The NSW government will provide around 160,000 drivers who frequently use toll roads with half-priced vehicle registration, in a move designed to outmanoeuvre the Labor opposition on tolls policy ahead of the state election.

Under the new policy, which is expected to cost $100 million in its first year, drivers who spend $15 per week on toll roads will be eligible to have their registration halved in price.

The scheme is an extension of the Berejiklian government’s toll roads program, which already provides free registration for drivers who spend $25 per week on tolls.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who announced the extension on Monday, said drivers would become eligible for the scheme from July 1, 2019, but the program would be backdated to include their toll spend from July 1 this year.