Melbourne Petrol Prices — What You're Paying at the Pump
Melbourne drivers face one of Australia's most pronounced petrol price cycles. Prices in Melbourne can swing by up to 30 cents per litre within a single week, making it one of the most volatile fuel price markets in the country. Understanding the cycle and using the right tracking tools can save Melbourne households significant money over the course of a year.
How to Find the Cheapest Petrol in Melbourne
Unlike NSW, Victoria does not have a government-mandated real-time fuel price reporting scheme. However, several independent tools provide reliable Melbourne petrol price data:
- MotorMouth — motormouth.com.au — provides real-time petrol prices across Melbourne with suburb-level search and price trend charts
- GasBuddy — gasbuddy.com — community-reported prices with a dedicated Melbourne map view
- RACV Fuel Price Watch — The RACV publishes weekly Melbourne fuel price analysis and consumer advice at racv.com.au
- PetrolSpy — petrolspy.com.au — community price reporting for Melbourne and Victoria
Melbourne Petrol Price Cycle — When to Fill Up
Melbourne's petrol price cycle typically runs about 7-14 days, with prices dropping to a low point before rising sharply and then gradually declining again. Historically, the cheapest prices in Melbourne tend to occur mid-week, while prices are often highest on Thursdays and Fridays ahead of the weekend. Filling up on Tuesday or Wednesday gives Melbourne drivers the best chance of hitting the low point in the cycle.
Understanding Melbourne Fuel Prices — The Fuel Excise
The Commonwealth fuel excise — approximately 48.8 cents per litre for unleaded petrol — is applied uniformly across Australia including Melbourne. The excise is indexed to CPI twice yearly and forms a substantial portion of the final pump price. Changes to federal fuel excise policy have an immediate flow-through effect on Melbourne petrol prices.
Melbourne Fuel Types and Prices
- Unleaded 91 — Standard and most affordable petrol grade
- Unleaded 95 (Premium) — Typically 10-15 cents more than 91 ULP
- Unleaded 98 (Premium Plus) — Highest octane; 15-25 cents above 91
- E10 — Ethanol blend, usually the cheapest option
- Diesel — Separate cycle from petrol; used in commercial vehicles, SUVs and utes
Electric Vehicle Charging in Melbourne
Melbourne's EV charging network is growing rapidly, with NRMA, Tesla Supercharger, Chargefox and Ampol AmpCharge stations across the metropolitan area. The PlugShare app provides a comprehensive map of all public chargers in Melbourne.
This article was compiled by AI and screened before publishing. See our editorial standards.
Tell Melbourne your story
Partner Content lets Melbourne businesses reach engaged local readers with a clearly labelled, editorial-style feature. Every placement is marked Sponsored, in line with our sponsored content policy.
About this article
Published by The Daily Melbourne
This article was produced by the The Daily Melbourne editorial desk and covers finance in Melbourne. See our editorial standards for how we use AI.
See something wrong? Suggest a correction.
Daily brief
Enjoyed this? Wake up to Melbourne news every morning.
Free, in your inbox before 7am. Weekdays.