ACCC yet to decide on Qld fuel probe

Australia's consumer watchdog is yet to say whether it will heed public concern about Queensland petrol prices and increase scrutiny in the state.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which this week took part in a petrol prices roundtable in Brisbane, says it's aware of community concern about comparably higher fuel prices in Brisbane and regional Queensland.

But that doesn't mean the watchdog will immediately act.

"The ACCC does not have the resources to undertake an individual investigation of every town where there are concerns about petrol prices," a spokesman told AAP.

However, the spokesman said the ACCC was conducting three in-depth regional studies a year to understand why prices were higher in some locations.

A Darwin market study in November last year found competition was weak and petrol prices came down as a result of the increased scrutiny.

Similar studies in Armidale and Launceston were yet to completed.

The ACCC spokesman said the 2016 sites were yet to be identified.

Those sites would be chosen using fuel price data and would target markets that "do not appear to be functioning well", he said.

Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey this week said the federal government needed to provide extra resources so it could conduct an inquiry into Queensland's fuel prices, particularly in Brisbane and regional centres like Cairns.

"It does make my blood boil that the ACCC isn't being resourced to do their job in Queensland," Mr Bailey said.

"It's time for the federal government to step up and resource them to do their job and to get the scrutiny and the pressure in the Queensland fuel market."

However, federal Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer said the watchdog was equipped to act.

"The ACCC has significant resources and currently monitors petrol prices for 30 regional locations in Queensland," she told AAP.

Ironically Queensland's prices, regularly higher than at interstate bowsers, have fallen below $1 per litre for unleaded while the issue has been in the spotlight and world oil prices have plummeted.