The Better Freight Outcomes Fund will turn fines paid by trucks that break no-truck zone rules into A$1 million of community grants for Melbourne’s inner west. These are the neighbourhoods that bear the brunt of heavy vehicle traffic.
What changed
Minister for Ports and Freight Melissa Horne announced the Better Freight Outcomes Fund on Thursday 15 October 2026. The A$1 million programme will back community projects that improve the local environment and amenity. It was set up under the West Gate Tunnel Truck Bans Act.
Who is affected
The programme is aimed at inner-west communities hit hardest by heavy vehicles. The area sits next to the Port of Melbourne and major industrial and logistics hubs, so it carries a large share of Victoria’s freight. Locals have long lived with the noise and fumes that come with it.
When does the Better Freight Outcomes Fund start?
The fund will begin in 2027. Before then, the Victorian Government asked residents to help shape the scheme through a community survey, which closed on Sunday 1 November 2026. Eligibility rules, application dates and individual grant amounts have not yet been announced.
What it means in practice
Put simply, the money comes from truck drivers who ignore no-truck zones and goes back into the streets those zones are meant to protect. Survey feedback will help the government decide which priorities, and which kinds of projects, should come first.
The fund sits alongside other measures to ease truck traffic in the inner west, including the West Gate Tunnel, no-truck zones and moving more freight from road to rail.
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Source: Victorian Government. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
