The New South Wales government is currently investigating potential serious maladministration related to unlawful merchant fees that have been charged to millions of residents.

Since 2016, NSW government agencies have illegally charged approximately $144 million in merchant fees across 92 million credit card transactions.

Legal advice from the Crown Solicitor's Office indicated that charging these fees was unlawful from February 2016 to December 2022, despite NSW Treasury directing agencies to recover these fees in 2012.

Despite receiving repeated legal warnings about the illegality of these surcharges, Service NSW continued to impose these fees on customers.

Customer Service Minister Jihad Dib expressed concern over the ongoing nature of these unlawful charges, highlighting the need for accountability.

The average surcharge on payments to Revenue NSW in the 2023-24 period was reported to be 92 cents, with typical fees for services like license renewals and marriage certificates being as low as 30 cents.

In response to the situation, a taskforce has been established to immediately halt the merchant fees, successfully eliminating charges from Revenue NSW and the Rental Bond Board, affecting over 80% of Service NSW transactions.

Minister Houssos noted that the previous Coalition government had received legal advice indicating these fees were unlawful, yet they persisted.

Dib emphasized the need for clarity on how these unlawful charges occurred, expressing shock at the revelations.

Affected individuals are encouraged to register for updates regarding the government's response through Service NSW's website or hotline.

The government aims to eliminate all remaining merchant fees in the coming weeks, with over 90% of online payments already being fee-free.

The secretary of the Department of Customer Services has referred the matter to the Ombudsman and the Independent Commission Against Corruption for further investigation.