The NSW Government has revealed there is still $130 million in unclaimed toll relief, and are calling on motorists who spent over $60 to claim their portion. Treasurer Daniel Mookhey denies that the programme is a waste of money.

Council of the City of Sydney

The New South Wales government has drawn attention to unclaimed toll relief funds, urging motorists to claim their entitlements before the program is set to end. Since the introduction of the $60 weekly toll cap, $139 million has been claimed, but a similar amount remains unclaimed in government accounts.

Officials noted that while cost-of-living support continues, negotiations to reform the privatised toll system are ongoing and complex. The current toll relief program is scheduled to end unless extended, and unclaimed funds will remain allocated for toll relief, according to the Treasurer.

NSW government urges motorists to claim toll relief funds

On the eve of the State Budget, the usual move is to announce something to extinguish pressure on the Household Budget. Instead, the Government focused on boosting billion-dollar business projects. Cut through the red tape, fast-track approval. Where is there anything in the announcements which have been made to date which benefit families? We put that to the Treasurer. We're in a cost-of-living crisis, how will your budget impact the Household Budget? Two things. Relief and reform. The record levels of cost-of-living support that we funded in Budgets 1 and Budget 2 continue on in Budget 3. But as I'm talking to families, more and more of them are telling me that they actually want the fundamentals about what makes New South Wales unaffordable to be dealt with. What are they? Housing is absolutely at the top of people's concerns, as is of course power prices as well. Particularly if you happen to be in Sydney, just moving around our highly-tolled privatised road network. Negotiations with those private operators is proving slow. Do you think you're going to have the system unwound and real reform in place by the 2027 election? I definitely think people will see real progress when it comes to toll relief and reform. But you're right to say, when you inherited quite a complex set of privatised contracts, they are hard to unravel. In the meantime, toll relief is mixed. Since the $60 per week toll cap began at the start of 2024, motorists have claimed back $139 million in cash. But nearly the same amount has not been recouped and is sitting there in government coffers. It will stay that way unless claimed before Monday. This is one area where I want the public to take some money out of the Treasury bank accounts. But half the money is just sitting there. People aren't claiming it. It's not working. Look, I would say that with all these toll relief programs, including the registration relief program that our predecessors put in place, the demand was variable. And both governments, this government and the previous government, budgeted conservatively for it. The public has a week to claim that $130 million. If they don't, where does that money go? Yeah, well, again, that money is still there for toll relief. And from our perspective... But if they don't claim it, where does it go? We're not disappearing the money from toll relief from the budget, I can assure you on that. Unless it's extended, however, the entire program disappears in January. Lachlan Kennedy for 10 News First.

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