NSW Government Admits Residents Wrongfully Charged $144M in Surcharge Fees
Image: NSW Finance Minister Courtney Houssos speaks to the media in Sydney, Wednesday, August 7, 2024. Image: (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi)
The NSW state government admitted to finding $144 million in illegal surcharge fees charged to New South Wales residents across 92 million transactions.
On Wednesday, State Finance Minister Courtney Houssos revealed government agencies–Revenue NSW and Service NSW– have continually charged extra fees for services like driver’s licence renewals, despite warnings and legal advice against the unlawful practice.
$144 million in illegal surcharge fees from NSW Government services
During a review of the books it was found “The payments of over $144 million were charged despite the practice being flagged as unlawful in legal advice received from the Crown Solicitor’s Office on three occasions between February 2016 and December 2022,” said Houssos, according to Sydney Morning Herald.
NSW Ombudsman to investigate further
The government has passed the matter to the state’s anti-corruption agency, NSW Ombudsman to investigate the “possible serious maladministration” and the “apparent failure to act on the Crown Solicitor’s advice” in 2016.
Government officials ‘shocked’ and ‘extremely concerned’ by exorbitant total
Current government ministers were taken aback by how long the abhorrent practice went on for and amounted to.
Houssos said “I find these revelations extremely concerning, and I can’t see how there is an excuse for a government agency to be repeatedly advised that an activity is unlawful and to continue doing it,” he continued, “these are serious allegations.”
Small fees ultimately added up for NSW residents
Although the typical fees charged were small, 30 cents for drivers licence renewal for example, the fees ultimately added up. According to Houssos, the fees added up to $30 over eight years in unlawful charges.
Despite the payments being largely small, the Minister for Customer Service, Jihad Dib, said it was “about the principle”, according to SMH.
“It’s about the fact that people expect the government will always behave properly … Minister Houssos and I are so absolutely gobsmacked … how was this allowed to happen? How did this continue when there had been evidence of legal advice going back to 2016 where it was said this is not allowed?” he said.
NSW Customer service task force trying to ‘switch off’ card transaction fees
The NSW Department of Customer Service leading the task force has turned off more than 90% of merchant fee surcharges in place. Along with more agencies, the DCS is trying to shut down all remaining fees on merchant transactions spread across thousands of card card terminals and various technologies.
NSW Government says no guarantee for refunds to ‘privacy issues’
The NSW Government has said they cannot commit to refunding citizens due to privacy issues of who paid what, making the matter more complex. According to Dib, “they are working on a number of potential strategies”.
