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Jo Parkin, a senior financial counsellor at Uniting, said admin fees made it harder for financially stressed motorists to pay a toll notice immediately.
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But by leaving it unpaid, a toll as small as $3.27 can grow into a criminal debt of up to $450 enforced by Fines Victoria.
“The extra fees just add barriers to people being able to make payments, so they’re more likely to put it to one side,” Parkin said.
“Having the initial amount stay as small as possible, having a good hardship program and not having those admin fees would help people deal with the matter promptly and avoid it developing into a criminal matter.”
Inner Melbourne Community Legal managing lawyer Shifrah Blustein said the size of the admin fees was “unjustifiable and totally disproportionate” to the cost of invoicing motorists.
Removing admin fees would be a good first step, she said, but broader reform was needed to stop Transurban making excessive profits at the expense of struggling Victorians. That included Fines Victoria no longer enforcing Transurban’s debts at taxpayers’ expense.
“Toll roads are accepted to be an essential service. But unlike public transport, utility bills or car registration, there are no concessional rates available,” Blustein said.
“The government must work with toll operators to require them to provide concessional options to ensure access to toll roads is fair.”
Parkin said about 60 per cent of the clients she works with who are dealing with fine debts owe money to Transurban.
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“They say they’ve got an accessible hardship program, but it’s not what I’m experiencing,” she said.
A Transurban spokesperson said it was removing admin fees in NSW as part of a broader toll reform led by the Minns government, and that it operated under a different legal framework in Victoria.
The spokesperson said admin fees recovered the cost of identifying vehicle owners, issuing notices and meeting regulatory requirements.
“We support making changes to continuously improve the way customers manage and pay their tolls, including digital solutions and payment options that provide greater visibility and flexibility,” they said.
“Motorists have both pre- and post-travel opportunity to use payment arrangements that do not incur any fees.”
The NSW toll road review, conducted by former ACCC chair Allan Fels, also called on Transurban to issue invoices electronically, rather than by mail, and to consolidate them for multiple trips taken over several days instead of issuing separate invoices with separate fees for each trip.
From January 1, the maximum CityLink toll for a single car trip will jump from $12.25 to $12.38. A 24-hour pass to use both the West Gate Tunnel and CityLink will be $38.52 for cars and $70.03 for utes and vans.
The West Gate Tunnel – designed as an alternative to the West Gate Bridge – will have its utility tested for the first time from Friday night when annual maintenance on the bridge gets underway.
The West Gate Bridge will be reduced from five lanes to two in each direction until Monday afternoon, with the city-bound lanes remaining closed until January 4. Transport Victoria has warned motorists to expect delays of up to an hour.
