The key features and our role under the Fuel Industry Act

The key features of the Fuel Industry Act include:

• a wholesale pricing regime, known as “terminal gate pricing”, which aims to promote competition by requiring wholesale fuel suppliers to offer a spot price at which they will sell fuel to wholesale customers at storage terminals
• rules governing contracts between wholesale fuel suppliers and their wholesale customers to allow greater contractual freedom for resellers to compare offers and switch suppliers
• a requirement for retail fuel outlets to display the standard retail price of all fuels on their price boards

• information disclosure requirements for fuel companies to enable monitoring of the competitive performance of fuel markets.

You can view the Fuel Industry Act (the Act) on the NZ legislation website. The Fuel Industry Regulations 2021 were published on 8 July 2021 and provide further detail about the requirements of the Act. The Regulations are also available on the NZ legislation website.

The Commission has two main roles under the Fuel Industry Act:

• Enforcing the requirements of the Act. Companies can face penalties of up to $5 million if they do not comply.
• Analysing information disclosed under the Act in order to monitor the competitive performance of fuel markets. The Commission may also publish its analysis.

Competition and consumer protection laws

In addition to the Act, the Commission enforces other legislation that applies to the fuel sector. This includes the Commerce Act which prohibits anti-competitive behaviour and acquisitions that substantially lessen competition, and the Fair Trading Act, which prohibits false and misleading conduct and other unfair business practices.

What the Commission can and can’t do

Under existing competition and consumer laws, the Commission can:

• look into concerns a fuel retailer has misled or deceived you
• look into concerns two or more fuel businesses are coordinating on the prices they charge for fuel.

With the Act in force, the Commission can:

• take enforcement action in relation to any contravention of the Act, including the consumer information requirements
• analyse information submitted by fuel businesses under the information disclosure (ID) requirements and publish reports that shine a light on the competitive performance of fuel markets.

What the Commission cannot do:

• tell fuel businesses what they can charge their customers
• get involved in a dispute between fuel retailers and their customers
• take action on your behalf. While your complaint may result in an investigation, the Commission will not be acting on your behalf. The Commission is not a dispute resolution service and generally cannot assist you to get a refund or personal remedy.

Dispute resolution

The Act provides for a dispute resolution scheme for disputes between wholesale fuel suppliers and their wholesale customers that relate to the terminal gate pricing regime or the wholesale contract rules. This dispute resolution process is not available to consumers.