Victoria's police chief has taken the force's drive for mandatory pre-paid petrol at every service station into a higher gear, despite resistance from industry leaders.
Chief Commissioner Ken Lay says he is planning a roundtable in Melbourne with the top six petrol-station companies after preliminary talks last week revealed strong views on pre-paid-only at the pump.
"We're going to bring the players from right across the industry together in the next few months and we'll ask them how they see this being resolved," Mr Lay told AAP.
"I would not be expecting that the petrol industry would be saying they're not going to help - it's their social responsibility to help."
But some service-station owners are already lining up against the plan, which has been a long-stated goal of Victoria Police as a way to stop nearly 6000 drive-offs each year that consume thousands of hours in police work.
"Pre-pay petrol would not only inconvenience our customers by treating everyone as a potential drive-off offender, but limit the opportunity for our franchisees to make a living," said a spokeswoman for 7-Eleven, which has about 140 petrol stations in the state.
"Merchandise sales are crucial to the success of their stores."
The state's 200 independent petrol stations are also strongly against pre-paid, said David Purchase, executive director of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC).
"Our members have been told by their customers that pre-pay is inconvenient and that they, the customers, do not want it," Mr Purchase said.
Coles Express declined to give a public position on mandatory pre-paid but said it would discuss it further with police.
"We will be happy to attend the proposed meeting to better understand their proposal regarding drive-offs," a company spokesman said.
Mr Lay said he wants to find a solution that works for everyone but stressed that things must change with petrol drive-offs jumping by more than 16 per cent last financial year.
Police estimate about five per cent of the state's entire crime rate is tied up in petrol drive-offs and thefts of number plates.
The NSW government is also urging oil companies to think of solutions after the state also recorded a big jump in fuel theft.
