Australia’s parking ticket hotspots; How to fight a hefty fine

Getting a parking fine can turn your day completely upside down. See Australia’s worst infringement hotspots and what to do if you want to dispute a fine.

See how you can appeal pesky parking fines across the country. Picture: Floss Adams.

Parking fines can be one of the most hated little pieces of paper.

Arriving back at your car to see the thin ticket flapping under your windscreen wiper can affect your entire day, turning it upside down.

And for those councils that have turned to digital fines — it can be weeks until that pesky fine makes its way into your letter box.

See how you can dispute a parking fine in Australia and where the country’s worst infringement hotspots are.

HOW TO DISPUTE A PARKING FINE

If you think you have grounds to fight your fine, there are avenues to dispute it.

But fighting a fine of any kind, be it parking or a speeding ticket, requires proof.

It’s not enough to argue “my meeting ran over” or “the doctor was late”.

In most cases, you can appeal the fine through an application to the relevant governing body directly.

But be sure to check if there are any time limitations for appeals.

Some defences may be based on faulty parking metres, signs that were difficult to see or read or errors made by issuing officers.

To help your case, providing evidence of your argument, such as photos or videos can be helpful.

Appealing through the courts may be another avenue to consider.

AUSTRALIA’S PARKING FINE HOTSPOTS

VICTORIA

Melbourne’s CBD streets Collins, Lonsdale, Queen, Russell and Little Collins streets have the highest rates of parking infringements in the City of Melbourne, reports the Herald Sun.

In Geelong, more than 8500 fines were given last year for overstaying time limits. A further 8175 fines were handed out for failing to pay for a ticket. More than 3500 fines were given for parking in a no standing zone, while nearly 1,500 people were fined for stopping in a loading zone, 1,258 for parking in a permit zone (without the valid permit) and 484 for parking in a disabled zone.

There are avenues to appeal parking fines.

On the Mornington Peninsula, the top five streets for parking fines were Main St, Mornington, with 2807 fines issued; Ocean Beach Rd, Sorrento, with 1139, Mornington Central (582 fines), the Sorrento Ferry parking (428) and The Pillars at Mount Martha (417).

In addition, 83 $115 fines were handed out last year across the shire for not having a parking permit and 334 $192 fines for not stopping.

The fine for overstaying a timed parking spot on the Peninsula was $96 last year, a council spokesperson told the Herald Sun.

HOW TO APPEAL A PARKING FINE IN MELBOURNE

Melburnians can request an internal review of an infringement notice but you can only apply for that once, and it must be in writing.

For parking fines, you must be the registered owner of the vehicle. The registered owner can also nominate the person responsible for the parking fine, the City’s website states.

The law provides five categories or grounds for a fine to be reviewed, according to City’s website. They may include: not believing offence occurred; unforeseen and exceptional circumstances outside your control; you believe the fine was issued to the wrong person or vehicle; and special circumstances.

In most cases, you will need to submit verifiable evidence from a “third-party to support your grounds for review”.

Reviews can take up to 90 days or longer if more information from the applicant is required.

NEW SOUTH WALES

The City of Sydney issued 265,000 paperless fines last year – almost five times more than any other council.

Recent council financial statements show the City is on track to make $2.6 million more than expected in the 2023-24 budget from “enforcement” due to “higher volumes of fines for parking and commercial waste infringements issued in the CBD than anticipated”, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Fine hotspots in the City including Castlereagh St, where $2.3 million was made from parking fines last year. Pitt St followed closely with $2.2m, with Sussex St brought in $1.1m.

Enmore Rd, in the Inner West, made $465,000 off parking fines, and Ebley St in Bondi Junction raked in $749,000 for Waverley in the city’s east.

Rangers can issue infringements for a range of offences relating to parking.

It comes as Revenue NSW has been coming down harder on unpaid parking fines.

The number of driver’s licence suspensions for failing to pay penalties had surged, up by more than 25 per cent in a year.

NSW authorities suspended 30,395 licences in 2023 for failure to pay overdue parking fines compared to 23,937 in the previous 12 months.

A licence is suspended only after several warnings have been issued. Taking away a licence typically leads to a fine being paid.

HOW TO APPEAL PARKING FINE IN NSW

Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research data showed a 31 per cent increase in the number of people choosing to contest a range of parking fines in court, The Daily Telegraph reported.

More than 1150 people did so in the 12 months to the end of September, up from 885 in the prior year. About one in five were successful in both periods.

Revenue NSW is responsible for receipt and processing of fines, and administering the enforcement system to collect unpaid fines.

If you believe you have grounds to appeal the fine, contact Revenue NSW in writing with some of the following: contact details, a clear copy of the fine as well as a brief description of the problem you faced and any other supporting documents.

