Australians face $9 million in illegal passport fees as government reviews surcharges

Australians may have paid over $9 million in illegal fees for passports last year. The government is assessing the impact of these fees, which have been charged for various services over the past 20 years. The Assistant Treasurer stated that calculating the total cost of illegal merchant fees is challenging. New laws will be introduced to make these surcharges legal retroactively, while surcharges on debit card payments will end in January 2025. Similar issues were found in New South Wales, where $144 million in illegal fees were identified. The federal government is considering a permanent ban on surcharges for debit cards by 2026, pending a review.