Service stations

If you are a volume fuel retailer, you must make sure that:

• a petrol-ethanol blend (E10 or E85) is available at each service station
• petrol-ethanol blend is as accessible as regular unleaded petrol or any other type of petrol offered at the site
• ethanol is at least 6 percent of all petrol sold
• biodiesel is at least 2 percent of all diesel sold.

These requirements do not apply to primary fuel wholesalers who operate or supply petrol or diesel fuel from an oil refinery or a shipping facility. From 1 July 2021, primary wholesalers are also no longer required to register and report to NSW Fair Trading the volumes of fuel sold.

A volume fuel retailer is a person or business who:

• operates or controls one or more volume fuel service stations — a service station that sells three or more types of petrol or diesel and sells more than 1,800,000 litres of petrol and diesel combined every six months for two consecutive periods, or
• operates or controls the operation of 20 or more service stations, none of which are volume fuel service stations.

If you operate a volume fuel service station that is branded as one of the major fuel retail companies (such as BP, Caltex, or 7-Eleven), you should first check with corporate head office to clarify your obligations under the Act. At many of those service stations, the corporate head office is the volume fuel retailer.

You must register as the operator of a service station with NSW Fair Trading. See FuelCheck obligation above for information on how to register. Fair Trading will use the contact details you have provided through FuelCheck to give you more information on how to register as a volume fuel retailer if this additional step is required. The public register of all volume fuel retailers is available here.

A maximum penalty of $11000 may apply if you fail to register as a service station operator or a volume fuel retailer and keep your details up to date.

From 1 July 2021 if you operate as a volume fuel retailer, you must submit reports every 6 months to Fair Trading detailing the total volume of fuels sold during the period and other information. Prior to 1 July 2021 these reports were required on a quarterly basis. A maximum penalty of $55000 may apply if you fail to provide a report without a valid reason.

Returns can be submitted online or by email to biofuels@customerservice.nsw.gov.au.

If you are not familiar with the process, go to the biofuels online form training material page to access detailed instructions and online simulations to help you get started with the online portal

In order to submit half yearly returns, you must keep records of fuel and diesel sales.

The Biofuels Regulation requires the following information to be included in those records:

• the volume of petrol or diesel sold in the transaction
• whether the petrol sold was or was not petrol-ethanol blend
• whether the diesel sold was or was not biodiesel blend
• in the case of a sale of petrol-ethanol blend - the amount of ethanol in the petrol-ethanol blend
• in the case of a sale of biodiesel blend - the amount of biodiesel in the biodiesel blend
• whether the petrol-ethanol blend or biodiesel blend sold complies with one of the prescribed biofuel sustainability standards, including details of any relevant certification.

The records can be copies of invoices or other records of sale and must be kept for at least three years after the end of the financial quarter in which the purchase was made.

A maximum penalty of $55000 may apply if you fail to keep records as required in the legislation or knowingly keep records which are false or misleading.

If you are a volume fuel retailer, you can apply for an exemption if you cannot meet any of the four elements of the minimum biofuel requirements to ensure:

• a petrol-ethanol blend (E10 or E85) is available at volume fuel service stations
• petrol-ethanol blend is as accessible as regular unleaded petrol or any other type of petrol sold at each site
• ethanol is at least 6 percent of all petrol sold
• biodiesel is at least 2 percent of all diesel sold.

If you cannot meet any of these requirements, or need further time to comply, you can apply for an exemption. View the Biofuels exemption framework and guidelines to know more about applying and grounds for exemption.

To apply for an exemption use the online portal here or contact us at the email provided below and we can send you a form to complete.

If you are not familiar with the exemption application process, go to the biofuels online form training material page for detailed instructions and online simulations on how to use the portal.