Public transport, short-term stays about to get more expensive in Victoria

Using public transport in Victoria will cost an extra 40¢ a day for a full-fare passenger from January 1, under a suite of price hikes and changes to the law that come into effect in 2025.

The capped daily full fare will now be $11 on myki, including regional V/Line services. The latest price rise comes off the back of two fare hikes within six months in 2023-24, when full-fare daily tickets rose by 80¢ and then 60¢.

The daily cap for a concession cardholder is up by 20¢, to $5.50.

Louie Sinkins rarely uses public transport in his work as a carpenter. The 20-year-old, who was on his way to the CBD to celebrate New Year’s Eve, said 40¢ a day might not sound like much, but the price rise was disappointing after increases in the past 18 months.

“Forty cents seems harmless at face value,” Sinkins said. “Everything adds up at the moment … Everything in today’s world just seems to be going up more and more.”

He said Melbourne had a good public transport system, but the government should encourage more people to use it. He questioned whether there would be less fare evasion with cheaper fares.

Louie Sinkins at Watergardens train station on Tuesday.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

Weekend and public holiday daily caps have increased from $7.40 to $7.60 for full-fare passengers and from $3.60 to $3.80 for concession holders. These fares did not increase during 2024.

A weekly pass will be an extra $2 for full-fare passengers, at $55 for seven days, or $1 extra for a concession pass at $27.50.

Other activities and some everyday costs will also be more expensive in Victoria from 2025.

Staying in an Airbnb

The 7.5 per cent short stay levy, announced by then-premier Daniel Andrews as part of the housing statement in 2023, will come into effect on Wednesday.

Platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz will be charged the extra fee based on the cost of the short stay. For example, a holiday property that costs $200 a night would incur a tax of $15 a night.

The platforms have been campaigning against the change.

“Airbnb supports regulation of the short-term rental sector, but the government’s new tax will hurt mum and dad hosts and tourism by driving up the price of the family holiday,” said Michael Crosby, Airbnb Australia and New Zealand’s head of public policy.

The cost of staying in an Airbnb property will cost 7.5 per cent more from Wednesday.

Airbnb guests will be charged the levy as part of the booking cost.

The government hopes the change will encourage more property owners to bring homes back into the long-term rental market and estimates the tax will raise about $60 million a year to help fund Homes Victoria.

Primary places of residence are exempt, as are bookings longer than 28 days.

The new law will also give councils the power to ban short-stay accommodation.

Vacant homes

The state government has also expanded the vacant residential land tax, charged at 1 per cent of a property’s value.

Previously, the tax applied only to unused homes in inner and middle Melbourne. But from January 1, it will apply to all of Victoria for the previous 12 months.

Homes that were under construction, and uninhabitable, will not be counted as vacant for up to two years. Exemptions remain for holiday homes.

But the tax will apply to undeveloped land that is zoned for residential use, if it has not been improved within five years.

The tax rate will also double to 2 per cent if a home remains vacant after two years, and it will triple if it remains empty after three years.

Trips to the zoo and snow

School and university groups visiting Victoria’s zoos will pay more, as will those visiting the state’s alpine resorts.

Early childhood to year 12 students will pay $26.50, up from $23, to visit the Werribee Open Range Zoo, Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary and Kyabram Fauna Park.

For tertiary students, tickets will now be $40 rather than the $34 charged in 2024. The cost of the learning program is included for students.

It will be more expensive for school groups to visit Melbourne Zoo from January 1.Credit: Zoos Victoria

All children can go for free on weekends, public holidays and school holidays.

The cost of taking a car to Victoria’s alpine resorts will be $67, up from $64. Tour buses will be $21, up only slightly from $20.50.

Entry is free outside the snow season.

Roads

Getting new custom number plates will also increase in cost. They will rise $20 a pair from Wednesday, ranging between $205 and $240, for slimline, slimline black and black motorbike plates. White Euro-style number plates will increase by $55 from January 13, to $620.

General issue plates will remain at $41.80.

The congestion levy, passed on directly to people who use car parks in inner Melbourne in an attempt to deter motorists, will increase from Wednesday to match annual inflation. That’s ahead of a bigger expansion in 2026, revealed earlier this month.

Tolls will go up by 1 per cent.

New Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the government couldn’t manage money.

“Labor’s latest tax and fee hikes will hit households and businesses at the worst possible time,” Battin said.

A government spokeswoman said interest rate rises were having a real impact on household budgets. “We’re making life easier for busy families … providing tangible cost-of-living relief through Solar Victoria or Victoria energy upgrades, utility relief grants, free rego for apprentices, free kinder, capped V/Line fares, stamp duty exemptions and the school savings bonus.”

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