. These requirements were introduced to further encourage price transparency and competition in regional areas.
Price signs for fuels were not mandated for the Perth metropolitan area as almost all metropolitan retailers already displayed fuel price boards at the time.
Enquiries can be made by calling Consumer Protection on 1300 304 054 or by email
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