Australia has activated its emergency fuel reserves amid escalating global instability, spotlighting persistent concerns over the nation’s energy security.

Disruptions in global supply chains are beginning to reverberate across the country, prompting the federal government to release up to 20% of Australia’s Minimum Stockholding Obligation.

The move could inject approximately 762 million litres of petrol and diesel into the domestic market, aiming to ease shortages that have emerged in regional areas following a sudden surge in demand.

Yet analysts warn the relief may be slow to materialise, as fuel navigates Australia’s sprawling and complex distribution network before reaching the forecourt.

At an international level, moves have been made to release record volumes of fuel from world emergency reserves to help combat shortages

The aim is to cushion the impact of the fuel crisis caused by the Strait of Hormuz blockade.

“If that shipping route remains effectively closed that will have ongoing consequences for fuel prices, production, supply chains and of course an inflationary impact all over the world,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

To counter that, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to make available 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stocks in what has been described by the IEA as an “emergency collective action of unprecedented size”.

That extra supply will come from stockpiles held by the agency’s 32 member countries, including Australia, but on a voluntary basis.

The decision comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions in the Middle East, which threaten to further destabilise global energy markets.

Further prolonged conflict could exacerbate Australia’s reliance on imported fuel — a vulnerability critics say successive governments have long neglected.

Currently, Australia maintains roughly 36 days of fuel reserves, well below the 90-day threshold recommended internationally.

Over the past two decades, a wave of refinery closures has left the nation heavily dependent on overseas refining capacity, placing it at the mercy of international markets and shipping routes.

Meanwhile, Victoria has introduced new fuel pricing rules aimed at curbing volatility. Petrol stations must now set prices for the following day by 2pm, with published rates on the Servo Saver platform at 4pm, and prices fixed for 24 hours from 6am.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has urged people not to panic buy, even with extra supply due to flow through fuel bowsers.

“Get as much fuel as you need, but not less and not more because we’re seeing a doubling of demand for fuel since the bombing of Iran,” he told Afternoon Briefing on Thursday.

Despite releasing emergency fuel stocks, Mr Bowen was keen to point out that oil and fuel was still arriving by ship into Australia.

While the measures improve transparency, they do little to address Australia’s deeper structural problem: dependence on global fuel markets and a fragile domestic supply chain.