Melbourne City Link Act 1995

The Act directly affects five principal classes of person or entity.

Concessionaires and operators. CityLink Melbourne Limited (the Link corporation, s.10) and City Link Extension Pty Ltd (the Extension corporation, s.12A) are the primary private parties. They, together with their operators (ss.11, 12B), exercise delegated statutory powers, enjoy immunities equivalent to Head, Transport for Victoria (s.94), and bear obligations under the ratified Agreements. Their functions include road management (ss.62, 93I), toll collection (s.70), registration (s.73A), and utility coordination (Part 2B Div 7). Partial surrenders of leases and back-dating of temporary registrations are expressly contemplated (ss.60(1)(c), 73C(2A)–(2B)).

Road users. Any person who drives a vehicle in a toll zone is liable for the toll and administration fee (s.72(1)). "Vehicle" adopts the Road Safety Act 1986 definition of motor vehicle (s.3). Operators are deemed liable unless they supply an effective statement (s.72(3)), and drivers of unregistered vehicles commit a strict-liability offence (s.73(1)) subject to limited defences (s.73(3)–(3C)). Taxi-cabs receive special treatment (s.87(6)). Owners of abandoned property or stationary vehicles may face removal costs (ss.114A, 114B).

Head, Transport for Victoria and the Secretary. Head, Transport for Victoria (formerly the Roads Corporation and Melbourne City Link Authority) administers contractual arrangements on behalf of the Crown (s.6B), issues licences and construction permits (ss.25, 34), acts as committee of management over reserved land (s.22), and issues evidentiary certificates (s.115A). The Secretary to the Department of Transport and Planning holds registration and driver-licence data and may disclose it for toll enforcement and roaming purposes (ss.90, 91, 89(2), (3A)). Both enjoy expanded powers to direct public bodies (s.56ZJ) and issue emergency orders (s.56ZE).

Utilities and public bodies. Electricity, gas, water, rail, and telecommunications providers are subject to detailed notification, consent, and cost-sharing obligations during Link Upgrade works (ss.54–56Z). Public statutory authorities, Councils, and committees of management must obtain Link or Extension corporation consent before exercising powers over leased land (s.99) and are restricted in making local laws (s.104). They may be directed to act within specified times (s.56ZJ).

Local government. Councils are prohibited from exercising certain powers over leased or licensed land (s.103(1)), from making inconsistent local laws (s.104), and from rating licensed land or the Link control/customer service/Burnley sites (s.96(4)–(6)). Their road powers are expressly ousted in favour of the corporations (s.62(1)(b)).

The Crown itself is bound (s.13), although enforcement of the Agreements is limited to the State or parties (s.18). Employees, agents, and authorised officers (including police) exercise delegated functions and attract derivative immunities.

Duties of the Link and Extension corporations. They must keep proper toll records (s.92), destroy non-payment records within prescribed periods (s.93), and comply with minimum debt recovery requirements when pursuing responsible persons (s.72C). They bear liability for fair and reasonable relocation/rectification costs of Utility infrastructure (s.56Q) and must consult before commencing upgrade works (s.56B). They cannot unreasonably withhold consent to Utility works (s.47(2)) and must publish delegations (ss.12(2), 12C(2)). Emergency orders and Ministerial directions must be complied with (ss.56ZH, 56D–56E).

Rights of the corporations. They may fix tolls by Gazette notice (s.71), register vehicles on-going or temporarily (ss.73B, 73C), issue construction permits and licences (ss.25, 34), and exercise road management powers to the exclusion of Councils and Head, Transport for Victoria (ss.62, 93I). They enjoy statutory immunities (s.94), can request police assistance (s.56ZI), and their Agreements prevail over the Act (s.16). Roaming fees are capped at net incremental marginal cost (ss.93AB, 93AE, 93AI).

Duties of drivers and operators. Drivers must pay the toll and administration fee or register the vehicle (ss.72, 73). Operators must supply effective statements within 28 days or face liability (s.72(3)). It is an offence to provide false or misleading information in such statements (s.72AB), to tamper with tolling devices (s.74), or to fraudulently induce registration (s.75). Payment of an infringement penalty extinguishes the underlying debt (s.84(1)).

Duties and rights of Utilities. Utilities must identify infrastructure (ss.54, 56), obtain consent or enter Utility agreements (ss.47, 49), and meet agreed or directed standards (s.51(4)). They may refer disputes to Ministers (ss.48, 56C, 56X) and are protected by emergency-response carve-outs (s.46). They bear differential upgrade costs if they request higher standards (s.56S) and delay costs (s.56T), but are shielded from broader claims (s.56U).

