Leaked cabinet documents show that the entire Allan ministry was told about Victoria’s secret public transport levy almost two years before it became public, raising fresh questions over how the charge was kept from commuters.
The so-called rail improvement charge added 1 per cent to public transport fares each year on top of inflation-linked increases. It began in January 2025 and was intended to help fund the Suburban Rail Loop and other major infrastructure projects.
The documents indicate ministers were briefed about the levy in November 2024, when the government reaffirmed the measure as part of its funding strategy for the rail project. They also show that ministers agreed to exclude any reference to the charge from public communications.
The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office found last week that the government had not disclosed the levy in the state budget or in announcements about fare increases. It said the charge was the largest single source of planned value-capture revenue for the Suburban Rail Loop.
About 60 per cent of the levy’s estimated $8 billion proceeds over 37 years was earmarked for the eastern section of the rail loop, linking Cheltenham and Box Hill. The charge had raised about $6.5 million by August, according to the auditor-general’s findings.
Former premier Jacinta Allan was among the ministers involved in the government’s funding decisions. Ben Carroll, who was public transport minister when the levy was first approved in 2021, has said he was not involved in its creation.
Mr Carroll, who replaced Ms Allan as premier in August, has promised to abolish the charge, subject to cabinet approval. He said the way it was created and introduced lacked transparency, while refusing to say when he first became aware of it.
Deputy Premier Gabrielle Williams was public transport minister when the levy came into force. She has said she was unaware of any decision to deliberately conceal the structure of the fare increases and believed the arrangement would be made public.
The auditor-general criticised the levy for requiring public transport users, including some who may never benefit directly from the Suburban Rail Loop, to contribute towards its cost years before the project is due to open.
