The Surcharge Rort
- Opened on fileA line off the receipt
From 1 October 2026 the card networks banned surcharges, but the cost of taking cards stayed. The $1.6 billion ministers framed as a saving is the RBA’s estimate of surcharges already paid, which it expects shoppers to keep paying in prices. The Tax Office chose to stop taking credit cards instead.
Fig. 02 / What happened
Fig. 03 / Who the record names
How we know
The exhibits sit beside the title above, each tied to the article that documented it. How evidence and sources are graded: evidence grade, source tiers.
What else is connected
Named in this case and in others. A count of where the record names them, not a finding about what they did.
From the desk
- First day without credit cards at the ATO (date moved on 9 October 2026)The cost the Tax Office won’t wear · The Surcharge RortCheck the ATO’s pages and the third-party routes after 30 June 2027
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Update, 9 October 2026. This entry was dated 1 December 2026 until the ATO’s media release of 9 October 2026, which says it will continue accepting credit card payments for tax obligations until 30 June 2027. Check the ATO’s payment pages for the date that now applies, whether its BPAY page still mentions paying from a credit card account, whether it has added PayID or another real-time option, and what pay.com.au, Sniip and similar services charge and say about the card networks’ rules.
- Last day the ATO accepts credit cards (extended on 9 October 2026)The cost the Tax Office won’t wear · The Surcharge RortOn 9 October 2026 the ATO extended the date from 30 November 2026 to 30 June 2027
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Update, 9 October 2026. The ATO’s media release of 9 October 2026 says it will continue accepting credit card payments for tax obligations until 30 June 2027. On 3 October 2026 this article reported 30 November 2026 as the last day, from the ATO’s announcement of 1 October. Taxpayers with a payment plan linked to a credit card should check the ATO’s current page for the date that now applies. Debit cards, BPAY, bank transfer, direct debit, Government EasyPay with a debit card and Australia Post remain. Watch for any further extension, reversal or change, and for what the ATO says about the card fee.
- Foreign-card interchange cap startsA line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortThe rest of the $910 million
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From 1 April 2027 interchange on foreign-issued cards used in Australia is capped at 1.0 per cent, part of the RBA’s $910 million estimate. The networks’ scheme fee roadmaps are expected by this date, and more detailed merchant statements start with the first full statement period on or after it.
- First pass-through data due from large acquirersA line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortA ‘by’ date that falls on a Saturday
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By 30 January 2027 acquirers that acquired more than $10 billion of card transactions over the last four quarters must first publish how the 1 October interchange cuts flowed through to merchant service fees, for October to December 2026, and keep the measure on their websites until 30 September 2028. The RBA will republish the data and says it will consider further action where pass-through is less than full. This is the first public test of whether the $910 million reached merchants.
- RBA’s list of regulatory priorities due by the end of 2026A line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortA ‘by’ date with no fixed day
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The RBA says it will publish a list of regulatory priorities from its Review of Payments System Regulation, which covers American Express, mobile wallets and buy now pay later, by the end of 2026, on an indicative timeline, with consultation by mid-2027. Watch whether it names surcharging or pass-through.
- October CPI, the first month without card surchargesA line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortThe first measured price data
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The ABS releases the monthly Consumer Price Index for October 2026 at 11:30am AEDT; the ABS says release dates may change. October is the first full month after surcharges ended. The RBA estimated the one-off effect at about 0.1 per cent if all surcharges moved into prices, and surcharges were never in the CPI, so part of any measured rise is a cost consumers were already paying.
- RBA Payments System Board meetsA line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortThe board behind the surcharging decision
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The RBA’s Payments System Board, which made the surcharging and interchange decisions, meets on 19 November 2026. Nothing fetched says what it will consider. Watch the RBA’s media releases for any update on surcharging compliance or pass-through.
- RBA rate decision and Statement on Monetary PolicyA line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortThe first Statement since surcharges ended
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The RBA’s Monetary Policy Board announces its decision at 2.30 pm and publishes its Statement on Monetary Policy the same day. The RBA estimated a one-off lift of about 0.1 per cent in measured consumer prices if surcharges move fully into prices. Nothing fetched says the Statement will address the change; watch whether it does.
- First card fee data due from networks and large acquirersA line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortA ‘by’ date: data may appear earlier
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By 30 October 2026 eftpos, Mastercard and Visa must publish specified card fee information, and acquirers that acquired more than $10 billion of card transactions over the last four quarters must publish their merchant service fees for the quarter to 30 September 2026. The RBA says it will republish the data soon after. These are fees BEFORE the 1 October caps; the test of pass-through comes on 30 January 2027. CommBank says it will publish its first quarterly report on this date.
