About Fuel Risk WA

On 28 February 2026, the US–Iran conflict started disrupting global fuel supply chains. Perth pump prices climbed within days. We wanted a way to track the pressure on fuel prices on workers that need to commute to work. The workers chosen to focus on are those on minimum wage, as they're more likely to work and / live in areas that aren't services by regular public transport services..

The answer is minimum-wage workers who rent.

If you earn the minimum wage and pay median rent in Perth, you're already spending around 45% of your take-home pay on housing and getting to work. That number was uncomfortable before February. Since then, rising fuel costs have pushed it higher.

This dashboard tracks that number daily. It pulls fuel prices from FuelWatch (the WA government's official pump price feed), pairs them with rent data from REIWA, and runs the calculations against the actual Australian minimum wage and ATO tax rates for 2025–26.

The inputs are public data. The calculations are documented.

Why we built this

This program is run by Beneath the Surface AU, we're an education and research organisation based in Perth. We work on the overlap between economic precarity and social outcomes — housing, wages, food access, and what happens when those systems break down at the same time.

When fuel started moving in late February, most coverage focused on the petrol price itself. Nobody was showing the compounding effect: fuel up 18%, rents already at record levels, minimum wage unchanged. We built this to show the full picture, updated every day.

What it doesn't show

The model is deliberately narrow. It tracks two costs: rent and commute fuel. It leaves out food, utilities, childcare, medical expenses, and everything else minimum-wage households have to cover.

Every number on this dashboard is therefore conservative. Actual financial pressure on low-income renters is higher than what's shown here.

We document all limitations and assumptions in the methodology.

Who we are

Beneath the Surface AU is a Perth-based organisation working on social and economic issues.

If something on this dashboard looks wrong, check the methodology first. If it's still wrong, reach out through our website.