Petrol stations and suppliers found guilty of unfairly raising prices as a result of the war in the Middle East will be slapped with tough new penalties under measures passed by the federal government.
On Thursday, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Doubling Penalties for ACCC Enforcement) Bill 2026 passed the upper house after amendments from the Greens were voted down.
It earlier passed the lower house.
The new laws outlaw false representations – including lying about price increases, price fixing and cartel behaviour – and makes it illegal for suppliers to refuse to sell to independent retailers.
The changes have also doubled the maximum penalties for petrol price misconduct from $50m to $100m.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the laws would “tackle price gouging at its source” by outlawing false or misleading representations, including lying about the reason for price increases, the price fixing, and colluding on price.
“This is important legislation. I thank the Senate for those contributions today. And of course, it builds on the action the government has already taken,” she said.
However, Greens Senator Nick McKim claimed the Bill would fail to address price gouging, and in claiming as much, alleged Ministers Penny Wong and Tim Ayres misled the Senate.
“This Bill doubles penalties for existing provisions,” he said.
“Those existing provisions are things that make unlawful, misleading or deceptive conduct, cartel behaviour and other things, but which actually don’t make unlawful price gouging.”
Senator McKim noted a 2025 law outlawing price gouging in the supermarket sector.
“How is it that you can claim that existing laws actually address price gouging across the rest of the economy? And the short answer is you can’t.”
Supporting the Bill, Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash said the Coalition had been imploring the government to take action.
“Our farmers could not have been clearer, they had been begging this government to help them get diesel,” she said.
“On top of that, people across Australia are now cancelling their Easter plans.”
The vote comes as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it had received more than 500 reports of possible price gouging at the bowser since the outbreak of the overseas conflict.
It has now established a formal probe into the allegations.
Companies under investigation include: Ampol, BP Australia, Mobil Oil Australia, and Viva Energy Australia.
“It is not our usual practice to publicly announce investigations, but given the significance of the issue, the ACCC is confirming this enforcement investigation,” ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
“We recognise the widespread concerns held by consumers, businesses and farmers about fuel pricing and supply issues arising during the Middle Eastern conflict.”
The probe came days after the regulator convened an emergency meeting with industry and asked petrol suppliers to justify their pricing after consumers raised concerns about sudden petrol and diesel price spikes.
