South Australians will soon be paying more for traffic fines, bus trips and driver’s licences when a raft of new state government charges are increased in just over a month.
Various state government charges will increase by an average of 3 per cent from next financial year, meaning a five-year driver’s licence renewal will increase by $10 — from $255 to $265 — on July 1.
Ten-year renewal will increase by $20 from $510 to $530.
The fine for driving an unregistered vehicle on a South Australian road was $457 in 2023, without the victims of crime levy.
But from July 1 it will be $471, according to the government’s gazette.
The fine for speeding less than 10km/h will be increased to $202, from the current fine of $196.
Bus fares will also increase, with the price of a regular metro card fare going up from $4.25 to $4.40 a trip during peak travel time.
SA Treasurer Stephen Mulligan said the increase was less than the annual 4.3 per cent increase in the Consumer Price Index recorded in Adelaide between March 2023 and 2024.
Some good news
However, Mulligan said a lower cost for compulsory third-party (CTP) insurance should offset an increase in vehicle registration fees.
South Australian metro drivers will pay $260.71 for CTP from July 1, a drop of $16.13 on last year’s fee.
Outside the metropolitan area, the cheapest CTP rate will be $179.39, compared to the current fee of about $189.
This will lead to an overall decrease in vehicle registration fees, according to the government.
A 12-month registration for a four-cylinder car would be reduced from $663.93 to $657.10 from July 1, saving drivers almost $7.
For owners of six-cylinder cars, the saving would only be $1.83.
“We realise that everyone is watching every expense in their household budget at the moment, and we hope that today’s news when it comes to vehicle registration bills will be welcomes by motorists,” Mulligan said.
