The competition watchdog has started a formal investigation into petrol pricing to determine whether fuel retailers have been involved in fuel price fixing.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has revealed its concerns over the fuel retailers exchanging private price information.
The ACCC is concerned that this process could be reducing competition by alerting competitors of their pricing intentions to quickly signal price movements, monitor competitors’ responses, and react to them.
“The ACCC has put the industry on notice for some time about its concerns in this area,” said ACCC commissioner Joe Dimasi in a statement published on the ACCC website.
“The ACCC has now commenced a formal investigation into this matter, and a dedicated investigation team has been assigned.
“While the ACCC does not usually comment on its current investigations, the ACCC considered it appropriate to inform the public that it is undertaking this investigation given the significant public interest regarding petrol pricing.”