Campervan fuel costs and licences in Australia
Australian pumps price fuel in cents per litre and campervans are rated in litres per hundred km, so the sum is simple. The licence question is about weight.
This week’s national average prices
These are weekly national averages from the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the fuel industry’s association; its retail data comes from Motormouth. Prices vary from town to town, so type the price you see on your route into the calculator.
The formula
Litres = km × L/100 km ÷ one hundred. Cost = litres × price per litre.
There is no official fuel figure for a converted motorhome, so the calculator starts with a clearly labelled example figure and two official WLTP figures for a common van (40.7 mpg (WLTP combined, worst case), VW California Ocean 150PS 2.0 TDI diesel3; 30.2 mpg (WLTP combined, worst case), VW California Ocean 204PS 2.0 TSI petrol3). VW says WLTP figures are for comparison and may not reflect real driving3.
Which licence?
- Car licence (class C). In NSW, a class C car licence covers vehicles up to 4.5 tonne GVM that seat up to 12 adults, including the driver4. Check your vehicle’s weight against that limit.
- Light rigid (LR). A light rigid (LR) licence covers rigid vehicles over 4.5 tonnes GVM up to 8 tonnes4. Some large motorhomes need it.
Licence classes are set by each state, and overseas visitors should check what their own licence allows. Ask the hire company for the vehicle’s GVM (it is on the compliance plate) before you book.
Work out your own trip: open the campervan hire calculator. It starts with sourced defaults and leaves the rest for your quote.
Sources
- Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP), national retail petrol and diesel prices, data for the week of 25 October 2026. Checked 31 October 2026. AIP figures, quoted with credit. AIP is the fuel industry association; its retail data comes from Motormouth.. hand-entered from the AIP national retail tables (week ending Sunday).
- Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP), national retail petrol and diesel prices, data for the week of 25 October 2026. Checked 31 October 2026. AIP figures, quoted with credit. AIP is the fuel industry association; its retail data comes from Motormouth.. hand-entered from the AIP national retail tables (week ending Sunday).
- Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK, California brochure (2026). Checked 31 October 2026. Brochure PDF dated March 2026; its footnote says the data were correct at 26.6.2023.
- NSW Government, Licence classes. Checked 31 October 2026.