Victoria Axes ‘Secret’ Public Transport Tax as Premier Apologises

A previously undisclosed levy on all public transport fares in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria, set to increase fares by one percent annually from 2025, will be abolished. Premier Ben Carroll, who was the public transport minister when the charge was approved in 2021, has vowed to scrap the levy. The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office report revealed the charge, which was not acknowledged in public communications about fare increases.

• A secret tax on Victorian public transport fares will be scrapped.
• The tax was an annual one percent increase in fares, on top of inflation rises, starting in 2025.
• The levy was not acknowledged by the government or Transport Victoria in public communications.
• Premier Ben Carroll apologized for the lack of transparency and vowed to abolish the charge.
• The charge was approved in 2021 when Carroll was the public transport minister.