As much as $2.2 million will go into upgrading FuelCheck to better support the people of NSW manage cost-of-living pressures, as compliance activity ramps up.

FuelCheck is the NSW Government’s real-time fuel price transparency tool and provides motorists with instant access to prices from around 2400 service stations across the state.

The government says its purpose is to expose price hikes and end guesswork at the bowser for consumers.

FuelCheck has become even more essential to NSW drivers while the conflict in the Middle East disrupts global fuel supply and drives up prices.

The FuelCheck funding will pay for upgrades for better data collection from fuel retailers, such as making it easier for retailers to enter details about fuel supply; better data analysis to help government respond to the fuel crisis; and design updates for a better user experience.

Daily visits to the app and website were between 8000 and 10,000 in January, the government reported, but by the end of March, this rose to around 500,000 each day.

This is the latest boost to the government’s efforts to better support NSW’s fuel supply response.

Over the last fortnight, the government fast-tracked a statewide fuel price compliance blitz to strengthen fuel price transparency and protect motorists from misleading pricing.

Around 75 per cent of stations in the state were inspected by the beginning of April, with around half located outside Sydney.

Inspectors have carried out just under 1800 service station inspections across the whole state during this period, issuing 93 penalty infringement notices.

Retailers who break the rules face serious consequences, Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong said, including on-the-spot fines of $1100, or court penalties of up to $22,000 for individuals and $110,000 for corporations.

This strong enforcement action joins NSW Fair Trading’s latest efforts to better incorporate customer feedback in compliance activities and support the ACCC’s crackdown on price gouging.

To ensure businesses are properly passing on the cost savings promised by the Federal Government’s fuel excise reduction, Mr Chanthivong is urging consumers to stay vigilant and report fuel price issues via FuelCheck or the NSW Fair Trading website.

This includes mismatches between bowser prices and FuelCheck listings, as well as suspected price exploitation following the fuel excise cuts.

NSW Fair Trading has already issued 24 user intelligence-based fines this week alone.

NSW Fair Trading will continue to have boots on the ground from the Central Coast to the Central West to ensure fuel retailers do the right thing and that motorists are not misled when filling up.

Mr Chanthivong said regional areas remain a key target.

“These are uncertain times, but we want the people of NSW to have the utmost confidence in the real-time price transparency data provided by FuelCheck,” he said.