NSW government cracks down on petrol advertising

Tuesday 10 September 2013 @ 8.36 a.m. | Legal Research | Trade & Commerce

New South Wales fuel companies could soon be facing huge fines for failing to display the full price of petrol.

The state government has issued a ban on petrol stations displaying only  discounted fuel prices available to drivers using shopper dockets.

While supermarkets will still be able to advertise the discounts, the price on the board must reflect the real price of fuel without any discount offer.

Those that fail to comply will face fines of up to $110,000 for a corporation and $22,000 for an individual. Inspectors from the Fair Trading Department will be out to enforce the measure, and to ensure that motorists are getting a fair deal.

Petrol stations will also be required to display the price of the two top selling fuels for the past six months, as well as LPG and diesel where they are sold.

Research from the NRMA reveals that 95 per cent of motorists think the advertising is misleading, while half ended up paying more for petrol they thought was cheaper.

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