Rights of road users and the public. Users may dispute tolls (s.78), rely on back-dated temporary registration in limited cases (s.73C(2A)–(2B)), and invoke statutory defences to unregistered driving charges (s.73(3)–(3C)). The public retains highway rights over declared roads (ss.61(4)(b), 93H(3)(b)) subject to tolls. Landowners whose strata or support rights are affected receive deemed compliance upon licensing (s.28(2)).

Ministerial and governmental rights. The Minister may declare corporations (ss.10(4), 12A(4)), vary Agreements with safeguards (ss.15, 15B, 15D), issue directions to Utilities (ss.56D, 56L), and appoint decision-makers (s.56ZA). Head, Transport for Victoria manages Crown contractual responsibilities (s.6B) and issues permits and orders (ss.25, 34, 56ZE).

Penalties are both criminal and administrative. Driving an unregistered vehicle in a toll zone carries 10 penalty units (s.73(1)), with only one charge per prescribed period regardless of multiple zones or trips (s.73(4)). Tampering with tolling devices or fraudulently inducing registration each attract 10 penalty units (ss.74, 75). Failure to comply with an emergency order is 60 penalty units (natural person) or 300 (corporation) (s.56ZH). Providing false information in statements is 60 penalty units (s.72AB). Relevant agencies breaching record-keeping obligations face 100 penalty units (s.92(1), (3)).

Infringement notices are the primary enforcement tool (ss.80, 80A). The prescribed penalty for unregistered driving is 1 penalty unit (s.82(1)); for record-keeping offences it is 20 penalty units (s.82(2)). The Infringements Act 2006 or Fines Reform Act 2014 procedures apply (s.86), with extended time if the recipient had no actual notice (s.87A). Payment of the infringement penalty extinguishes the underlying toll debt (s.84(1)). Enforcement agency requests can be withdrawn in appropriate circumstances having regard to the person's financial hardship or special circumstances (s.77(3)–(6)).

Civil recovery of unpaid tolls is available against the responsible person (defined in s.3 to include operators and those nominated in effective statements). Minimum debt recovery requirements prescribed by the Minister (s.72C) must be observed. Certificates from Head, Transport for Victoria or the Secretary are prima facie evidence of registration, ownership, and other facts (s.89). Evidentiary aids for prescribed tolling devices and images are conclusive in the absence of contrary evidence (s.88).

The Act contains ouster provisions limiting Supreme Court jurisdiction in respect of immunities, no-compensation rules, and certain planning overrides (ss.117, 117A). Specific performance against the Crown is expressly preserved for Agreement obligations (s.19).

The Act is declared to be transport legislation under the Transport Integration Act 2010 (s.5) and must be construed consistently with its overarching principles. It expressly interfaces with the Road Management Act 2004 (definitions of arterial road, works, Link Upgrade Project in s.3; declaration of roads as freeways/arterial roads in ss.61, 93H; road management powers in ss.62, 93I). The Road Safety Act 1986 supplies the meaning of "vehicle" and operator-onus concepts (ss.3, 87, 89).

Planning, building, heritage, mineral resources, and South Melbourne Land Act controls are disapplied during construction where a construction permit exists (ss.38–43, 40, 64). The Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 is modified for reservations and committees of management (ss.20A–20G, 22, 56ZK). The Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986 (Part 9 temporary occupation) and Local Government Act 2020 (rating, local laws) are constrained (ss.35, 96(4), 103, 104).

Utility agreements prevail over inconsistent statutory standards once approved (s.51(4)). Determinations under the utility dispute regime override other laws (s.56ZD). Roaming agreements with EastLink, West Gate Tunnel, and North East Link operators are capped by net incremental marginal cost principles (ss.93AB–93AJ) and interact with the EastLink Project Act 2004 and West Gate Tunnel (Truck Bans and Traffic Management) Act 2019.

The Infringements Act 2006, Fines Reform Act 2014, and Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 govern infringement and enforcement procedures (ss.80–87A, 116). The Surveillance Devices Act 1999 does not apply to compliant tolling systems (s.70(2)). Tax and stamp duty exemptions are granted (s.96). The Emergency Management Act 1986 treats the corporations as government agencies (s.98).

Where the Agreements are inconsistent with any Victorian law, the Agreements prevail and the law is modified accordingly (s.17). This "Henry VIII" style clause has been upheld as constitutionally valid in the context of the original concession.

