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$254 cost-of-living cash boost for 350,000 Aussies: 'Doing it tough'

Hundreds of thousands of NSW drivers are eligible to claim the toll rebates.

Tamika Seeto
·Finance Reporter
·2-min read
Australian money
NSW drivers who claim the toll rebate can get $254 back on average. (Source: Getty)

Nearly $80 million in toll rebates is waiting to be claimed by New South Wales motorists. Some drivers in the state are eligible for thousands of dollars in cash refunds from the government’s cost-of-living relief measure.

The NSW government introduced a toll cap at the start of this year, which means drivers only have to pay a maximum weekly limit of $60 on toll roads and can claim back the amount spent over this each quarter. Refunds are capped at $340 a week.

More than 6,000 motorists are on track to claim an average of $4,000 each in relief this year, according to the NSW government. The second quarterly claim period is now open, with an estimated 350,000 motorists eligible for a share of $53 million in relief.

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Drivers in Auburn have received the biggest average toll relief so far at $554, followed by Lakemba at $513 and Wiley Park at $461. For all NSW drivers, the average rebate claimed is $254.

“We know families and households are doing it tough and I’m pleased that the $60 toll cap is having an impact on the people who are impacted the most by tolls,” Premier Chris Minns said.

He noted the targeted relief was “fundamentally needed” while the government worked on broader toll reform.

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A final report of the Independent Toll Review, led by Professor Allan Fels and Dr David Cousins, noted Sydney’s toll road network included numerous different price structures and would cost motorists $195 billion in tolls over the next three and a half decades.

Roads Minister John Graham said the average $254 cash rebate would be “welcomed by families from Marsden Park to Merrylands, West Pennant Hills to Wiley Park”.

Customer Service and Digital Government Minister Jihad Dib encouraged road users to head to the Service NSW website to see if they were eligible to claim toll rebates and to link their toll account with their MyServiceNSW account.

“Drivers might be surprised by how much they can claim under the $60 toll cap, which can help ease cost-of-living pressures on households,” Dib said.

Drivers who have spent more than $60 a week on toll trips since January 1 can claim the refunds via the Service NSW website.

The rebate is calculated and claimed each quarter. Claims are currently open for the first quarter from January 1 to March 31, and the second quarter from April 1 to June 30.

People can claim their 2024 toll refunds until June 30, 2025.

The government also offers a toll relief rebate, with drivers able to claim a 40 per cent rebate if they spent more than $402 on tolls between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. Claims close June 30, 2025.

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