How do I dispute a Linkt toll notice in Queensland?

Queensland’s toll roads — AirportlinkM7, Clem7, Gateway Motorway, Go Between Bridge, Legacy Way and Logan Motorway — are electronic-only: there’s no boom gate to stop at, a camera records the trip and the registered owner is billed afterwards. Linkt, trading as Transurban Queensland, runs these roads under the policy and legislative framework the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994 (Qld) sets for the state’s toll network. One road is different: the Toowoomba Bypass is run by the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) itself, not a private operator, which changes where an unresolved complaint about it can go.

An unpaid trip becomes a demand notice from Linkt, and from there the debt can go one of two separate ways, which matters because they don’t offer the same options or timelines. Linkt can pursue it as an ordinary civil debt in the Magistrates Court, a standard court claim for the unpaid tolls plus administration fees, with the usual court defences and deadlines applying. Or Linkt can refer it to DTMR for administrative enforcement, where DTMR can issue a Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN) for failing to comply with the demand notice. If you believe the trip or the amount is wrong, or you weren’t driving, raise it with Linkt in writing before either of those happens — once a PIN or a court claim exists, the terms narrow and who you’re dealing with changes.

If Linkt’s own process doesn’t resolve the complaint, take it to the Tolling Customer Ombudsman, a free, independent scheme covering Linkt’s toll roads in Queensland and Victoria (NSW complaints moved to the separate NSW Tollway Ombudsman from 1 January 2026, so this scheme no longer covers NSW). It can investigate and propose a resolution binding on Linkt, though not on you if you’re unhappy with it, but it can’t touch a PIN or court claim already issued, and it can’t rule on what the toll itself should cost. The Toowoomba Bypass is the exception: because DTMR runs that road rather than a private operator, an unresolved complaint about it goes to the Queensland Ombudsman instead — the state Ombudsman is otherwise shut out of Queensland toll complaints precisely because the other roads are privately run. If a PIN goes unanswered, DTMR can refer it to SPER under the State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999 (Qld), which adds its own fees and takes over managing the debt, with options including an extension of time, a payment plan, or — for people who genuinely can’t pay — a Fine Option Order letting the debt be worked off instead of paid. Raise financial hardship with Linkt as early as the demand notice: its own hardship support stops being available once a PIN issues or the matter reaches court, which is exactly why acting early keeps the most options open.