Accident Towing Fees Review 2025

Every four years we conduct a review which recommends to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety:

• whether accident towing and storage fees are appropriate
• how and if accident towing and storage fees should be adjusted
• whether the fees for related services (such as salvage) should be regulated.

The minister may take into account our recommendations to make a determination on fees.

We assess fees only for regular vehicles within metropolitan Melbourne (includes the Mornington Peninsula but excludes the Yarra Ranges). This area is formally known as the 'Melbourne controlled area'.

Heavy vehicle towing fees, licence fees, licence boundaries, the accident allocation scheme and accident towing fees outside the Melbourne controlled area are not within our review scope. 

Draft report 

Our draft report outlines the basis for our draft recommendations to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety on accident towing, storage and salvage fees in the Melbourne controlled area.

Our draft recommendations are:

• Current regulated accident towing fees are appropriate and should only be increased in line with current indexation arrangements (Melbourne Transport consumer price index minus the productivity adjustment factor).
• Current regulated storage fees are appropriate and should only be increased in line with current indexation arrangements (Melbourne Transport consumer price index minus the productivity adjustment factor).
• The default productivity adjustment factor is appropriate and should remain at 0.5 per cent.
• The Minister for Roads and Road Safety should not make a determination on basic salvage fees under section 211 of the Accident Towing Services Act 2007.

Our assessment is primarily based on our benchmarking analysis, industry data and the initial views of key accident towing industry stakeholders.

Send us your feedback

We encourage you to provide written submissions which address any issues in our draft report or other information you consider relevant to the review.

Please send written submissions by close of business, Wednesday, 5 March 2025 at either:

• Engage Victoria at Engage Victoria consultation
• Email at transport@esc.vic.gov.au
• Mail marked:
  
  Attention: Price Monitoring and Regulation Division – Transport
  Essential Services Commission
  Level 8, 570 Bourke Street 
  Melbourne VIC 3000

Current fees and charges

Regulated accident towing fees are adjusted annually in line with Melbourne transport price movements. Current fees and charges are here: Dept Transport: towing fees.

Got questions?

Contact us and we can help answer your questions about this project.