Western Australia Holds 28 of the Nation's 40 Cheapest Diesel Suburbs

Western Australia Holds 28 of the Nation's 40 Cheapest Diesel Suburbs

According to pricing data collected at 2:02pm AEST on 4th Sep 2026, Western Australia is running one of the higher diesel averages in the country at 255.9 cents per litre across 1,216 stations. It also holds 28 of the 40 cheapest diesel suburbs recorded nationally. Those two figures sit oddly together until you look at how far WA prices diverge from one servo to the next.

The suburbs at the top of the list

Bassendean leads the national list with a four station average of 234.1 cents and a cheapest site at 228.9. Kwinana Beach follows on 236.2 across six stations, where the cheapest pump in the suburb reads 228.7 cents. Beckenham averages 236.3 and Forrestfield 238.0.

The cheap suburbs are not confined to the Perth metro fringe either. Pinjarra averages 239.5, Wanneroo 240.4, Byford 241.2 and Kelmscott 242.1. Down south, East Bunbury and South Bunbury sit at 241.2 and 242.4 respectively, both comfortably under the state average.

The rest of the top 40 is thinly spread. Queensland contributes five suburbs, New South Wales six, and Victoria just one, with Epsom near Bendigo averaging 239.1.

Why the state average tells a different story

WA diesel this round runs from 227.9 cents at the cheapest site to 390.0 at the dearest, a spread of 162.1 cents. That is the widest gap of any state or territory in either country our data covers, and it is the single reason the state average lands at 255.9 while so many suburbs price under 245.

The spread turns up inside individual suburbs as well, which matters far more to a driver deciding which driveway to turn into. Ascot records a cheapest diesel of 228.3 against a dearest of 259.9, a gap of 31.6 cents across five stations. Bayswater is nearly identical at 31.2 cents, and Mount Lawley sits on 26.6. On a 70 litre fill the Ascot gap is worth roughly $22 depending on which driveway you pull into, and both stations are in the same suburb.

Regional centres behave differently. Darkan shows a spread of just 0.3 cents across four stations and Gnowangerup 1.2 cents. Where there are fewer operators and less passing trade, prices converge. Where there is competition, they scatter.

The national picture is tighter than it looks

The seven mainland Australian averages for diesel currently sit within eight cents of each other: Victoria 254.1, NSW 254.4, Queensland 255.4, WA 255.9, Tasmania 256.2, South Australia 257.4 and the ACT on 262.0. The ACT is the dearest of the group and also the most predictable, with a spread of only 17.0 cents across its 38 stations.

Movement elsewhere was modest. Charlton in Queensland recorded the largest fall of the round, down 14.3 cents to 249.6 across five stations, while Epping in Victoria eased 6.4 cents to 249.8 across ten sites.

What it means at the pump

For WA motorists the state average is close to useless as a personal benchmark. The figure is pulled up by a long tail of remote and highway sites, some of them pricing above 300 cents, while metro and near metro suburbs trade in a much narrower band in the 228 to 245 range.

Timing counts in the west too. Prices are set daily and change at midnight Perth time, so the number on the board in the afternoon is generally the number you will pay for the rest of the day. Checking current diesel prices before you commit to a suburb, alongside the best time to fill up in your own state, is where the saving actually sits.

The cheapest diesel in the country this week is not hiding in a regional town. It is sitting in the Perth metro area, roughly 30 cents below the servo on the next corner.

Location and timing remain the two levers that matter in fuel savings. In Western Australia this week, location is doing most of the work.