Australian government plans for ‘worst-case scenario’ retail fuel rationing, documents reveal

Exclusive: With warnings world oil supplies are expected to hit ‘red zone’ by August, the Albanese government has outlined its powers to enforce daily purchase limits for motorists

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

The federal government has outlined plans for retail fuel rationing, documents reveal, as the International Energy Agency warned on Friday that oil markets would enter the “red zone” by August.

Contained in documents obtained by Guardian Australian under freedom of information, one option the government has outlined to arrest a local fuel supply shortage is to impose a “maximum transaction value per vehicle per day” – a rationing rule limiting how much fuel a single vehicle can buy at a service station over a 24-hour period.