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Annalisa Young’s weekly shopping trip starts with an hour-long drive to the nearest supermarket, with a close eye on the fuel bowser and the cash register at all times.

Fuel prices are surging across Australia as the US-Israel war on Iran disrupts oil supplies through the strait of Hormuz.

It’s putting pressure on households across the country. But in remote communities, where the costs of fuel and other essentials were already sky-high, the pain is even greater.

Young lives in Ltyentye Apurte, also known as Santa Teresa. It’s a small town of 600 people about 85km south-east of Alice Springs in the vast Northern Territory outback. Local prices for both fuel and food have soared in recent weeks, she says.

The cost of that weekly shop and drive into Alice Springs, to ensure there’s enough food in the refrigerator and pantry to feed her family – including four children aged 25, 20, 16 and five – and enough fuel in their vehicles, has risen by almost 50%.

“The normal shopping a few months ago was about $500 or $600 and now it’s like $700-$800,” she says. “I can’t really reduce the amount of shopping that I do because they like to eat.”

Young tells Guardian Australia diesel is now $3.80 a litre. The $40 she used to spend on fuel to top up her vehicle doesn’t get her very far any more.

Ellie Kamara, the chief executive of the Atyenhenge Atherre Aboriginal Corporation in Ltyentye Apurte, says fuel prices are having a cascading impact on life in the small community.

It’s not just grocery shopping but also medical appointments – such as renal patients needing dialysis treatment, a particularly pressing problem due to the high rates of chronic kidney disease in central Australia – as well as access to school holiday programs and attending funerals and Sorry Business.

“We took three car loads and one bus load of kids yesterday to go and see the movies, and another bus load and a car load today,” Kamara says. “You can’t stop the school holiday programs for the kids to take them in to do cool things in town. So it’s just a knock-on effect for everything for people who are already struggling. It’s really tough.

“When people need to go to a funeral, we provide a fuel voucher for $60 but of course, that’s not going very far now, but we can’t afford to give more.”

Communities have advocated for years for better access to basic goods and services, including essential items. Under the federal government’s remote pricing scheme, the cost of about 30 items – basic essentials such as dried goods like four and rice, powdered milk, canned vegetables, sanitary items, nappies and toiletries – is now subsidised.

‘Paying more … because of where they live’

In Aurukun, in Queensland’s Cape York region off the Gulf of Carpentaria and more than 900km north-west of Cairns, the community was already struggling to cope with the rising cost of living.

Llyle Kawangka, chair of the Ngan Aak-Kunch Aboriginal Corporation, which represents native title holders in the area, says the costs of living on country are “extraordinarily high”. The fuel crisis is already affecting aviation costs to the islands.

“There is no capacity for families to shop around, and supply chains are complex and costly. As a result, people are paying more simply because of where they live,” Kawangka says.

“The cost of living in Aurukun is already extraordinarily high. Food prices are significantly higher than in regional and metropolitan areas, and access to fresh produce is limited, inconsistent and often affected by the realities of long-distance transport into a very remote location.”

Guardian Australia spoke to several small remote and regional tourism operators who are also feeling the strain and report muted holiday‑making plans, including fewer visitors planning road trips through the usually busy upcoming dry season.

In Esperance, on Western Australia’s south coast, Julie and Annie Dabb run Dabungool, a family‑owned tourism and cultural tour company they started during the Covid pandemic.

Dabb says business is slowing at a time when they would usually be receiving bookings in advance of the busy season. “We’re getting a lot less people come through our tours and even making future bookings,” Dabb says.

“It’s a lot quieter. We’re usually seeing people that are coming and booking in towards Christmas time.”

The tour is accompanied with a morning tea of damper, tea and coffee, but even those basics are getting more expensive, Dabb says, and there are no options to shop around. “We’re a regional town, we’ve only got either the IGA or Woolworths,” she says.

Annie Dabb says like many Australians they thought they would remain untouched by a war thousands of kilometres away but now are watching the news for updates.

“We thought this war is way overseas and it won’t affect us, but it has affected us. I am watching it all the time now.”