Suburban Rail Loop: Victorian government secretly increased public transport fares to help pay for controversial SRL

Labor put ‘levy on all public transport fares in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria’ since January 2025, auditor-general says

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.