A new ad campaign is pushing Australians to use less petrol. Has this happened before?

A new federal government advertising campaign is prompting Australians to reduce their fuel consumption during the current global oil crisis.

It asks Australians to consider using their car less and offers tips to boost fuel efficiency, such as “driving smoothly” and “unloading excess weight”.

It comes soon after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s whirlwind trip to Singapore, which makes up more than a quarter of Australia’s refined fuel imports, including more than half of our petrol, 22% of jet fuel and 15% of diesel.

However, the launch of the campaign shows the government is concerned to some degree about fuel supplies in Australia.

So, why is this happening, are there historic precedents in Australia and what are other countries doing at the moment?

Why the concerns about fuel supply?

The campaign comes two weeks after national cabinet endorsed a four-stage National Fuel Security Plan – which mentions rationing as a final step – as global fuel supplies continue to fluctuate due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The Strait of Hormuz is a key factor – it was tentatively re-opened after the two-week ceasefire was agreed to last week. Since then, Iran has blocked ships from passing through the strait after Israel launched a wave of strikes in Lebanon. Then on Monday, US President Donald Trump threatened to block it via the US Navy.

Even before the ceasefire, the Australian government said it had secured supplies into May and that rationing would not be needed.

But it may be necessary if there’s no lasting peace in the Middle East.

How Asian countries are responding

Asian economies are particularly dependent on oil and gas supplies from the Middle East. According to the US Energy Information Administration, 84% of crude oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz in 2024 was bound for Asia.

Understandably, several countries have already introduced rationing or other measures:

Countries in Europe and Africa have also implemented rationing but Asian countries have been particularly affected.

Australia’s experience with fuel conservation

Australia has rationed petrol in earlier emergencies.

When the second world war broke out in September 1939, Australia only had enough petrol to last three months of normal consumption.

At first, the wartime government led by Robert Menzies encouraged Australians voluntarily to reduce their petrol consumption and promoted conversion to vehicles powered by gas from coal.

But as the fighting intensified, oil tankers which were on their way to Australia turned around because of the war, and supplies dwindled.

In June 1940, cabinet aimed to reduce consumption by 50%, a goal later reduced to 30%.

Under national security regulations, civilians were issued ration coupons limiting how much fuel a person could purchase. Non-essential driving was restricted. Public transport and essential industries were prioritised and diesel was tightly controlled for military and agricultural operations.

Even in wartime, rationing was unpopular. The issue contributed to Menzies’s near-defeat at the September 1940 election. His government was replaced the following year by a Labor government.

The end of the war did not automatically lead to the end of petrol rationing.

This was because Australia had to use US dollars to purchase most of its petrol, which were in short supply throughout the British Commonwealth. Consequently, the Chifley government continued with rationing to conserve dollars.

In June 1949, the High Court decided rationing was a matter for states – not the Commonwealth.

Australia’s next serious oil crisis came in the 1970s.

In 1973, the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) reduced oil production and suspended deliveries to some western countries.

Like many other countries, Australia experienced “stagflation” – higher unemployment and inflation – for about a decade.

But Australia was shielded from the full reverberations because it reached about 70% sufficiency in oil through the discovery of oil and natural gas in Bass Strait.

Only in 1979, after a second oil price spike and a strike at the Caltex Refinery in Kurnell, New South Wales, was petrol rationing introduced through an “odd-even” number plate method.

Further action on fuel supply

After the 1970s oil crisis, the Hawke government sponsored legislation to allow the Governor-General to declare a formal national liquid fuel emergency.

The Liquid Fuel Emergency Act may be invoked as a last resort when a fuel shortage has national implications.

Under the act, the minister for climate change and energy can direct refineries, importers and distributors to adjust production and manage stocks.

The legislation also allows the government to implement two levels of rationing: retail and bulk.

Retail rationing involves service stations limiting how much individual motorists can buy at a time while also exempting essential users.

Bulk rationing targets large-scale distributors and wholesale customers, such as mining companies and large transport fleets.

A reprieve, for now

Albanese’s National Fuel Security Plan mentions rationing as a final step.

Triggers include shortages threatening the operation of critical infrastructure, stockpiles being dangerously depleted and if the economy is at risk of stalling.

The wobbly ceasefire in the Middle East means Australians have been granted a reprieve. But rationing remains a possibility if hostilities resume.