ACT numberplates aren’t the only ones that start with Y anymore – and it’s causing issues. Photo: James Coleman.
Hundreds of Canberra drivers are being slugged with Sydney tolls for roads they haven’t driven – and the ACT Government wants it stopped, fast.
ACT Minister for Transport Chris Steel has written to the CEO of one of Sydney’s biggest toll operators, Transurban, and asked for “immediate action” on a problem that’s becoming more common.
Since NSW began adopting Y-prefixed numberplates in 2012, more cars over the border share identical alphanumeric combinations to cars in the ACT – tripping up the AI-driven software employed on many of Sydney’s toll roads.
M2 Hills Motorway is one of Sydney’s many toll roads. Photo: Sardaka.
Back in November 2024, Linda (last name omitted by request) told Region she received a flurry of toll notices from Transurban’s toll provider Linkt for six months – due to the fact her 2010 Hyundai i30 hatchback shared the same numberplate as a Nissan Navara ute in NSW.
“Each toll road in Sydney was managed by a different company, so each time I received a toll notice, I had to contact the company and request they review the footage to confirm if the registration plate was ACT or NSW and what the make and model of the vehicle was,” she said.
“This would often take several days and several phone calls trying to reach someone who understood what I was trying to tell them.”
Eventually, Linda was able to get each toll company to put an alert on the specific number plate so staff would have to physically review the footage before sending out the bill – but the notices only stopped after her car was written off in an accident.
Numberplates in the ACT have begun with Y since 1948, when the now defunct Australian Transport Advisory Council (ATAC) suggested numberplates starting with letters between XAA and ZZZ be reserved for the Federal Government and the two territories (rumour suggests it may have also had to do with ‘Y’ as the shape of the city layout).
But the prefix isn’t exclusive to the ACT, with NSW now well into the Y run and South Australia and Victoria issuing their own over the years too.
In his letter to Transurban CEO Michelle Jablko, Mr Steel requested “all effort be made to identify ACT motorists wrongly charged and issue refunds as quickly as possible”.
ACT Minister for Transport Chris Steel has asked the toll provider to create a “specific contact line and email … for those who may be affected”. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
“I am writing on behalf of ACT motorists to ask you take immediate action to address the unauthorised charging of ACT motor vehicle licence holders,” he wrote.
“I also ask that Transurban urgently meets with Access Canberra … to discuss the actions Transurban intends to take to prevent future unauthorised charging and its plan to compensate ACT motorists that have been affected.”
Mr Steel also criticised the company for the fact “ACT licence holders attempting to contact Transurban to challenge unauthorised transactions have found it difficult”.
“I therefore request that a specific contact line and email is made available for those who may be affected.”
ACT senator David Pocock has described the errors as an “unacceptable failing”, while federal MPs Alicia Payne, Andrew Leigh and David Smith have signed a joint letter saying they “expect these incorrect toll charges will be resolved by Transurban and the NSW Government”.
Canberra Liberals leader Leanne Castley has gone further, arguing the ACT Government should “undertake an investigation into how this situation has occurred, inform those motorists who have a duplicate NSW plate, and provide a new unique number plate to avoid future issues”.
Transurban has apologised for the errors, saying in a statement it “sincerely apologises” but adding that cases remain “rare”.
“While incorrect charges are rare, we understand the inconvenience this causes and are actively working to improve our systems and processes to minimise these occurrences,” it said in a statement.
Adjudicators manually checking each instance of illegal mobile phone use in the ACT. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Transport NSW, which operates its own government tolls on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, has also said the mistake is a “very rare occurrence in a system that processes millions of journeys every month”.
“E-Toll, the NSW Government-owned toll road provider, is aware of one ACT-registered vehicle being misidentified as a NSW-registered vehicle by its cameras,” a spokesperson told Region.
“When this does happen, E-Toll acts to resolve issues promptly and provides refunds where appropriate.”
The NSW Government is attempting to make it easier for motorists to dispute incorrect toll notices by recruiting a “customer advocate responsible for making the system more motorist-oriented in areas including complaints and administration”.
The spokesperson also said an industry-wide ‘Independent Tolling Ombudsman’ had been established in legislation and “Transport for NSW is working with industry to stand it up”.
Transurban said any motorists who believed they had been incorrectly charged should contact Linkt “so we can resolve the matter promptly”.
