Inquiry into the price of unleaded petrol

On 15 June 2007 the then Treasurer approved the holding of a price inquiry by the ACCC into the price of unleaded petrol, pursuant to section 95H(2) of Part VIIA of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the Act).

Matters considered by the inquiry included:

  • the structure of the industry
  • the extent of competition at the refinery, wholesale and retail levels, including the role of imports
  • the determination of prices at each of these levels, including the methodology for determining wholesale prices and
  • impediments to efficient petrol pricing and possible methods to address them.

Note that the Trade Practices Act 1974 was renamed the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. This change took effect from 1 January 2011.


Inquiry instrument.pdf (44.5 KB)

The inquiry


Inquiry notice
On 22 June 2007 the ACCC issued a news release with an inquiry notice, which is required under the Act. This provided information about the inquiry would be conducted.

Issues paper
On 29 June 2007 the ACCC released an issues paper for the inquiry.

Submissions received
The closing date for submissions was 5.00pm Friday 27 July 2007.

Public hearings
Public hearings were held for the purposes of the inquiry.