Australians have reportedly been charged billions in card charges over decades by federal government agencies

Australians have paid billions of dollars in illegal merchant fees for federal government services over at least two decades. The charges have been made for the use of credit and debit cards to pay for federal service including passports, visa applications and tax bills, Nine newspapers reported. The issue came to light after the NSW government became aware that 92 million transactions had attracted $144m in illegal merchant fees since 2016, prompting a review by the Albanese government into federal payments. However, Nine says there will be no reimbursement for the microcharges because of the challenges of auditing tiny merchant fees across government services over so many years. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said in a statement the Albanese government would legislate to stop passing on debit surcharges from the ATO and Services Australia from January 1. “This new legislation will provide the finance minister with the power to quickly and efficiently amend Commonwealth surcharging policies, including to stop Commonwealth agencies passing on debit card surcharges,” she said in a statement. “These Bills will not impose any new surcharges but fix the historical issue to ensure existing surcharges are authorised by legislation. “While the Reserve Bank completes its important work on the Surcharging Review and how payment fees can be reduced economy-wide, we will stop passing on debit surcharges from the ATO and Services Australia to make sure these everyday payments don’t cost Australians more.” The practical benefit to Australians is that they will save money because they won’t be charged a fee simply to use their debit card. Commonwealth laws prohibit the government from collecting payment surcharges when people pay a tax or fee, according to legal advice provided to Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Nine reported.