As pain at the petrol pump pushes drivers to breaking point, others are allegedly breaking the law by filling up and taking off without paying.
One man has even been accused of siphoning hundreds of dollars of diesel from a parked truck in Sydney's south-west.
Petrol theft is up between 10 to 50 per cent across the country, adding even more pressure on supply.
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A petrol station in the inner west suburb of Petersham is among those seeing a rise in drivers resorting to desperate measures.
"Once again we're asking people to make sure they're thinking about their neighbours and not taking more than they need," Transport Minister John Graham said today.
In Milperra, in the city's south-west, one man was allegedly caught red-handed by a member of the public, who then detained him and called police.
The 43-year-old is accused of siphoning fuel from a truck into a large tank in the back of his van.
He was charged with stealing and will face court next month.
The owner of the truck said about $1500 worth of fuel that was allegedly stolen. Police made the alleged thief siphon it back in before driving off.
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In NSW, 66 petrol stations have run dry, 229 are out of diesel and 371 have just one type of fuel left.
The consumer watchdog is fielding thousands of complaints about prices every day and calls are growing from unions and other groups to make public transport free to alleviate some of the pain.
Victoria and Tasmania have done so and fares in Queensland were already just 50 cents before the US and Israel attacked Iran, which responded by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz through which 20 per cent of the world's oil flows.
But the NSW government is standing firm against making public transport free, flagging it needs every dollar to prepare for the crisis to deepen.
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"At the moment our consideration is how can we make sure there are enough services to make sure people have that option of a cheap train fare compared to the expensive car ride," Graham said.
" … I have to be really clear about this, this situation will last more than a month. We need to keep our powder dry to assist the broader economy."
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