Australians were carrying a lot before the latest fuel security concerns emerged. Cost-of-living pressure had become the emotional backdrop to everyday life. What the latest Nature: Next research suggests is that concern about fuel supply is not landing in isolation, but in a country already feeling stretched, fatigued and highly sensitive to further uncertainty and volatility.
That is what makes this moment worth paying attention to. On the surface, fuel security may appear to be a practical issue, centred on supply, prices and preparedness. But the public response suggests something deeper is going on. This is not being processed simply as an energy story. It is being felt as another layer of instability in a climate where confidence is already fragile.
In our latest research, conducted 14–15 March with 1,000 Australians, concern about fuel reliability was near universal. Ninety-seven per cent of people told us they were concerned about Australia’s fuel supplies, including one in three who said they were extremely concerned. More broadly, 9 in 10 Australians said they were anxious about the potential repercussions of the Middle East conflict, particularly fuel supply disruption and price hikes.
For me, that points to a broader truth about the current national mood. When people are already under pressure, new risks are rarely experienced as discrete events. They are absorbed into a wider sense of uncertainty about how stable everyday life really is. Rising bills, geopolitical tension, essential supply concerns and household stress do not sit in separate boxes. They accumulate. And when they accumulate, volatility starts to feel less like an external condition and more like the texture of daily life.
That helps explain why the behavioural response is already visible. More than half of respondents say they have reduced unnecessary driving. Many are filling up earlier than usual. Some are even considering storing extra petrol at home. These are practical actions, but they are also emotional ones. They reflect people looking for small ways to regain a sense of control in an environment that feels increasingly unpredictable.
We are also seeing signs that this uncertainty may shape longer-term decisions. Four in 10 Australian drivers say they are now more interested in electric vehicles, with alternative energy transport increasingly seen as a buffer against disruption and price hikes. That does not mean everyone is ready to switch tomorrow. But it does suggest volatility is starting to influence how people think about resilience, future planning and personal exposure to risk.
For government, industry and brands, there is a clear lesson in that. In periods like this, communication matters more than usual. When people are already sensitive to uncertainty, the way institutions communicate can either help steady the mood or intensify instability. Clarity, calm and preparedness matter. Not because they remove volatility, but because they can reduce the sense that it is spiralling beyond control.
This is why fuel anxiety should not be read narrowly. It is not only about petrol. It is about trust, preparedness and the cumulative effect of one more pressure landing on people who already feel they are carrying too much. It is about what happens when instability in one part of life confirms a broader feeling that the ground is shifting.
For anyone trying to understand Australians right now, that overlap matters. The challenge is not simply to track what people are worried about, but to understand how those worries combine, compound and start shaping behaviour. The value of ongoing research like Nature: Next is that it helps us see not just the headline issue, but the context it lands in. And right now, that context is a nation navigating sustained pressure, rising sensitivity and a growing awareness of just how exposed everyday life can feel in a period of uncertainty and volatility.
Nature: Next’s latest research, conducted 14–15 March 2026 with 1,000 Australians, found:
9 in 10 Australians are anxious about the potential repercussions of the Middle East conflict, particularly fuel supply disruption and price hikes
97% are concerned about the reliability of Australia’s fuel supplies
1 in 3 are extremely concerned about fuel supply reliability
80% expect instability to continue and believe Australia could face significant fuel shortages in the coming months
Just 7% believe Australia is well prepared for fuel supply disruptions
52% say they have already reduced unnecessary driving
44% say they have filled up earlier than usual
28% are considering, or have already begun, storing additional fuel at home
40% of Australian drivers say they are now more interested in electric vehicles as a buffer against fuel disruption and rising prices
Nature’s previous research, conducted in February 2026, found:
43% of Australians were reporting heightened levels of stress and anxiety
76% said they felt concerned about cost of living
That rose to 80% among Australians aged under 45
Chris Crook, Founder & Managing Partner, Nature.
