‘Drive-off’ fuel thefts cost $80 million even before the war – and they’re heading up

With petrol and diesel prices soaring, we’re hearing more reports of alleged fuel thefts from petrol stations, farms, trucks and even parked cars.

Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association’s chief executive officer Rowan Lee told AAP this week that fuel theft from service stations had increased by between 8–30% nationally since the start of the Middle East war. Even before the conflict began, fuel theft was costing retailers around A$80 million a year.

Police in several states have warned they expect more thefts to come.

Here’s how past surges in fuel prices have driven up “drive-off” thefts, how common such thefts are – and what to do if you see one happening.

Predicting fuel thefts from petrol prices

There is good evidence, both from Australia and overseas, that fuel price spikes do drive up fuel thefts.

A report by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research compared eight years of service station fraud – largely fuel theft – from 1998 to 2006 against the average monthly price of petrol in Sydney.

It found “a strong correlation” between higher petrol prices and the increase in petrol theft.