The NSW government has continued its assault on the mailing industry with the announcement of a new charge for E-Toll postal statements.
In a letter to customers announcing that motorists will need to double the minimum amount in their electronic toll accounts to $40, NSW Roads & Maritime revealed that customers who continue to receive postal statements from September will now be charged $2.20 per statement.
The letter, titled Important changes are coming to your RMS E-Toll Account from 1 September 2016, adds:
You can avoid being charged this fee by electing to receive your statements via email.
To change the way you receive your statements log on to myetoll.com.au and update your account details (statement options) or call 13 18 65 and request your details be updated.
RMS E-Toll will be introducing SMS messaging in the near future to help you manage your account.
"We're removing the pain of motorists receiving toll notices in the mail and possible fees by ensuring there is always enough money in their account," Duncan Gay, NSW Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, told Fairfax. Around 1.4 million motorists in NSW have E-Toll accounts.
The charge is the latest move in a digital transformation strategy that has been embraced by the federal and state governments and major corporations but is fiercely opposed by the mailing and printing industries.
Industry initiative Two Sides Australia has launched consumer campaign Keep Me Posted to fight against what it says is a move to pressure customers to switch to digital billing by charging for the privilege of receiving a bill in the post.
“This campaign is one for all Australians who reject the latest ‘pay to pay’ trend and highlights the negative impact that the move to digital billing has on vulnerable members of society,” said Kellie Northwood, executive director, TSA.
"In Australia if you are disabled, in a low-income household or dependent on a parenting payment, an age pension, disability support pension or a Newstart allowance, then the likelihood of having no Internet at home is twice to almost five times higher than the national average. Indigenous households in Central Australia are 76% less likely to have Internet access than non-indigenous metropolitan households and within aged communities only 46% of people over 65 have access to the internet."
The NSW Government has set up a body called the Accelerating Digital Government Taskforce that aims to "develop a roadmap for the transition to digital government in NSW...and to realise the opportunities offered by digital technologies."