A levy on Victorian public transport users, intended to help fund the Suburban Rail Loop and other Big Build projects, will be abolished, the state premier has announced. Ben Carroll stated on Thursday that he would move to scrap the levy due to a lack of transparency in its creation and implementation.
The levy, which has been in effect since 1 January 2025, imposed a 1% annual increase on all public transport fares in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria, in addition to existing inflation adjustments. Its existence was revealed in an auditor general report tabled in parliament on Wednesday.
According to the auditor general report, the levy was expected to raise $8bn over 37 years, with $4.8bn allocated to SRL East. This would have made it the largest source of value capture revenue for the project. Carroll did not specify how the $4.8bn shortfall from abolishing the levy would be addressed, but noted he had previously pledged to reduce the project's cost by $2bn.