Last Reviewed: September 2026
How Australia’s Toll Roads Work — The Short Answer
Australia’s toll roads are fully electronic — no cash booths. Gantries scan your e-tag or number plate and charge your account automatically. Main operators are Linkt and Service NSW. Without an account, pay online within a few days to avoid fines.
TL;DR
- Every toll road in Australia is electronic — you’ll need an e-tag, a pass, or a linked account tied to your number plate.
- Tolls only exist in NSW, VIC, and QLD. South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and the ACT don’t have any.
- A single trip typically costs somewhere between $2 and $13, depending on the road, your vehicle, and the time of day.
- Missing a payment adds an administration fee to what you owe, though NSW is removing this fee for toll notices from July 2026.
- Frequent NSW drivers can claim money back once their weekly tolls pass a set threshold through the NSW Toll Relief scheme.
If you’ve just moved here and are still getting used to driving on the left in Australia, toll roads are one more thing to settle into over your first few weeks.
Which States Have Toll Roads in Australia?
Tolls only apply in three of Australia’s states, so it’s worth knowing this before you plan a route.
States and territories with toll roads:
- New South Wales (Sydney)
- Victoria (Melbourne)
- Queensland (Brisbane)
States and territories without toll roads:
- South Australia
- Western Australia
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Australian Capital Territory
Tolls are concentrated in these three eastern states because that’s where traffic volumes are highest, and where new motorways have relied on private investment to get built. If you’re settling in Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin or Canberra, you generally won’t need a toll account at all.
If you’re still working through the practical side of moving to Australia from the UK, toll roads are a small, manageable piece of a much bigger puzzle.
Major Toll Roads by City
Transurban, which runs most of these motorways across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, reports around 2.4 million trips a day across its full network — a sense of just how routine these roads are for daily commuters.
Sydney Toll Roads
Sydney’s toll network includes the M2, M5, M7, WestConnex (the M4 and M8), the Cross City Tunnel, the Lane Cove Tunnel, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel. Toll accounts for the Harbour Bridge and Tunnel are still called E-Toll, now managed through the Service NSW website — every other Sydney toll road runs through Linkt instead.
Melbourne Toll Roads
Melbourne’s toll roads are CityLink, which includes the Tullamarine Freeway link between the airport and the city, and EastLink. CityLink is run by Linkt, while EastLink operates independently — though if you already hold an EastLink account, your CityLink tolls can be charged straight to it. North East Link, a tunnel project connecting the Metropolitan Ring Road to the Eastern Freeway, is still under construction and isn’t expected to open, or start tolling, until 2028.
Brisbane Toll Roads
Brisbane’s toll roads are the Gateway Motorway (both the North and South sections), the Logan Motorway, the Clem7 Tunnel, Legacy Way, AirportlinkM7 and the Go Between Bridge, all managed through Linkt. If you’re renting a car to fly into Brisbane, it’s worth knowing that AirportlinkM7 is a toll road — tourists sometimes drive it without realising, then are caught out by a toll notice afterwards.
How to Pay for Tolls in Australia
There are three main ways to pay for tolls in Australia: an e-tag account, a casual pass, or a post-pay option once you’ve already travelled.
Setting Up an E-Tag Account
- Choose a provider. Once you’ve finished registering a vehicle in Australia, linking that registration to a toll account only takes a few minutes.
- Linkt covers Victoria, Queensland and most of New South Wales, while Service NSW handles E-Toll specifically for the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel.
- One Linkt account covers you across NSW, VIC and QLD, so there’s no need for a separate account in each state.
- Attach the e-tag to your windscreen, or register your number plate if you’d rather go tag-free.
- Drive through toll zones marked by signs and overhead gantries, and continue without stopping — detection happens automatically.
- Your account or linked card is charged automatically after each trip.
Opening a Linkt account has no start-up fee, though you’ll usually pay an opening credit of around $20 for an automatic top-up account, or $30 if you’d rather top up manually.
Casual Passes and Post-Pay Options
Casual or day passes suit occasional drivers and tourists who don’t want an ongoing account. If you drive through a toll point without a tag or pass, you can usually still pay online afterwards — in NSW, you generally have three days before an unpaid toll reminder is sent, and 48 hours after that to pay before a formal toll notice follows.
Missing that window turns the toll into a notice that includes the original fee plus an administration fee, though NSW is removing this fee for toll notices from July 2026, which should make a missed deadline less costly.
Toll Payments for Rental Cars and Tourists
Rental companies typically handle toll payments for you, either through a day pass added to your hire or by billing you afterwards. Hertz’s toll day pass, for example, costs $18.70 a day for a passenger vehicle in NSW, $17.00 in Victoria, and $13.20 in Queensland — worth weighing up against how much you’ll actually spend on tolls, since a daily fee can add up quickly if you’re only crossing one toll point.
If you’re driving on a licence from home while sorting out transferring an international driver’s licence, tolls work the same way regardless of which licence you’re using. Rideshare fares usually include tolls automatically, and if you’re borrowing a private vehicle, it’s worth telling the owner in advance so a toll notice doesn’t land in their letterbox unannounced.
How Much Do Tolls Cost in Australia?
