By Theo Loxley  |  Therapy Insights  |  3 April 2026

On Wednesday, 1 April 2026, Western Australia formally invoked emergency powers over its fuel supply chain a move that signals deeper concerns about supply stability than officials are publicly acknowledging.

Premier Roger Cook and Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson travelled to Government House to request that WA Governor Chris Dawson activate the state's authority under the Fuel, Energy and Power Resources Act 1972. The declaration came into effect immediately, with formal orders to be tabled in Parliament when it reconvenes on 14 April 2026.

The trigger was blunt: when the state government demanded detailed fuel stock, shipment, and delivery data from the state's six major fuel suppliers, only three complied. The other companies either partially responded or went silent.

Premier Cook did not mince words. "In some cases, we don't know where the fuel is," he said.

That statement from the leader of Australia's most resource-rich state is the clearest signal yet that WA's fuel supply crisis has moved beyond a pricing problem into a visibility crisis.

It is important to be precise here, because public confusion could make the situation worse.

WA has activated the Fuel, Energy and Power Resources Act 1972 a piece of legislation designed specifically to give the state government targeted control over fuel supply chains. This is not the same as a COVID-style emergency.

The Emergency Management Act which was used during the pandemic and which gives government the power to direct individual behaviour has not been activated. The current declaration is narrower and more surgical.

The immediate global cause is the conflict in the Middle East and its direct effect on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a significant share of the world's oil transits each day.

The near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz has created what JP Morgan Commodities Research has described as the biggest energy disruption in decades. When the last tankers loaded before disruptions are factored in, Australia's jet fuel reserves were estimated at just 33 days. Most of Australia's fuels are imported, leaving the country acutely exposed to any sustained disruption.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese put it plainly in a national address: "The war in the Middle East has caused the biggest spike in petrol and diesel prices in history. Australia is not an active participant in this war. But all Australians are paying higher prices because of it."

He added that "the months ahead may not be easy" an unusually candid admission that underscores how seriously the federal government is taking the global fuel crisis.

Australia's fuel supply chain was already under stress before the conflict intensified. The 2021 closure of the Kwinana refinery WA's last domestic refining facility eliminated any local buffer. Every litre of petrol and diesel consumed in Western Australia now arrives by ship from overseas.

With global shipping routes disrupted and tanker availability tightened by the conflict, the logistics of getting fuel to Australian shores has become more complex, more expensive, and less predictable. Suppliers themselves are struggling to provide firm delivery commitments which is precisely why the government could not get reliable data when it asked for it.

While global and logistical factors created the pressure, the immediate catalyst for the emergency declaration was a failure at the state level: fuel companies simply would not share their data.

Of the six major fuel suppliers operating in WA, only three responded to the government's initial request for supply chain information. This left authorities without a clear picture of where fuel was held, how much was in transit, and which regions were at greatest risk.

Regional communities particularly in the Goldfields and Wheatbelt were already experiencing localised shortages. Without supply chain data, the government had no way to redirect fuel where it was needed most. The emergency declaration was, in essence, a legal instrument to break that deadlock.

With the emergency declaration in force, the Energy Minister now has the legal authority to:

Parliament is required to be recalled on 14 April 2026 to allow the emergency orders to be formally tabled, a constitutional safeguard that prevents the executive from using emergency powers indefinitely without parliamentary scrutiny.

Public alarm can be as damaging as the shortage itself. Panic-buying is already contributing to supply pressure nationally. To be clear about what has not changed as of 3 April 2026:

Prime Minister Albanese was explicit on this point, urging Australians to "go about your business and your life, as normal. Enjoy your Easter. If you're hitting the road, don't take more fuel than you need just fill up like you normally would."

The irony is that panic-buying, which has already driven localised shortages in some areas is one of the mechanisms that could turn a managed situation into a genuine crisis.

The trajectory of this crisis depends on several factors: how long the conflict in the Middle East persists, whether shipments arrive as expected in April, and whether the new emergency powers succeed in generating the supply chain transparency the government needs. 

As of today, the situation is closest to the boundary between Scenario 1 and Scenario 2. Major suppliers have given assurances that April shipments are expected to arrive at normal levels but the ongoing conflict and the record of incomplete compliance make those assurances difficult to fully rely on.

Other Australian states are monitoring the situation carefully — NSW, for example, has confirmed that fuel supplies remain secure and is working with industry to manage localised issues. So why did WA act first and most decisively?

The answer lies in WA's unique structural vulnerability to fuel supply disruption.

Put simply, WA has more to lose from a fuel shortage than any other Australian state, and less ability to improvise its way out of one.

WA's emergency declaration does not exist in isolation. It is a state-level response to a global fuel crisis that is placing pressure on energy-importing nations across the world.

JP Morgan's Commodities Research, in collaboration with market analytics firm Kpler, modelled how long different regions could sustain themselves if the Strait of Hormuz blockade persisted. The findings were stark: Asia faced the shortest runway (around 1 April), followed by Europe (around 10 April), North America (around 15 April), and Australia (around 20 April).

The UK is reportedly convening virtual talks with around 35 countries, including Australia, Canada, and Germany to coordinate a response to the Strait closure.

Nationally, the Australian government is walking a difficult line: urging calm while privately preparing for a range of contingencies. The fuel crisis is one component of a broader economic shock driven by the conflict in West Asia, affecting everything from transport costs to grocery prices.

For more on how this connects to the broader energy disruption, see our analysis of the global fuel crisis and its impact on Australian healthcare and supply chains.

For now, the emergency is largely administrative, a government forcing reluctant corporations to open their books so that fuel can be directed where it is actually needed.

But the legal and logistical architecture now in place is not designed for business as usual. It is designed for escalation. The Fuel, Energy and Power Resources Act gives the Energy Minister tools that have no peacetime use.

The next two weeks, before Parliament reconvenes on 14 April and before the expected April shipments arrive will be the clearest indicator of which of the three scenarios plays out.

Therapy Insights will continue to monitor the situation and update this article as new information becomes available.

About the Author
Theo Loxley is an investigative journalist covering the economy, energy, and public health for Therapy Insights. This article was written on 3 April 2026. therapyinsights.com.au