- ANZ credit card changes startA line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortAn issuer’s changes after the interchange cut
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From 28 October 2026 ANZ lifts its cash advance fee from 3 to 3.5 per cent, with the maximum rising from $20 to $50, and caps points on its First, Frequent Flyer and Rewards cards at $25,000 or $50,000 of spend a statement period depending on the card; ANZ says the caps affect statements issued on and after 28 November. ANZ’s pages do not mention the RBA or interchange. Watch for any statement linking card changes to the 1 October interchange cuts.
- Senate estimates: Economics Legislation Committee sitsThe cost the Tax Office won’t wear · The Surcharge RortProgram not yet published
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The Senate Economics Legislation Committee sits for 2026-27 supplementary budget estimates on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October 2026, covering the Industry, Science and Resources and Treasury portfolios. The program has not been published, so whether the ATO or the RBA appears is not known. Re-check the program the week before. Questions this case would put: what the ATO paid its bank in card fees, who pays the fee until 30 November, and whether the networks’ rules applied to it. Update, 9 October 2026: the ATO now says it will accept credit cards until 30 June 2027, not 30 November. Its release does not say who pays the bank’s charge, or whether the card fee, which came off on 1 October, stays off.
- Record: article 1 updated, 9 October 2026A line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortThe Surcharge Rort · right of reply offered 6 and 7 October 2026 · the ATO extended its credit card date to 30 June 2027
THE RORT emailed its right-of-reply questions to the Australian Banking Association, ANZ and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 6 October 2026, and to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Treasurer’s office, Visa, Mastercard, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Block (Square) and Zeller on 7 October 2026, after the article was published on 3 October 2026. Questions…
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UPDATED 9 October 2026 (case: THE SURCHARGE RORT, article 1 of two).
ARTICLE CHANGES. Two dated updates added. One is in the section “What we do not know yet”, after the paragraph that says the right-of-reply questions had not been sent when the article was published, which is left as published; it records when THE RORT emailed the questions, after publication on 3 October 2026. The other is at the end of the closing section, beside the sentence that gives 30 November 2026 as the date the ATO stops accepting credit cards, which is left as published: it records the ATO’s media release of 9 October 2026, which says the ATO will continue accepting credit card payments for tax obligations until 30 June 2027, and the release is added as reference [51]. No figure in the article changed.
STILL OPEN. Right of reply: offered by email to the Australian Banking Association, ANZ and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 6 October 2026, and to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Treasurer’s office, Visa, Mastercard, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Block (Square) and Zeller on 7 October 2026. The questions to Australian Payments Plus and the Prime Minister’s office go through their web forms; the date they are put will be added as a dated update. Any response, or its absence, will be added when it comes in.
NEXT DATES: 28 October 2026, when ANZ’s credit card changes start; 30 June 2027, the last day the ATO now says it accepts credit cards.
- Record: article 2 updated, 9 October 2026The cost the Tax Office won’t wear · The Surcharge RortThe ATO extended its credit card date to 30 June 2027 · the Department of Finance replied · right of reply offered 6 and 7 October 2026
The ATO has since extended its date. In a media release of 9 October 2026 it says it “will continue accepting credit card payments for tax obligations until 30 June 2027”, and that this follows “discussions with the government and the provision of transitional funding”; its headline says the ATO “extends transition period for taxpayers using credit cards”. Taxpayers who want to keep using a…
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UPDATED 9 October 2026 (case: THE SURCHARGE RORT, article 2 of two).
ARTICLE CHANGES. Dated updates added; the paragraphs they sit beside are left as published. (1) The ATO’s media release of 9 October 2026, which says the ATO will continue accepting credit card payments for tax obligations until 30 June 2027, is added as reference [56] and reported in a dated update at the end of the opening section, with a dated note beside each place that gives 30 November 2026 as the last day: the subtitle, the graphic’s caption and description, the timeline, the summary points, the key facts, and the sections on what the ATO charged, how to pay and the two dates. The calendar entries for 30 November and 1 December 2026 now stand at 30 June and 1 July 2027. (2) In the section “The rest of government”, the Department of Finance’s statement of 9 October 2026, attributed to a spokesperson, is printed in full, with what was left out; Finance says the webpage referenced has been removed, and reference [40] carries a dated note. (3) In the section “What we do not know yet”, after the update that records when the questions were emailed: the ATO responded on background on 9 October 2026, and the Department of Finance replied. No figure in the article changed.
