NSW Orders Fuel Data As Shortages Spread Across Australia

The data will allow the state government to prepare to use emergency powers if conditions worsen.

Residents queue for fuel at a petrol station in Rockhampton, Australia, on Feb. 21, 2015. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

Fuel companies in New South Wales have been ordered to hand over detailed supply and sales data as authorities scramble to assess the scale of shortages amid a worsening national fuel crunch.

State Environment Minister Penny Sharpe confirmed notices had been issued requiring providers to disclose a broad range of information, as petrol caps begin to affect city service stations.