Toll prices vary by road, vehicle class, and time of day, so there’s no single figure that applies everywhere. As a guide, based on Transurban’s and Service NSW’s published rates:
- Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel: $2.85 off-peak, $3.41 in the shoulder periods, and $4.55 at peak times, from 1 July 2026.
- WestConnex (Sydney): $9.15 for the M8 and $10.79 for the full M4 tunnels and motorway, with a $12.74 cap for a single trip across the whole network.
- CityLink (Melbourne), including the airport-to-CBD Tullamarine Freeway link: up to $12.38 for a full trip, which is also the trip cap.
- AirportlinkM7 (Brisbane): from around $2.69 to $3.58 for a standard car, depending on which section you use.
These figures are for a standard passenger car; heavier vehicles and trips at different times of day are usually priced differently. If tolls are one of several new costs you’re budgeting for, our guide to the cost of living in Australia covers how they fit into a typical household budget.
Toll Rebates and Discounts in Australia
If you drive NSW toll roads often, it’s worth knowing about the NSW Toll Relief scheme. From 6 July 2026, the weekly toll cap drops from $60 to $50 for a 12-month period, and Service NSW estimates motorists who already claim the rebate every week will get about $520 more back over the year.
Around 200,000 additional toll accounts are expected to become newly eligible once the lower cap takes effect, and claims against the new cap can be lodged from early October 2026. Queensland doesn’t currently run an equivalent statewide rebate scheme, so if you’re mostly driving around Brisbane, comparing your account provider’s own offers is the more useful way to save.
Whichever state you’re in, it’s worth checking your toll operator’s website directly, since thresholds and eligibility can change from year to year.
What Happens If You Don’t Pay a Toll?
If you drive through a toll point without an account, pass, or enough credit, the gantry still records your number plate, and any notice goes to the vehicle’s registered owner, regardless of who was actually driving. In NSW, that generally follows this sequence:
- An unpaid toll reminder is sent if payment isn’t made within three days of travelling.
- You then have 48 hours to pay before a formal toll notice is issued.
- A toll notice includes the original toll plus an administration fee, though NSW is scrapping this fee for toll notices from July 2026.
- Ignoring a toll notice can lead to a penalty reminder, and continued non-payment can eventually mean formal enforcement action.
Other states follow a similar pattern, though the exact timeframes and fees differ by operator, so it’s worth checking the specific portal for the road you’ve used.
How to Resolve an Unpaid Toll Notice
- Locate the notice reference number.
- Visit the toll operator’s payment portal — Linkt or Service NSW, depending on the road.
- Pay the toll plus any administration fee.
- Update your account details if your number plate or payment method has changed.
- If you’ve built up several unpaid notices without realising, both Linkt and Service NSW offer payment plans, so it’s worth contacting them directly rather than letting notices pile up.
FAQ
Which Australian states have toll roads?
Toll roads exist only in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT don’t have any tolled roads, so you won’t need a toll account if you’re only driving in those areas.
How do I set up a toll account in Australia?
You can open a Linkt account online, which covers NSW, VIC and QLD with a single e-tag or tagless option. For the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel specifically, you’ll set up an E-Toll account through Service NSW instead.
How do tourists pay for tolls in Australia?
Most rental companies offer a toll day pass or bill tolls afterwards, so it’s worth checking with your rental company first. Rideshare fares usually include tolls automatically. Without a rental pass, you can register for a short-term pass directly with Linkt or Service NSW.
How much do tolls cost in Australia?
It depends on the road and time of day. As a guide, the Sydney Harbour Bridge ranges from $2.85 off-peak to $4.55 at peak times, CityLink in Melbourne caps at $12.38 a trip, and AirportlinkM7 in Brisbane runs from around $2.69 to $3.58.
What happens if I don’t pay a toll?
The notice goes to the vehicle’s registered owner, even if someone else was driving. In NSW, you’ll usually get a reminder within three days, then 48 hours to pay before a formal toll notice, which adds an administration fee, is issued.
Does one e-tag work in every state?
A single Linkt account covers toll roads in NSW, VIC and QLD, so you don’t need separate accounts for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel are the exception, since they’re billed through E-Toll via Service NSW.
Are there discounts or rebates on Australian tolls?
NSW drivers who pay above a weekly threshold can claim money back through the NSW Toll Relief scheme, with the cap dropping to $50 a week from July 2026. Queensland and Victoria don’t currently offer an equivalent statewide rebate scheme.
Key Takeaways
- Toll roads in Australia only exist in NSW, VIC and QLD — you won’t need a toll account anywhere else in the country.
- A single trip typically costs somewhere between $2 and $13, depending on the road, vehicle class and time of day.
- One Linkt account covers NSW, VIC and QLD tolls, though the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel are billed separately through Service NSW’s E-Toll.
- Missing a toll payment means a notice goes to the vehicle’s registered owner, plus an administration fee, though NSW is removing this fee for toll notices from July 2026.
- Frequent NSW drivers can claim money back once their weekly tolls pass a set threshold, through the NSW Toll Relief scheme.
Consider reading our guides on how to get an Australian driver’s license and South Australia license plates for more information. And if part of your budget now includes sending money to family overseas, Remitly can help you send AUD quickly and securely.