STILL OPEN. Right of reply: offered by email to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 6 October 2026, and to the Australian Taxation Office, the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Treasurer’s office, the Finance Minister and the Department of Finance, the Industry Minister’s office, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Visa, Mastercard, pay.com.au and Sniip on 7 October 2026. The ATO acknowledged receipt on 7 October 2026 and responded on background on 9 October 2026; the Department of Finance replied on 9 October 2026. The email THE RORT sent to the ATO asked for a reply by 5pm AEDT on Tuesday 13 October 2026. The questions to Australian Payments Plus and AusPayNet go through their web forms; the date they are put will be added as a dated update. Any other response, or its absence, will be added when it comes in.
NEXT DATES: 13 October 2026, 5pm AEDT, the reply date given to the ATO; 28 October 2026, when the Senate Economics Legislation Committee sits for supplementary budget estimates; 30 June 2027, the last day the ATO now says it accepts credit cards.
- Article updatedA line off the receipt · The Surcharge Rort
Reference, given as a bare link to the RBA's conclusions page, now names the document and the consumer survey figures it carries.
- Article updatedThe cost the Tax Office won’t wear · The Surcharge Rort
Reference pointed to the Federal Register's home page as if it were a document. The finding that no instrument was located is this outlet's own search, and the sentence and reference now say so.
- PayPal’s no-surcharge rule takes effectA line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortThe last of the networks the RBA lists
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From 5 October 2026 PayPal’s Australian terms say merchants must not impose a surcharge or any other fee for accepting PayPal, and the same applies to card payments under its card payment services agreement. The RBA lists PayPal among the firms that removed surcharging voluntarily and are not formally regulated by it. Watch whether merchants that used PayPal surcharges move the cost into prices or into other fees.
- Record: THE SURCHARGE RORT, article 1, “A line off the receipt”, publishedA line off the receipt · The Surcharge RortRight-of-reply questions to the RBA, the Treasurer’s office, Visa, Mastercard, Australian Payments Plus, the ACCC, the Australian Banking Association and others had not been sent at publication; any answers will be added as dated updates
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ATTENDED 3 October 2026 (case: THE SURCHARGE RORT, article 1 of two).
FINDING. The $1.6 billion the Treasurer and the Prime Minister said Australians would no longer pay is the RBA’s estimate of card surcharges consumers paid in 2024/25 on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa, out of about $1.8 billion in all. The RBA expects shoppers at the 16 per cent of merchants that surcharged to pay similar amounts through the sticker price instead, and in the documents this outlet read no official estimate of a net saving exists. The separate $910 million is the RBA’s estimate of lower wholesale card costs for merchants, part of it only from 1 April 2027, and reaches shoppers only if passed on.
ARTICLE CHANGES. Article 1, “A line off the receipt”, published.
STILL OPEN. Right-of-reply questions had not been sent at publication; answers will be added as dated updates. No measured price data exist yet.
NEXT DATE: 5 October 2026, when PayPal’s no-surcharge rule takes effect.
- Record: THE SURCHARGE RORT, article 2, “The cost the Tax Office won’t wear”, publishedThe cost the Tax Office won’t wear · The Surcharge RortRight-of-reply questions to the ATO, the Treasurer’s office, the Finance Minister’s office, Industry Minister Tim Ayres’s office, Visa, Mastercard, Australian Payments Plus, pay.com.au, Sniip and ACCI had not been sent at publication; any answers will be added as dated updates
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ATTENDED 3 October 2026 (case: THE SURCHARGE RORT, article 2 of two).
FINDING. The ATO will stop accepting credit cards after 30 November 2026, not on 30 September. Until 30 September it passed its bank’s card fee to payers at cost, 0.94 to 2.03 per cent on credit and international cards; since 1 October it charges no card fee. It says it would not be appropriate for the cost of credit card merchant fees to be transferred to the community, the same kind of cost the RBA says businesses can reflect in their prices. Debit cards and other payment methods remain.
ARTICLE CHANGES. Article 2, “The cost the Tax Office won’t wear”, published.
STILL OPEN. Who pays the ATO’s bank fee until 30 November, whether the card networks’ rules applied to the ATO, and whether third-party card payment services sit inside the ban. Right-of-reply questions had not been sent at publication; answers will be added as dated updates.
NEXT DATE: 28 October 2026, when the Senate Economics Legislation Committee sits for supplementary budget estimates.