Highway Robbery

An unpaid toll can potentially leave motorists hundreds of dollars out of pocket, and even facing imprisonment.

- Nicola Field

The current wave of infrastructure development taking place across many Australian cities is seeing the number of toll roads expand rapidly. It means improved travel for motorists, though this convenience can come at a remarkably high price. Leave a toll unpaid and you can face a raft of fees and charges far beyond the value of the outstanding toll.

As a guide to the possible financial fallout of unpaid tolls, in early 2016 The Age reported the case of a woman who amassed $50,000 worth of unpaid tolls and associated charges.

It came about through a combination of personal factors including the birth of a new baby, a cancer diagnosis, a change of address and the woman’s partner driving for eight months across Melbourne’s tollways without an e-tag. The situation reached crisis point when a sheriff appeared at her home with a warrant for her arrest.

This may be an extreme example but in one case referred to the Tolling Customer Ombudsman (TCO) a driver received 17 invoices for unpaid tolls over a five-day period – each invoice attracting its own $21.32 administration fee. It meant he owed almost $400, of which tolls comprised just $30.

To understand how drivers can find themselves in this nightmare scenario, it’s worth looking at how the toll system works.

Australia has 16 toll roads in three states – Victoria, Queensland and NSW. The vast majority of these, 13 in all, are owned or part-owned by the publicly listed company Transurban. For the toll giant, user-pay roads are a solid earner. In the 2015-16 financial year alone Transurban’s toll revenue rose 17.5% to $1.9 billion.