Linkt Financial Hardship and Payment Plans: What Help Can You Ask For?
If you cannot afford to pay your Linkt tolls, invoices or demand notices, ignoring them will usually make the situation worse.
But paying the full amount immediately may not be your only option.
Linkt operates a financial hardship program called Linkt Assist. Depending on your circumstances, the program may offer additional time to pay, a payment plan, a temporary break from payments, toll credits or other assistance.
The important step is to ask for help as early as possible.
What is Linkt Assist?
Linkt Assist is the hardship and vulnerability support service operated for Linkt customers.
It is intended for people experiencing financial difficulty or personal circumstances that affect their ability to pay toll-related debts.
You do not necessarily need to be unemployed or receiving Centrelink payments to request help. Financial hardship can arise from many situations, including:
Reduced income or loss of employment
Unexpected medical expenses
Serious illness or injury
Family or domestic violence
Natural disasters
Housing instability
Caring responsibilities
Relationship breakdown
A sudden accumulation of household debts
Other circumstances that make payment unaffordable
Linkt says people can apply even if they are unsure whether they qualify.
What assistance can Linkt provide?
The assistance offered will depend on your circumstances and the stage your toll debt has reached.
Examples listed in Transurban’s hardship policy include:
Extending the time you have to pay
Establishing a regular payment plan
Providing a payment-free period
Writing off some or all of a debt owed to Linkt
Advocating for the recall of a toll infringement
Providing toll credits for essential travel when you have an active Linkt account
Referring you to external financial or community support services
These are possible forms of assistance, not automatic entitlements.
Linkt will review your individual circumstances before deciding what support it can provide.
Can you get a Linkt payment plan?
Yes. A regular payment plan is one of the hardship options identified in Linkt’s published policy.
A payment plan allows an eligible customer to repay an amount over time instead of making one immediate payment.
Before agreeing to a plan, check that the proposed instalments are genuinely affordable.
A payment arrangement that consumes money required for rent, food, electricity, medication or other essentials is unlikely to be sustainable.
If the amount Linkt proposes is too high, explain what you can realistically afford and ask whether the arrangement can be adjusted.
Can Linkt give you more time to pay?
Linkt may extend a payment deadline where financial hardship is affecting your ability to pay.
Contact Linkt before the due date whenever possible. If the notice is already overdue, contact the hardship team immediately and explain what has happened.
Ask Linkt to confirm:
Whether collection or escalation activity will be paused while your hardship request is reviewed.
Whether further fees will be added during that period.
The new due date or payment schedule.
What will happen if your financial circumstances change.
Request written confirmation of any agreement.
Can Linkt waive toll debt?
Linkt’s hardship policy says that writing off some or all of a debt may be considered.
That does not mean every hardship applicant will receive a reduction or waiver. The outcome will depend on the person’s circumstances, the type and age of the debt and Linkt’s assessment.
If repayment is not realistically possible, clearly explain that in your application.
Do not agree to an unaffordable arrangement simply because you feel pressured to accept the first option offered.
What are Linkt toll credits?
Toll credits may be available to eligible people who need to use toll roads for essential travel.
Examples may include travel connected with:
Medical treatment
Serious illness
Family violence
Natural disasters
Essential support services
Caring for a person with a serious medical condition
Toll credit support is generally connected to an active Linkt account.
Ask the Linkt Assist team whether your travel may qualify and whether you need to open or reactivate an account.
What if your toll debt has already become an infringement?
The situation becomes more complicated once an unpaid toll matter has progressed beyond Linkt and an infringement has been issued by a government authority.
Linkt’s hardship policy says its team may advocate for the recall of a toll infringement. However, Linkt cannot guarantee that the authority responsible for the infringement will agree to recall it.
If you have received an infringement notice, check who issued it.
In Queensland, the matter may eventually be referred to the Department of Transport and Main Roads or the State Penalties Enforcement Registry. Different review, payment and hardship processes may then apply.
Do not assume that contacting Linkt automatically pauses a government infringement deadline.
Contact both Linkt Assist and the authority named on the notice if necessary.
How to apply for Linkt hardship assistance
You can contact Linkt Assist by:
Phone: 1300 767 865
Hours: 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays
Email: linktassist@transurban.com
Online: Linkt Assist
If you need an interpreter, Linkt lists the Translating and Interpreting Service number as 13 14 50.
Linkt says you can begin an application using the information currently available. Documents may not always be required at the beginning, although additional information can be requested during the review.
What should you tell Linkt Assist?
Keep the explanation accurate and practical.
You may wish to include:
Your Linkt account number
Your toll invoice or demand notice numbers
The total amount you have been asked to pay
Why you cannot currently afford the amount
Whether the financial difficulty is temporary or ongoing
Your essential living expenses
Any urgent personal circumstances
What amount, if any, you can realistically pay
Whether you need toll roads for essential work, medical or caring travel
The support you are requesting
You do not need to write an elaborate personal history. Provide enough information for the hardship team to understand why ordinary payment is not currently manageable.
A simple hardship request
You could adapt the following wording:
I am experiencing financial hardship and cannot afford to pay the full amount requested without affecting my essential living expenses.
I am asking Linkt Assist to review my circumstances and advise what hardship support is available. I would like collection and escalation activity paused while my request is assessed.
Please consider an extension, affordable payment arrangement, reduction of fees or debt, or any other appropriate assistance under the Transurban Hardship Policy.
Please confirm the outcome and any agreed arrangement in writing.
Add the relevant account and notice numbers, but do not send sensitive banking information through an insecure channel.
Keep records of every conversation
Create a simple record containing:
The date and time of each call
The name or identification number of the representative
What you explained
What assistance you requested
What Linkt offered
Any reference number
Any promised follow-up date
Save copies of emails, notices and payment arrangements.
If a dispute later arises, these records can help establish when you requested assistance and what was agreed.
What if the payment plan becomes unaffordable?
Contact Linkt Assist before missing a payment if possible.
Explain what has changed and ask for the arrangement to be reviewed.
A new medical bill, rent increase, loss of work or other change may mean a previously affordable plan is no longer manageable.
Do not wait until several payments have been missed before seeking another review.
What if Linkt refuses your hardship request?
Ask Linkt for:
The decision in writing.
The reason for the decision.
The information used to assess your application.
Details of any internal review or complaint process.
Confirmation of the next payment or escalation deadline.
If you believe the decision failed to consider relevant circumstances, submit a written complaint and clearly identify the outcome you are seeking.
Depending on the nature and stage of the matter, you may also consider contacting:
A free financial counsellor through the National Debt Helpline
A community legal centre
The relevant state tolling or infringement authority
The applicable tolling ombudsman or external complaint service
Free financial counselling
The National Debt Helpline provides free and confidential financial counselling.
Phone: 1800 007 007
Website: ndh.org.au
A financial counsellor may help you assess the debt, prepare a hardship request and understand which expenses should be prioritised.
Be cautious of commercial debt services that charge fees for assistance you may be able to receive for free.
Do not ignore a Linkt toll notice
Seeking hardship assistance does not mean the underlying notices disappear automatically.
Until Linkt confirms otherwise, assume that the existing deadlines still apply.
Contact Linkt Assist promptly, request written confirmation and check whether collection or escalation has been paused.
The earlier you act, the more options may remain available.
Related reading
Official sources
This page provides general information and is not legal or financial advice. Processes may differ depending on the type of notice and the authority currently managing the debt. Information reviewed on 26 September 2026.