The representative body for Australia’s smaller and independent service stations says the end of shopper dockets would be good, but they are not the only thing making the fuel market uneven.

The holders of what many see as a supermarket duopoly in Australia have both agreed to restrict their use of promotions rewarding people with discounts on fuel.

Coles and Woolworths have undertaken to stop making fuel saving offers which are funded by parts of the operation other than service stations, they will also limit fuel discounts linked to supermarket purchases to a maximum of 4 cents per litre.

Some fuel retailers had complained that they could not afford to match the supermarkets’ fuel discounts of 8 cents or more, because those discounts were being funded from markets that were separate and unrelated to fuel.

Nic Moulis from the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association says it will be of some help, but there is more to be done.

“What this undertaking doesn't do is stop the ability to do deep discounts, though it probably limits the depth that they can take,” he said.

“What I hope I get to see in the future is a thriving, competitive market in the fuel industry and that motorists get the benefit of that competition.”

Australian Automobile Association (AAA) chief executive Andrew McKellar said the agreement should have been stricter.

“This agreement is a step in the right direction and shows the ACCC can achieve results in the interests of consumers,” he said.

“However, we do have some concerns about the lack of enforcement of the voluntary agreement.”

“The supermarkets have not been providing shopper docket offers as a form of charity but rather as a mechanism to distort the marketplace,” Mr McKellar said.