Toll road drivers in New South Wales will no longer have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in extra fees, under an agreement reached by the state government with private operator Transurban.
The NSW government announced on Thursday it would end the costly “administration fees” on toll notices from mid-2026 – which are issued by post to people without a tolling account and can escalate if left unpaid.
The NSW transport minister, John Graham, said eradicating administration fees would save motorists “significant money”. In the 2024-25 financial year the administration fees across 46m toll notices totalled $618m.
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In an update on its negotiations with Transurban to reform tolls in the state, the government also confirmed it will reintroduce two-way tolling on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and make a $60 toll cap permanent.
The premier, Chris Minns, who said before the 2023 election there would be “no new tolls” if Labor was elected, drew criticism from the opposition when he said the government was considering reintroducing northbound tolling on the Harbour Bridge for the first time since 1970.
The government on Thursday confirmed it would go ahead with plans for two-way tolling to begin on the bridge when the Western Harbour Tunnel opens in late 2028.
Last month, Minns said the government would seek to permanently extend a toll cap of $60, which allows drivers to claim up to $340 back a week.
The cap, under which $211.4m has been claimed since early 2024, was due to expire at the end of this year but would become permanent instead, the government confirmed.
But it also said it would introduce a $5,000 annual limit for claims under the toll cap which it said would “ensure no misuse”. A $5,000 annual limit would allow a driver to claim back an estimated average of $96 a week.
Labor also campaigned in 2023 on reducing controversial administration fees, which start at $10 for each toll notice but can often eclipse the toll itself if left unpaid.
A 2021 parliamentary inquiry heard one road user had incurred a debt of $22,000 on top of unpaid tolls of $8,000.
Transurban has previously said it supports the reform of administration fees. From Monday, motorists will also receive digital reminders if a toll goes unpaid.
Transurban owns a direct or indirect majority in all the state’s privately tolled roads and tunnels, while the government controls tolling for the Harbour Bridge and tunnel, as well as the M6 motorway and Western Harbour Tunnel when they are completed.
The government is yet to achieve the central recommendation of a 2024 independent review, to introduce uniform “declining distance-based tolling” across all toll roads.
It said on Thursday negotiations were ongoing on “some motorway pricing changes” and would be complete in early to mid-2026.
The update follows a public blame game between the government and Transurban last week after the temporary closure of the privately tolled M4 tunnel, following a bulge in the concrete – or “shotcrete” – roof, left some drivers stuck for as long as four hours.