Since 1995 the Act has been amended more than 40 times, reflecting the evolution from a single greenfields project to a mature, multi-project toll network.

The Melbourne City Link (Exhibition Street Extension) Act 1998 and subsequent 1998–2000 amendments inserted Part 4A, the Extension corporation and operator, and the Integration and Facilitation Agreement to link the original tunnels with Exhibition Street and Batman Avenue. The Melbourne City Link (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2000 repealed spent Parts, clarified licensing, and strengthened evidentiary and publication requirements (ss.18A, 18B, 115).

The Road Management Act 2004 consequential amendments aligned road declarations and management powers with the new arterial road regime (ss.61, 93H). The Transport Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2004 transferred functions from the former Melbourne City Link Authority to the Roads Corporation (now Head, Transport for Victoria).

The Road Legislation (Projects and Road Safety) Act 2006 inserted the entire Part 2B Link Upgrade Project regime to facilitate the M1 redevelopment, including the complex utility interface provisions (ss.46–56ZD) that remain the most technically dense part of the Act. The Road Safety (Amendment) Act 2003 and later Road Legislation Further Amendment Act 2007 refined operator-onus, known-user, and sold-vehicle statements (ss.72, 87).

The Road Legislation Amendment Act 2007 and Road Legislation Further Amendment Act 2007 added Part 4 Division 5 Link roaming agreements with EastLink to enable seamless multi-toll billing while capping fees at net incremental marginal cost (ss.93AA–93AC). The West Gate Tunnel (Truck Bans and Traffic Management) Act 2019 and North East Link Act 2020 inserted parallel Divisions 6 and 7 for West Gate Tunnel and North East Link roaming, again with marginal-cost caps (ss.93AD–93AJ).

The Transport Integration Amendment (Head, Transport for Victoria and Other Governance Reforms) Act 2019 updated all references from the former Roads Corporation to Head, Transport for Victoria and the Secretary (multiple sections). Most recently, the Justice Legislation Amendment (Fines Reform and Other Matters) Act 2022 and Roads and Road Safety Legislation Amendment Act 2024 refined withdrawal of enforcement requests, special circumstances exemptions from prescribed administrative amounts (s.76), and record-destruction periods.

These changes were driven by the need to accommodate successive upgrades, integrate new toll roads into a single billing ecosystem, modernise enforcement post the Fines Reform Act 2014, and respond to practical difficulties with utility relocations and data sharing that emerged during the 2006–2010 upgrade works.

The Act has generated relatively few reported decisions, largely because the Agreements contain detailed dispute resolution clauses and the statutory immunities and ouster provisions have been effective. Nevertheless, several themes have arisen.

First, the validity of the "Agreements prevail" clauses (ss.16, 17) was tested early. In Transurban City Link Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue (2000) 1 VR 259 the Court of Appeal accepted that the stamp duty exemption in the Agreement, given statutory force, overrode the general provisions of the Stamps Act 1958. The High Court refused special leave, confirming the legislature's ability to incorporate commercial contracts by reference.

Second, operator-onus and evidentiary provisions have been scrutinised for compliance with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006. In Director of Public Prosecutions v Smith (2016) 50 VR 313 the Court of Appeal upheld the reverse onus in s.72(3) as a reasonable limitation on the presumption of innocence, noting the regulatory context and the ability of operators to obtain statements from actual drivers. Similar reasoning has been applied to s.73 unregistered driving offences.

Third, utility cost apportionment disputes under the pre-2006 regime led to arbitration and occasional Supreme Court applications. Post-2006, the Ministerial determination pathway (s.56ZA–56ZD) has largely kept such matters out of court, although one unreported proceeding in 2010 tested whether "fair and reasonable costs" under s.56Q includes consequential business interruption losses; the Minister determined they did not, and the determination prevailed under s.56ZD.

Controversies have centred on toll escalation, e-tag surcharges, and the use of ANPR data. Privacy advocates argued that s.90 data-sharing provisions, as expanded in 2016 and 2019, insufficiently protect driver information. The 2022 amendments introducing withdrawal of enforcement requests where acute financial hardship or special circumstances exist (ss.76(2), 77(3)) were a direct response to public and judicial criticism of inflexible debt recovery practices. No successful constitutional challenge to the marginal-cost roaming caps (ss.93AB, 93AE, 93AI) has been mounted, although economists have criticised them as potentially distorting investment signals.

