In a speech broadcast on all major television and radio networks, Anthony Albanese urged Australians to look out for one another, warning there may be difficult times ahead.
He urged people to consider getting public transport to work instead of driving in a bid to preserve the nation's fuel reserves, and told motorists heading on road trips over Easter to only take as much petrol and diesel as they needed.
"That builds our reserves and it saves fuel for people who have no choice but to drive: farmers and miners and tradies who need diesel, every single day," Mr Albanese said.
"These are uncertain times. But I am absolutely sure of this. We will deal with these global challenges the Australian way: working together, and looking after each other."
While intended to calm Australians' nerves as the Middle East oil crisis worsens, the address could have the opposite effect, former Liberal adviser Tony Barry told AAP.
Mr Albanese currently has a negative 17 favourability rating according to Mr Barry's firm Redbridge, well behind opposition leader Angus Taylor and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
The pollster said giving an address to the nation with such a low approval rating was a recipe for disaster.
"Standing up and telling everybody not to panic is a sure way to make everybody panic," Mr Barry told AAP.
"People are observing that going to the petrol station is now like a scene from Mad Max.
"They'll be expecting solutions from the government," he said.
The decision to cut the fuel excise but then tell motorists to consider avoiding unnecessary petrol and diesel use was also politically flawed, Mr Barry said.
"He's reduced the price of petrol, and now he's telling people don't buy this cheaper petrol."
US President Donald Trump will deliver a major address about the Middle East war on Thursday (AEDT).
As Mr Albanese prepared to address the nation, Western Australia's government activated emergency powers, allowing it to force the fuel industry to share information about its supply chains.
The move will allow the state government to demand specific details about where fuel is and where it's needed, in a bid to alleviate shortages in some areas.
The change is not the same as declaring a state of emergency as was done during the pandemic, Premier Roger Cook said, but was rather targeted specifically at the fuel industry.
"Unfortunately our efforts are being hampered by not having full visibility of the fuel supply chain," he told reporters in Perth on Wednesday.
"In some cases we don't know where fuel is or where it will go."
Federal opposition leader Angus Taylor said more transparency about the availability of fuel was needed to allay Australians' fears of ongoing shortages.
"This was a rerun of Monday's press conference and it didn't give us the detail we need," he told Seven News on Wednesday night.
"(The government) needs to update us daily on what the situation is," Mr Taylor said.
