“Brother, I’m Cooked”: Fuel crunch hits tradies as costs surge

MEDIA RELEASE

Sydney, 31 March 2026 - The worsening fuel crisis is forcing Australian sole traders to rethink how they work, with many turning down jobs, absorbing higher costs and cutting back travel as margins tighten.

New data from sole accounting platform Hnry shows Australian sole traders have reduced their work-related travel by 23.6 per cent in just four weeks, while the average cost per trip increased by 9.4 per cent, with the situation described as 'cooked'. 

Hnry Australia Managing Director Karan Anand says the impact is even more pronounced among tradies, where fuel is a non-negotiable cost of doing business. "Their business travel has dropped by nearly 40per cent in just one month, but their per-trip fuel costs have still increased," he says.

Josiah Bernier, a sole trader painter/decorator from Cairns, says the fuel crisis is worse than Covid.

"It escalated so quickly and came out of nowhere, so there was no time to prepare," he says. "I've started to leave my tools on site and use an electric scooter to get to and from the job in an effort to reduce my fuel consumption. I've turned down work if it's too far away, and I'm only doing smaller local jobs unless the client is prepared to cover that cost.

"The additional fuel cost comes in around $20 to $30 a day, which can quickly add up for a bigger job, so I won't take on jobs that are further afield unless the client is willing to pay for my additional out-of-pocket fuel cost. I've stopped quoting on jobs more than 30 minutes away, as I can spend a lot of time travelling around for jobs I may not secure, so it's just not worth it. Honestly, life's hard enough as it is, to now add in the extra fuel cost, it feels like it's becoming unmanageable."

While he welcomes the Government's fuel excise tax relief, he worries about the longer-term economic impact.

"As a father of five, I am concerned about the amount of debt the country is taking on and what that means for the future," he says. "With a population of almost 28 million, once you take out the elderly and those too young to work, that doesn't leave many taxpayers to pay down our near $1 trillion of gross government debt. I wonder if this short-term fix is worth the long-term pain for the younger generation."

Anand says many sole traders are being forced to absorb rising costs rather than pass them on, or turn down work that requires lengthy travel, particularly in competitive or price-sensitive sectors.

"There's a limit to what you can charge before customers walk away, so a lot of people are wearing the cost themselves. Sole traders don't have big buffers, procurement teams or company fuel cards - it's just them, making decisions in real time and with fuel prices rising this rapidly, it doesn't just hit their wallet, it changes their behaviour," he says.

Hnry's expense analysis tracked more than 10,000 users across New Zealand and Australia who recorded a fuel or mileage expense in both the second week of February and the second week of March 2026.

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About Hnry

Hnry is the world's first all-in-one service for sole traders, providing digital accounting and tax automation. Designed to make self-employment simple, affordable and stress-free, Hnry is available in the UK, Australia and NZ and processes billions of dollars in payments each year; it automatically calculates and pays taxes as you earn and takes care of invoicing and expenses with on-demand accountancy support - meaning you never have to think about tax again. Since launching in 2018, it has raised nearly $100 million in investment and is Australasia's fastest-growing accountancy service. Hnry was named on the Forbes Asia 100 To Watch 2025 list and won the People's Choice Award for 'Fintech Organisation of the Year' in 2022 and 2023. Hnry recently won the 'Innovation in Financial Services' category at the 2024 INFINZ Awards. Find out more at www.hnry.com.au 

For further information:

Jenny Westdorp, Thorn PR | 0413 334 425 | jenny@thornpr.co