{"id":81005,"date":"2026-08-26T21:18:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T21:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/81005\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T21:18:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T21:18:31","slug":"victorian-auditor-generals-office-has-warned-the-srl-east-is-more-likely-than-not-to-blow-its-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/81005\/","title":{"rendered":"Victorian Auditor-General\u2019s Office has warned the SRL East is more likely than not to blow its budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victorian public transport users have been hit with a secret \u201cSuburban Rail Loop <\/a>slug\u201d, Victoria\u2019s financial watchdog has revealed, amid warnings the controversial project is \u201cmore likely than not\u201d to blow its original $34.5bn budget.<\/p>\n

In a report released on Wednesday, the Victorian Auditor-General\u2019s Office revealed <\/a>com\u00admuters have unknowingly been paying the secret 1 per cent levy on all public transport fares across Victoria since January last year.<\/p>\n

The levy \u2013 added on top of existing annual CPI fare increases \u2013 was never publicly disclosed by the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government and Transport Victoria did not acknowledge the levy in their public communications about the 2025 and 2026 annual fare increases,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

Sixty per cent of the revenue the government collects through the levy, estimated at $4.8bn through to 2062, will be used to fund SRL East, making it the project\u2019s largest source of value capture revenue, according to VAGO.<\/p>\n

In its report, VAGO concluded that the project\u2019s overall funding strategy was \u201cnot transparent\u201d. <\/p>\n

It warned SRL East \u2013 to which the federal government has committed $6bn \u2013 was \u201cmore likely than not\u201d to exceed its original cost estimate of up to $34.5bn and was unlikely to meet the government\u2019s target to start running trains by 2035.<\/p>\n

The report was handed down a day after Premier Ben Carroll confirmed his government would proceed with SRL East \u2013 which is an underground rail line between Cheltenham and Box Hill in Melbourne\u2019s east \u2013 at an estimated cost of $32.3bn after it shaved $2bn off the price.<\/p>\n

VAGO said its analysis, as of the end of 2025, suggested a final cost of more than $36bn, but added that there were additional costs required to achieve the government\u2019s claimed benefits for the project and its value capture revenue target that may exceed $2.5bn.<\/p>\n

The state government is relying on value capture mechanisms to fund one-third of SRL East\u2019s cost. It is banking on federal funding to cover another third, and state funding to cover the rest.<\/p>\n

VAGO said housing and employment benefits for the project were dependent on private investors, who were already facing \u201cchallenging market conditions to buy and develop property\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis puts both the project\u2019s expected benefits and revenue from new value capture measures at risk,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

The report said the government had approved $23.3bn from the state budget to fund the project, but only publicly announced $11.8bn. <\/p>\n

It said $6bn had been committed by the federal government, leaving a $5.5bn gap in the project\u2019s funding. Victoria did not have enough funding approved to sign the contract for the second stations package, it added.<\/p>\n

VAGO said the state government\u2019s messaging that SRL East \u201cis actually a housing project\u201d, and the suggestion it warrants additional federal investment on that basis, was \u201cnot transparent\u201d because the project included no approved scope or funding for housing construction.<\/p>\n

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the secret public transport levy was \u201ca scandal of the highest order\u201d and \u201cthe final nail in the coffin\u201d for the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat other secret taxes are Labor levying on Victorians without telling them?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mr Carroll was in Sydney on Wednesday for a national cabinet meeting and presented NSW Premier Chris Minns with a box of Melbourne\u2019s renowned Lune croissants, despite the Victorian bakery having a Sydney outlet. <\/p>\n

In a written statement following the release of VAGO\u2019s report, Mr Carroll said his government was \u201cbuilding the public transport Victorians need now and into the future, and we\u2019re delivering it for $2bn less\u201d. <\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI lead a government that levels with Victorians. When costs change, we\u2019ll tell you. When we find savings, we\u2019ll bank them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a premier taking the state in a new direction and Victorians deserve to know what their money is buying. Under my leadership, they will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Treasurer Colin Brooks earlier denied the public transport levy was contributing directly to the SRL and said that, contrary to VAGO\u2019s report, it did not form part of the project\u2019s value capture framework. But he admitted the government \u201ccould have been more transparent\u201d about how the money was being invested.<\/p>\n

About $13.2bn worth of contracts for the project had been signed as of June, VAGO said.<\/p>\n

The state opposition has pledged to pause and review the project if it wins the November state election.<\/p>\n

\"Lily<\/a><\/p>\n

Lily McCaffrey is a reporter in The Australian’s Melbourne bureau. You can email her at lily.mccaffrey@news.com.au<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Victorian public transport users have been hit with a secret \u201cSuburban Rail Loop slug\u201d, Victoria\u2019s financial watchdog 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