How 2026 will start sweet, but sting later, for Victorians

Though January will start with a few sweeteners for Victorians, 2026 won’t be without its stings as the year continues.

From public transport and parking hikes to protective anti-hate laws, here are all the changes to be across going into the new year.

What will be free?

Throughout January, travel on public transport will be free for everyone on weekends, an announcement made following the Metro Tunnel opening in November.

Weekend tolls on the West Gate Tunnel will also be waived on weekends in January.

Longer term, Victorian children aged under 18 and using a youth myki card will enjoy free public transport year round. The change will save families up to $755 a child per year (the cost of an annual pass).

Victorian seniors cardholders will also be able to travel for free on weekends across the state from Thursday.

Myki fares to increase

Daily public transport fares will increase by 40¢, to $11.40 for full-fare travellers and $5.70 for concession cardholders, across metropolitan and regional networks. On weekends and public holidays, the capped daily fares will increase to $8 and $4 respectively.

For a commuter using public transport five days a week, the price hike will add more than $100 a year to their travel bill.

The price of regional town bus fares will stay the same, costing $3 for a single trip and $6 daily.

Tolls

From January 1, the maximum CityLink toll for a single car trip will climb from $12.25 to $12.38.

The West Gate Tunnel toll point will rise by 4¢ to $4.13 for cars, while the morning peak-hour charge will jump to $6.61.

This means motorists wanting to enter the city using the tunnel during a weekday morning peak will now be charged $10.74.

A 24-hour pass to use both the West Gate Tunnel and CityLink will be $38.52 for cars and $70.03 for utes and vans.

Congestion levy increase

The annual levy on car parking spaces in Melbourne’s CBD and surrounding suburbs will increase by more than 70 per cent from January 1, 2026. 

The levy is charged to car park owners, and includes off-street parking, with the costs set to be passed onto commuters.

Car park owners in category 1 areas – mostly the CBD – will face annual charges of $3030 a space, while owners in category 2 areas – which includes inner-city suburbs such as Abbotsford, South Yarra and Richmond – will face charges of $2150 a space.

Vacant residential land tax

The tax on empty homes will be expanded to include empty land in metropolitan Melbourne that has been undeveloped for five consecutive years or more in 2026.

Vacant residential land tax charges are:

• 1 per cent of the capital improved value of the land for the first year;
• 2 per cent of the capital improved value of the land where the land is liable for a second consecutive year; and
• 3 per cent of the capital improved value of the land where the land is liable for a third consecutive year.

Fines for taxi drivers

From January 1, penalties for taxi drivers who do not use a meter, or keep their meters running even when a trip has finished, will increase from $508.77 to $814.04, and the maximum penalty a court can impose will increase from 10 penalty units to 20.

Council rates

Though these charges won’t increase until July 1, they are determined ahead of the new year, with Local Government Minister Nick Staikos setting the 2026-27 council rate cap at 2.75 per cent – a drop of 0.25 per cent from the 2025-26 cap of 3 per cent.

Councils cannot increase their rates above this limit unless they have a special exemption.

Laws coming into effect in 2026

While most of the new Victorian laws slated for 2026 are not coming into effect on Thursday, a slew of major reforms will become active from this year.

From February 1, enforcement of Victoria’s new tobacco licensing scheme will begin, which means it will be an offence to sell tobacco products in the state without a valid licence.

From March, people accused of repeat offending for certain offences will face stricter bail tests than they would if they were accused of an offence for the first time.

New anti-hate laws will kick in on June 30 and allow Victorians to take civil action against public abuse or online trolling that a “reasonable person” would find hateful or humiliating.

The reforms will also make it easier to penalise those who use public platforms to incite serious hatred against people based on their identity, gender, or disability.

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