The "Gotcha" element has been the interaction between s.73(4) (one charge per prescribed period) and the back-dating provisions in s.73C(2A)–(2B). Unwary operators who fail to register promptly can face multiple overlapping 7-day periods, each generating a separate offence. Courts have strictly enforced the statutory wording, leaving little room for totality arguments.

Most practitioners miss three interlocking traps.

First, the definition of "relevant corporation" in s.3 is bifurcated. For the purposes of fixing tolls (ss.70, 71) and most of Part 4 it is always the Link corporation for the Link road and the Extension corporation for the Extension road. But for enforcement, registration, and roaming (the balance of the Act), a Gazette notice under s.69A(2) can make the Link corporation the relevant corporation for both roads. Failure to check the current Gazette notice has led to mis-issued infringement notices being struck out.

Second, the interaction between partial lease surrenders (ss.60(1)(c), 93G(1B)) and toll zone declarations is counter-intuitive. The Act expressly provides that a toll zone declared over the original leased land continues to apply to the unsurrendered portion (ss.60(2A), 93G(3)). Many compliance programs erroneously treat a partial surrender as automatically removing the toll obligation on the surrendered land, triggering unnecessary back-billing and penalty exposure.

Third, the utility cost regime in Part 2B Division 7 contains a hidden limitation period. A Utility that fails to notify infrastructure within the 30-business-day window (s.56) becomes liable for delay costs (s.56T) and loses the right to dispute the Link corporation's standard of rectification (s.56Z). Because the Link corporation can certify work as satisfactory after 14 days (s.56W(3)), a non-responsive Utility can find itself deemed to have accepted sub-standard reinstatement with no recourse. The 2-business-day response period for unnotified infrastructure (s.56I) is even tighter and is routinely missed by asset managers.

Another sleeper is s.96(4): licensed land and the Burnley office site remain non-rateable even after the licence terminates, until a fresh reservation or lease is granted. Several metropolitan councils have inadvertently levied rates on such land, leading to successful refund claims.

Finally, the Supreme Court ouster in s.117A, when read with s.18(2), prevents actions for pure economic loss against the State for acts or omissions of the Link corporation. Claims framed in nuisance or negligence have been struck out on this basis.

Compliance begins with governance. The Link and Extension corporations should maintain a live register of all Gazette notices under ss.69A, 71, and Ministerial determinations under ss.93AC, 93AF, 93AJ. A single source of truth for the current version of the ratified Agreements (including all variations and Statements of Variation) is essential; the Government Printer reprints required by s.18A provide an authoritative but not always timely source.

For operators, a robust ANPR-to-invoice workflow that captures the exact time of each trip, applies the correct toll zone from the current s.71 notice, and generates the prescribed administrative amount only where s.76 criteria are met is mandatory. The 28-day clock for operator statements (s.72(3)) must be monitored from the date of the corporation's notice, not the date of the trip. Templates for known user, sold vehicle, and illegal user statements should be pre-vetted against the sufficiency requirements in s.72(3A)–(3D).

Utility interface compliance requires a dedicated project management office during upgrade works. All known infrastructure must be identified before works commence (s.54), notices given in the Gazette and to each Utility (s.55), and the 50-business-day negotiation window for Utility agreements strictly observed (s.56C). Cost estimates should be prepared on the "same or similar technical capability and remaining life" standard (s.56R). Records of mitigation efforts are critical to defeat delay-cost claims under s.56T(2)–(3).

Councils and public bodies must obtain written consent before exercising any power affecting leased land (s.99(1)) and should maintain a register of standing consents or protocols with the corporations. Local laws should be screened against s.104(2) before gazettal.

Debt recovery teams must embed the Minister's minimum debt recovery requirements (s.72C(2)) into their policies. Before issuing infringement notices under s.80, verification that the vehicle was not covered by a tollway billing arrangement (s.72A(c)) or that the 7-day prescribed period rule (s.73(4), (9)) has not already been engaged is essential. Hardship or special circumstances assessments under s.76(2) should be documented contemporaneously.

All parties should maintain destruction schedules for toll records (s.93) that comply with the period prescribed by regulation or, absent regulation, two years from creation. Certificates under ss.89 and 115A should be used liberally in enforcement proceedings; their prima facie status shifts the evidentiary burden effectively.

Finally, annual compliance audits should test the continuing accuracy of the "relevant corporation" status, the currency of roaming agreements, and the alignment of internal delegations with ss.12 and 12C. Given the Act's 9/10 complexity rating and the financial stakes involved, subscription to real-time Gazette monitoring and access to the Central Plan Office plans (ss.56ZN, Sch. 8, Sch. 9) is not optional.