Canberra Drivers Wrongly Billed for Sydney Toll Trips Due to Duplicate Plates

Several Canberra motorists have been wrongly charged for Sydney toll road trips taken by other drivers, after a mix-up involving licence plates with identical letter and number combinations.

The 'Y' Connection
The problem stems from the way Australian states and territories allocate registration numbers. Since 1948, ACT number plates have begun with the letter "Y" - a decision made by the now-defunct Australian Transport Advisory Council. Larger states, like New South Wales, were allocated broader ranges of combinations, but as vehicle numbers grew nationwide, multiple jurisdictions - including NSW - began issuing "Y" plates.

Transurban Apologises
Toll road operator Transurban, which runs the Linkt network, has apologised for the errors.
"While incorrect charges are rare, we understand the inconvenience this causes and are actively working to improve our systems and processes," a spokesperson said, urging affected motorists to contact Linkt for a resolution.

Government Calls for Action
ACT Transport Minister Chris Steel has formally written to Transurban, demanding urgent action to stop the "unauthorised charging" of ACT drivers whose plate numbers match NSW vehicles. He has called for refunds to be issued promptly, a dedicated contact line and email for affected motorists, and meetings with Access Canberra to prevent further errors.

Mr Steel also noted that some drivers had reported difficulty in challenging the incorrect charges.

How Plates Are Verified
An ACT government spokesperson said infringements are only issued after authorised officers match the plate details with an evidentiary image showing the vehicle's state or territory identifier, along with its make, model, and colour. Reissuing number plates due to duplication, they said, was unnecessary.

NSW Response
Transport for NSW confirmed it was aware of one case where an ACT vehicle had been misidentified as NSW-registered by toll cameras.
"This is a very rare occurrence in a system that processes millions of journeys every month," a spokesperson said. "When it happens, refunds are provided."

NSW authorities said toll cameras photograph the plate and its state of registration. If the system can't automatically match it to a tag, an operator reviews the image manually. Misidentified plates are then placed on a "watch list" for future checks.

NSW Motorways is also appointing a Customer Advocate to make the toll system more "motorist-orientated," particularly in handling complaints and disputed toll notices.