NSW service station obligations
Find out what your FuelCheck and fuel price signage obligations are if you run a service station.
If you are a service station operator in NSW, you need to be familiar with the following 3 laws under the Fair Trading Act 1987 (the Act):
- FuelCheck obligations under section 58 of the Act and the associated FuelCheck Order 2016
- fuel price sign information standard under the Fair Trading Regulation 2019
- biofuels requirements under the Biofuels Act 2007.
Fuel price sign information standard
All NSW petrol station operators are required to display price signs that must:
- be positioned and lit so that any price displayed can be readily seen by motorists approaching the petrol station when the station is open
- display the standard retail price available to anyone without discounts or other special offers, expressed as the price per litre
- display the price of all fuels for a service station that sells up to 4 fuels
- display the prices of at least four fuels for a service station that sells more than 4 fuels.
- include the price of E10, LPG and diesel, if these are sold and the service station sells 4 or more fuel types.
Fuel prices can:
- be displayed in any order
- can contain information about a discount or special offer, for example, ‘save 4 cents per litre’, as long as the actual price displayed is the price available to all customers.
These signage requirements help motorists in NSW make an informed choice about their fuel purchase and helps drive competition.
Service stations are also required to display the octane rating (or Research Octane Number) of E10, regular and premium unleaded petrol at the pump.
Biofuel requirements
Minimum biofuel requirements
If you are a volume fuel retailer, you must make sure that:
- petrol-ethanol blend (for example, E10, E85) is available at each service station
- petrol-ethanol blend is as accessible as regular unleaded petrol, or any other type of petrol offered at the site
- petrol-ethanol blend is at least 6% of all petrol sold
- biodiesel is at least 5% of all diesels sold.
These requirements do not apply to primary fuel wholesalers who operate or supply petrol or diesel fuel from:
- an oil refinery, or
- a shipping facility.
There is no requirement for primary wholesalers to register and report to NSW Fair Trading the volumes of fuel sold.
Volume fuel retailers
A volume fuel retailer is a person or business who:
- operates or controls one or more volume fuel service stations — a service station that sells 3 or more types of petrol or diesel and sells more than 1,800,000 litres of petrol and diesel combined every 6 months for 2 consecutive periods, or
- operates or controls the operation of 20 or more service stations, none of which are volume fuel service stations.
If you operate a volume fuel service station that is branded as one of the major fuel retail companies (such as BP, Caltex, or 7-Eleven), you should first check with the corporate head office to clarify your obligations under the Act. At many of those service stations, the corporate head office is the volume fuel retailer.
Registration requirements
You must register as the operator of a service station with NSW Fair Trading. We will use the contact details you have provided through FuelCheck to give you more information on how to register as a volume fuel retailer if this additional step is required.
A maximum penalty of $11,000 may apply if you fail to register as a service station and keep your details up to date if you are a:
- operator, or
- volume fuel retailer.
Visit the public register to see all volume fuel retailers.
Reporting requirements
If you operate as a volume fuel retailer, you must submit reports every 6 months to NSW Fair Trading detailing the total volume of fuels sold during the period and other information. A maximum penalty of $55,000 may apply for a first offence if you fail to provide a report without a valid reason.
If you are not familiar with the process, go to the Biofuels online training material page to access detailed instructions and online simulations to help you get started with the online portal.
You can learn about the process at the Biofuels online training material page to get instructions and online simulations to help you get started.
Returns can be submitted online or by email at biofuels@customerservice.nsw.gov.au
Record keeping requirements
In order to submit half yearly returns, you must keep records of fuel and diesel sales.
The Biofuels Regulation requires the following information to be included in those records:
- the volume of petrol or diesel sold including details of any relevant certifications
- whether the petrol sold was or was not petrol-ethanol blend
- whether the diesel sold was or was not biodiesel blend
- in the case of a sale of petrol-ethanol blend - the amount of ethanol in the petrol-ethanol blend
- in the case of a sale of biodiesel blend - the amount of biodiesel in the biodiesel blend
- whether the petrol-ethanol blend or biodiesel blend sold complies with one of the prescribed biofuel sustainability standards, including details of any relevant certification.
The records can be copies of invoices or other records of sale and must be kept for at least 3 years after the end of the relevant period in which the purchase was made.
A maximum penalty of $55,000 may apply for a first offence if you:
- fail to keep records as required in the legislation, or
- knowingly keep records which are false or misleading.
Ask a question
If you have any questions about the information on this page or need help to comply with any of the legal obligations, contact NSW Fair Trading on 13 32 20 or send an email to the biofuels team at biofuels@customerservice.nsw.gov.au