About 400,000 daily public transport travellers will benefit from state budget relief. Picture by John Veage
Opal fares will be frozen at 2025 prices in a cost-of-living relief measure that will benefit about 400,000 daily public transport travellers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Supporter Subscription
Unlimited access on the web
Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox
The digital version of Today's Paper
Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia
It is one of several "practical help" measures in today's State Budget. Others include:
- $100 off private vehicle registration, worth $435.1 million across 4.4 million vehicles, with an $80 cut for motorcycles (excluding caravans and trailers).
- Lowering the weekly toll cap from $60 to $50 for 2026-27, providing even more support for regular toll users.
They are provided in a 12-month, $561.4 million Transport Affordability Package.
Other features of the budget include:
- Toll administration fees will be scrapped from July. This will save at least $10 a notice, ending a charge that was in some cases twice the toll itself and cost motorists $60 million last year.
- $557.1 million for the Home Energy Saver program, providing interest-free loans and discounts.
- A $1,000 cost-of-living payment for more than 120,000 NSW Government employees, triggered because Sydney CPI growth exceeded 4 per cent between the March quarters of 2025 and 2026.
- A further 30,000 first home buyers are expected to benefit from the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme in 2026-27, with the average amount of assistance $20,400 each. This is on top of the 94,000 first home buyers helped since 1 July 2023.
As it happens
Breaking news alert
Be the first to know when news breaks.


























