The new legislation will guarantee private sector purchases of fuel and fertiliser, marking the government's most direct intervention in fuel markets since the earlier direction for suppliers to ship to regional areas.

The human cost of the crisis is mounting. In remote Australia, students with round trips of up to 4,000 kilometres to reach boarding school are being kept home as families buckle under the pressure of fuel costs. The showmen who travel the country putting on agricultural shows for regional communities describe the diesel costs as "frightening" but are determined to keep going.

More than half of Australian motorists have cut their driving in the past month according to a national survey of 1,800 NRMA members. Those who can are embracing alternatives — swapping cars for bikes, working from home, and jumping on public transport — to reduce costs without necessarily buying an electric vehicle.

The fuel security powers follow an emergency National Cabinet meeting earlier this week as diesel passed three dollars a litre, with experts warning the price shock is equivalent to three interest rate rises hitting household budgets simultaneously.