Canberra Unleaded Settles at 239.9 at 36 Servos as the Queanbeyan Gap Narrows

Canberra Unleaded Settles at 239.9 at 36 Servos as the Queanbeyan Gap Narrows

Canberra has paid more for petrol than any other capital for most of the past month, and the ACT Legislative Assembly has asked a committee to find out why. Since that vote, prices at the bowser have moved.

One price across the city

At 12:00pm AEDT on 5th Oct 2026, FuelCheck lists unleaded petrol prices at 54 public servos across Canberra. Thirty six of them are charging exactly 239.9 cents a litre.

That covers all 15 Shell Reddy Express sites, seven of the nine 7 Eleven sites, eight of the nine EG Ampol sites and both United servos, spread from Braddon, Dickson and Belconnen down to Greenway in Tuggeranong.

The Shell Reddy Express sites moved together. Between lunchtime on Thursday 1st Oct and lunchtime on Friday 2nd Oct, all 15 dropped to 239.9 from prices between 245.7 and 249.7. United and six EG Ampol sites made the same cut in the same window, and most 7 Eleven sites had followed by Saturday.

How Canberra got to the top

On 15th Sep the median Canberra servo was at 229.4. A week later it was 248.9. The ACCC's weekly monitoring had Canberra's average up 17.3 cents in the week to 16th Sep, the biggest rise of any capital.

The ACCC's 2nd Oct report put Canberra at 246.8 on 30th Sep, the highest of the eight capitals, against 237.2 in Sydney and 233.1 in Adelaide. The regulator uses Sydney's terminal gate price as a proxy for Canberra's wholesale cost, and on 30th Sep that price was 232.2. To put this in perspective, Sydney's retail average sat 5.0 cents above it. Canberra's sat 14.6 cents above it.

Since the 31st March peak, Canberra's average has fallen 11.3 cents, while Sydney's has fallen 20.2.

What the inquiry will ask

On Wednesday 23rd Sep the Assembly backed a motion from Opposition Leader Mark Parton, with support from the government and the Greens. The Standing Committee on Economics, Industry and Recreation will look at whether the factors identified in 2019 still drive Canberra prices, and whether existing ICRC and Fair Trading measures work. Interim findings are due by 3rd Dec and the final report by 26th Feb.

Those 2019 factors come from an investigation by the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission. Its draft report found Canberra petrol averaged 8.9 cents a litre more than Sydney over the six financial years to June 2019, and pointed to higher retail margins and weaker competition. In November 2025 the ACCC noted that Brisbane and Canberra had the highest average unleaded prices of the capitals from July 2022 to June 2024, and fewer independent retailers.

Treasurer Chris Steel has said the gap with regional areas largely reflects a higher retail margin, not the cost of doing business. Chief Minister Andrew Barr has cited the Middle East conflict, freight from Sydney, thin competition and falling sales as Canberrans switch to hybrids and EVs.

Just over the border

The debate kept coming back to Queanbeyan. Across 11 servos in Queanbeyan, Crestwood, Karabar and Jerrabomberra, the median unleaded price on 22nd Sep was 231.9, 17 cents below Canberra's 248.9.

Today the gap is 4 cents, 235.9 in Queanbeyan against 239.9 in Canberra. Queanbeyan has crept up 4 cents, but most of the change is Canberra coming down 9. The cheapest unleaded is still over the border, where Mobil in Crestwood, Metro Petroleum in Queanbeyan West and Pearl Energy in Queanbeyan are all at 229.9. That 10 cents is worth $5 on a 50 litre tank. Handy if you're passing through anyway, but not worth a special trip from Belconnen.

Where Canberra still charges more

Not every servo joined in. BP on Gold Creek Road in Nicholls has listed 251.9 since 18th Sep, while Shell Reddy Express and EG Ampol in Gungahlin, under 4 kilometres away, are both at 239.9.

In Fyshwick, Ampol on Canberra Avenue wants 249.9. Metro Petroleum on Barrier Street, about 600 metres away, has held 237.9 since 18th Sep. That's a 12 cent gap inside one suburb, or $6 a tank.

Metro on Whyalla Street in Fyshwick and Metro Scullin are also at 237.9, the cheapest public prices in the ACT. Costco at Canberra Airport is 236.7, but only for members.

What to pay this week

The practical upshot for your wallet is that 239.9 is the going rate this week, and paying more than about 245 means paying for the brand or the location. If your car can run on it, E10 prices are 2 cents under unleaded at 34 of the 35 Canberra servos that sell both.

Diesel is worse. The ACCC had Canberra diesel prices at 295.9 on 30th Sep, the highest of any capital, against 275.6 in Perth.

FuelCheck has covered the ACT since November 2022, and more than 95 per cent of servos report to it voluntarily, so the interactive fuel map shows close to the full picture.

The committee's interim findings land on 3rd Dec. Until then, the thing to watch on our price trends page is whether Canberra holds near 239.9.