Fuel price crackdown exposes Sydney's best and worst suburbs for transparency

The NSW Government's FuelCheck compliance blitz has revealed the Sydney suburbs leading the way on fuel price transparency - and the areas where motorists are most at risk of inaccurate pricing.

A number of Sydney regions achieved perfect compliance rates during the statewide inspection campaign, with no fines issued to service stations for mismatched fuel prices.

Liverpool and neighbouring suburbs including Chipping Norton, Moorebank, Prestons, Casula, Lurnea and Mount Pritchard emerged among the strongest performers, with all 35 service stations inspected found to be fully compliant.

Inspectors also recorded 100 per cent compliance across 15 fuel stations in Greystanes, Girraween, Pendle Hill and Wentworthville, while every station inspected in the Windsor district (postcode 2756) also met FuelCheck requirements.

At the other end of the scale, West Ryde was identified as one of Sydney's poorest-performing areas for fuel price transparency, with one in three service stations fined for discrepancies between advertised FuelCheck prices and the amounts charged at the bowser.

The 2142 postcode - covering Granville, Rosehill, Camellia, Clyde and Holroyd - also recorded significant non-compliance, with two of the area's 12 stations fined during inspections.

NSW Fair Trading says petrol stations flagged for repeated complaints or previous fines will remain under close scrutiny, with inspectors continuing targeted re-inspections across the state.

More than 4,100 inspections and follow-up checks have now been carried out, with about half conducted in metropolitan Sydney. Authorities have issued more than 245 fines so far, with around 80 per cent relating to fuel price mismatches.

The Government's Bowser Busters initiative is also contributing to enforcement efforts, with motorists reporting suspected pricing discrepancies directly through FuelCheck. Almost 100 fines have been issued following public complaints.

The FuelCheck app remains a key part of the NSW Government's fuel pricing strategy, with survey results showing 93 per cent of users find the app easy to use, while 87 per cent trust the pricing information provided. A further 85 per cent said the app helps them save money on fuel.

The Minns Government has also introduced legislation aimed at strengthening compliance requirements for fuel retailers. Under the proposed laws, service stations that fail to notify FuelCheck of fuel prices or fuel outages at the bowser could face significantly tougher penalties.

Corporations may be hit with court-imposed fines of up to $110,000, while maximum penalties for unincorporated operators would rise from $22,000 to $55,000. On-the-spot fines would also triple, increasing to $3,300 for a first offence and $11,000 for repeat breaches within a 12-month period.

Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong said the crackdown was delivering results for motorists struggling with rising living costs.

"These numbers show that as cost-of-living pressures ramp up, the Minns Labor Government will not back down," he said.

"We are delivering on our promise to ensure transparent fuel prices for the people of NSW."

NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann said inspectors were continuing compliance checks across the state to ensure motorists could rely on accurate pricing.

"FuelCheck gives motorists confidence that the prices they see in the app are the prices they'll pay at the pump," she said.