Page 4 - Wealth-Adviser-Issue-124 (FWP)

ISSUE 124
NOVEMBER 2025

PRIVATISED TOLL ROADS

IN AUSTRALIA

WHO REALLY PAYS THE PRICE? pixabay.com

BY WEALTH ADVISER questions are at the core of understanding the true implica-
tions of public–private partnerships (PPPs) and privatisation
Introduction: The Ubiquity and Cost of Toll in the road sector.
Roads
For millions of Australians living in Sydney, Melbourne, How Public–Private Partnerships Shaped the
or Brisbane, toll roads are as much a part of daily life as Toll Road System
morning traffic jams or crowded trains. One company, Australia’s modern toll era began in the late 1990s,
Transurban, dominates this landscape, controlling 18 out marked by the innovative (and now controversial) contract
of 22 major private toll roads, including an overwhelming behind Melbourne’s CityLink. Governments faced mounting
majority in Sydney and Brisbane. The CityLink in Melbourne infrastructure demands and tight budgets. Rather than
alone delivered Transurban $987 million in toll revenue funding costly projects outright, they increasingly turned
over a single year, a sum symbolic of how embedded—and to the PPP model: private companies would finance, build,
lucrative—these roads have become in the nation’s infra- and maintain roads, recouping their investment through
structure. decades-long toll collection.
Surveys from regular commuters regularly highlight the The argument was appealing. As the Social Justice
burden, with many in Sydney’s western suburbs reporting Australia review notes, “Privatisation was sold as a way to
weekly toll bills surpassing $100—a significant percentage deliver faster, more efficient infrastructure at no upfront
of take-home pay for lower-income households. As one cost to the taxpayer.” State governments claimed PPPs
commentator noted, “Drivers in Sydney’s outer west and transferred the financial risks of construction to the private
northwest often face weekly bills of $100 or more, which sector, reducing the impact on their budgets and shifting
can amount to 10–20% of income for lower-earning house- potential cost overruns away from public finances.
holds,” capturing the intensity of this financial weight for ConsultANZ’s analysis of such PPPs points to their
thousands of families. supposed strengths: “The public-private partnership route
But how did Australia’s roads become so tightly woven is frequently lauded for enabling timely project delivery and
into the fabric of private business, and why do everyday sharing of construction risks.” But these apparent benefits
Australians seem to bear so much of the load? These have come with deep and lasting trade-offs.

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