The Victorian government secretly increased public transport fares to raise money to help pay for the Suburban Rail Loop and other Big Build projects, the state’s auditor-general has revealed. The auditor-general’s report, tabled in parliament on Wednesday, also questioned whether the first stage of the multibillion-dollar project – a 26km stretch of twin tunnels from Cheltenham to Box Hill dubbed SRL East – can be delivered on time or within budget. The auditor-general found the plan to fund SRL East – via $11.5bn from both the Commonwealth and state governments and $11.5bn through so-called value capture methods – “is not transparent and some funding sources are uncertain.” It said in December, the government announced five value capture measures: using existing land tax and windfall gains tax revenue in SRL East precincts, infrastructure contributions from property developers, revenue from state-initiated property development and a car parking levy.
But the auditor-general said the government did not reveal it had already introduced a levy on all public transport fares in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria on 1 January 2025. The levy involves a 1% annual increase on all public transport fares on top of existing adjustments in line with inflation. As at June 2026, they still have not announced it.” The report also revealed the project has already “experienced significant delays” of up to six months on early works and station contracts are yet to be awarded, putting at risk its promised 2035 completion date.
It said the “on the evidence available to date” the project is “more likely than not to exceed its publicly disclosed cost of up to $34.5bn”.
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