Epsom Diesel Holds at 238.8 as Victoria Quietly Claims the Cheapest Mainland Average
The number that caught my eye this morning is 0.5, and it is the smallest move on the board. As of 25th Aug 2026 8:04am AEST, Victoria averages 252.6 cents per litre for diesel across 840 monitored stations, after a dip of exactly half a cent overnight. On a day when diesel averages elsewhere moved by double digits, that barely perceptible slip was enough to make Victoria the cheapest mainland state for diesel.
Nothing else on the board was anywhere near that calm. NSW lifted 17.1 cents in a single day to 253.5, a rise of more than 7 per cent. Western Australia went the other way, giving back a substantial 41.1 cents to land at 255.9 after a sharp run higher late last week. Queensland added 3.1 cents to reach 254.9 and South Australia edged up 2.6 to 256.6. Tasmania sits at 257.1, and the ACT is the dearest of the lot at 260.7. Victoria did almost nothing, and in a week like this, doing almost nothing is how you finish first.
Epsom is the cheapest diesel suburb outside WA
The suburb level data holds even better news for Victorian drivers. Perth dominates this morning's national list of cheapest diesel suburbs, as it usually does. Beckenham leads with all three of its servos matched at 231.3, and Bassendean follows at an average of 237.8.
The first name from outside Western Australia is Epsom, on the northern edge of Bendigo. Its three servos average 238.8 cents for diesel, with the cheapest board at 233.2. That puts a regional Victorian suburb sixth on the national list, ahead of every suburb in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. The next entries from outside WA are Granville and East Wagga Wagga in NSW, both locked at 239.5.
Ballarat shows why the average is not the whole story
Ballarat makes the national list too, and it is the entry I spent the most time on this morning. The cheapest of its five monitored servos is 233.3, essentially matching Epsom at the bottom. The average across the city is 243.5, though, nearly 5 cents above Epsom's, because the spread between Ballarat's cheapest and dearest diesel is 17.2 cents. Two towns can share a bargain price at the bottom and still treat a driver who picks a servo at random very differently.
Victoria's consistency holds at the state level as well. The gap between its cheapest diesel at 226.9 and its most expensive at 329.9 is 103 cents, the narrowest spread of the four largest state networks. NSW stretches across 141.5 cents and WA across 164.7. A tighter spread means picking the wrong servo costs you less, a detail that matters more day to day than any headline average.
What the numbers mean for your next fill
The arithmetic is straightforward. Statistically speaking, filling a 60 litre tank at Epsom's cheapest price of 233.2 rather than the state average of 252.6 saves about $11.60. Even within Epsom, the 16.7 cent gap between the cheapest and dearest servo is worth roughly $10 on the same tank. For Melbourne drivers heading up the Calder Highway, timing a fill around Bendigo is currently one of the better value moves in the state.
The interstate numbers carry a warning too. The 17.1 cent jump in NSW shows how quickly a stable looking average can move, and a scan of current diesel prices nationally suggests Victoria's lead is measured in cents rather than anything structural. Check the price trends before a big fill, and check the map before choosing a servo.
The numbers are clear: Victoria does not own the cheapest pump in the country this week, but its diesel market is the steadiest and the most forgiving, and that combination made it the best mainland state in which to own a diesel.
