NSW towing rules
NSW tow fees, caps and registers
You run trucks in New South Wales. The state caps what you charge for an accident tow and for storage, and it wants five separate records kept. One of them has to ride in the truck.
Regulator: NSW Fair Trading. Tow Truck Industry Act 1998 (NSW). Tow Truck Industry Regulation 2020 (NSW). Figures last checked .
How much can a tow truck charge for an accident tow in NSW?
In New South Wales the maximum charge for towing a light vehicle from an accident is $320 excluding GST, anywhere in the state. Distance beyond 10 km in the Sydney metropolitan area adds $7 per kilometre, or $6 beyond 20 km elsewhere in NSW. Work outside 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday adds 20 percent. These are maximums set under the Tow Truck Industry Act 1998 (NSW).
Caps apply across the state. Distance thresholds differ between the Sydney metropolitan area and everywhere else.
| Accident tow, light vehicle the tow itself, before distance and after-hours are added | $320 |
|---|---|
| Distance beyond 10 km in the Sydney metropolitan area | $7 per km |
| Distance beyond 20 km elsewhere in NSW | $6 per km |
| Outside 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday | plus 20% |
| Salvage crew, per 30 minutes after the first Per certified driver and per assistant | $82 |
- Source: NSW maximum fees for light vehicles, applying from 1 July 2026.
- Last checked .
- NSW Government, tow truck fees for light vehicles, NSW Fair Trading, tow trucks, NSW Fair Trading, tow truck forms, Tow Truck Industry Regulation 2020 (NSW)
- This table may be reused with credit to TowConnect, under CC BY 4.0.
TowConnect warns you before you save a job priced above the cap, and offers the capped figure in one tap.
How much can you charge to store a vehicle in NSW?
In New South Wales the maximum daily storage charge for a light vehicle is $34 excluding GST in the Sydney metropolitan area, and $18 elsewhere in NSW. A motorcycle is $16 and $9 on the same split. Charged per 24 hours or part of it, per vehicle.
| Light vehicle, Sydney metropolitan area | $34 per day |
|---|---|
| Light vehicle, elsewhere in NSW | $18 per day |
| Motorcycle, Sydney metropolitan area | $16 per day |
| Motorcycle, elsewhere in NSW | $9 per day |
Charged per 24 hours or part of it, per vehicle.
- Source: NSW maximum fees for light vehicles, applying from 1 July 2026.
- Last checked .
- NSW Government, tow truck fees for light vehicles, NSW Fair Trading, tow trucks, NSW Fair Trading, tow truck forms, Tow Truck Industry Regulation 2020 (NSW)
- This table may be reused with credit to TowConnect, under CC BY 4.0.
One tap fills the capped rate on your yard's rate card, converted to your ex-tax basis, and the nightly accrual takes it from there.
The NSW caps and records.
Towing a light vehicle from an accident in New South Wales is capped at $320 excluding GST anywhere in the state, and that figure covers the tow itself, before distance and after-hours are added. Distance is charged on top beyond 10 km in the Sydney metropolitan area at $7 a kilometre, and beyond 20 km elsewhere in NSW at $6. Work outside 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday adds 20 percent to the tow. Storage of a light vehicle is capped at $34 a day in the Sydney metropolitan area and $18 elsewhere in NSW. These figures come from NSW maximum fees for light vehicles, applying from , and were last checked . Alongside the money, a NSW operator keeps five kinds of record for this work, each of them listed on this page. Regulator: NSW Fair Trading.
What records must a NSW tow operator keep?
A NSW Category A operator keeps five records: a tow truck usage log for accident attendance, a non-accident towing record, an approved holding yard register for each yard, a tow truck driver register, and a towing authorisation book that must physically be in the truck. Fair Trading publishes each as an approved form.
- Tow Truck Usage Log, for accident attendance, per truck
- Non-accident Towing Record, for every other tow, per truck
- Approved Holding Yard Register, per yard
- Tow Truck Driver Register, for every certified driver
- Towing authorisation book, which must physically be in every Category A truck
How TowConnect meets the law.
| NSW requires | TowConnect |
|---|---|
| Keep the four approved register forms, in the approved layout, per truck and per yard. | TowConnect All four are generated from jobs you already logged, with page numbers that restart each calendar year and never move. |
| A record cannot be erased from a paper book. | TowConnect Deleting a record leaves its numbered slot in place, marked void, with the reason. |
| Keep the towing authorisation number from the book you carry. | TowConnect The authorisation number is a field on the job and prints into the statutory registers. |
| Do not charge above the capped fee. | TowConnect Price a job above the cap and TowConnect says so before you save it, in the office and on the driver's phone. |
| Produce the records when an inspector asks. | TowConnect One click prints every page your dates touch, with a cover sheet, as a PDF. |
NSW, specifically
Five records, one in the truck.
NSW is the only state of the four that prescribes the register forms themselves: four approved forms, beside the authorisation book every Category A truck carries. The four forms are the ones TowConnect writes for you. The book stays paper, and the app records its serial number so the two agree.
One product, each state's rules.
VIC
Victoria
Gazetted maximums inside the controlled area, and the allocation centre that decides who attends.
QLD
Queensland
Maximums written in fee units, free storage first, and written notice before the daily rate.
WA
Western Australia
Capped crash tow and storage in Perth and Peel, with penalties for charging above.
General information, not legal advice. Figures shown are the ones the app uses, with the instrument and the date they came from.