Some reasons they may consider leniency on parking fines include: purchasing a valid ticket but it was not displayed correctly, parking ticket machine was faulty, you placed money in the wrong meter or vehicle was broken down at the time.

Drivers will need to provide evidence of their claim, such as: providing a copy of the valid ticket or documents related to car repairs or towing if claiming the car was broken down.

Reasons that may not be considered include: not being familiar with the area or not knowing a parking ticket was required.

People can opt to dispute their fine in court, and can apply through Revenue NSW to have the matter determined by a magistrate in the NSW Local Court. The department’s website warns “going to court can be a long and costly process” and “the court may issue you a fine at a higher amount”.

QUEENSLAND

Brisbane residents spent more than $30 million in parking fines last year.

The Brisbane City Council issued more than 165,000 tickets and warnings to motorists in 2023, of which more than 44,000 were fined at least $116 for failing to pay parking meters.

Brisbane’s parking hotspots including Alice St, where more than $1 million in parking fines were issued, and more than 1300 vehicles were towed from clearway-signed areas.

Parking fines can be issued for more than just not paying for a ticket. Picture: Andy Brownbill

The highest total number of parking tickets issued was Wickham St, in Fortitude Valley.

Margaret St, in the CBD, saw $500,000 in fines issued for people who parked in bus zones and another $229,000 were handed out to drivers stopping in taxi zones.

Motorists on Grey St, South Brisbane, were fined at least $304,000 in fines for failing to pay parking meters or overstaying their time, and on Colchester St $238,000 in fines were issued.

HOW TO DISPUTE A PARKING FINE IN BRISBANE

You can have your parking fine reviewed by the Disputes Commissioner, which is an independent office within the council that can overturn or uphold earlier decisions.

“The role of the Disputes Commissioner is to determine whether the offence occurred, whether the infringement notice was issued correctly, and whether there are any extenuating circumstances which would warrant the withdrawal of the infringement notice,” the City of Brisbane’s website states.

Circumstances where the council may consider withdrawing an infringement notice include: serious medical circumstances, mechanical breakdown, faulty parking meter or sign is missing or damaged, among others.

But reasons that may not result in the fine being withdrawn include: driver did not operate the meter correctly, misreading a parking sign, appointment ran late, did not enter registration details in ‘free 15-minute parking’ zone, to name a few.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Adelaide City Council raked in $8.37 million in parking revenue in the 2022/23 financial year, with more than $2.3m in fines handed out to drivers on 10 busy streets in the CBD.

Pirie St and Flinders St were the biggest parking ticket hotspots, with 3849 and 3794 fines handed out respectively between January and December 2023, City of Adelaide data, analysed by The Advertiser, revealed.

More than 3200 motorists were fined on Hindmarsh Sq, and a further 2993 fines were dished out on Halifax St.

Pulteney St, which came in 9th for volume, racked up the city’s most expensive fines pool, with more than $570,000 in fines issued across more than 1700 tickets.

HOW TO APPEAL YOUR PARKING TICKET IN ADELAIDE

If you receive a ticket, known as an expiation, you can either pay it, enter into a payment arrangement, nominate another person if you were not the driver, or request a review of the fine.

If you are requesting a review, it must be done in writing and it will only be reviewed once, so the City of Adelaide says it is “important to provide us with all the information”.

“You will need to provide us with as much information as possible when requesting a review of the expiation,” the City’s website states.

“Once a review is submitted, you cannot lodge any additional reviews for the same expiation.”

Reviews take about four-six weeks minimum on average to complete.

Seeing a parking ticket on your windscreen can really turn your day upside down. Photo: Scottie Simmonds/NewsMail

If you believe you should not have received the fine, these are the reasons the city will consider in a review: proof of a valid ticket displayed, proof of a valid permit or permission from the City, proof of a medical emergency, proof your vehicle broke down or there was a fault with the parking ticket machine.

Conversely, these are some reasons the City will not consider: you were running late from an appointment, you did not read the parking sign or found it confusing, you moved your vehicle to another bay within the same zone, you left your vehicle to get coins for the parking machine.

You can appeal the fine at court but the City’s website warns “if you choose to elect to go to court it may cost you more than the original expiation amount”.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

APPEALING YOUR TICKET IN PERTH

Drivers can appeal their parking fine by filling out a form online.

According to the City of Perth website, appeals are unlikely to be considered based on the following reasons: lost track of time, did not understand the parking restrictions, left permit in another vehicle, ticket or permit had fallen out of sight, you thought you were allowed to park in a restricted zone (such as clearway, loading zone, disabled bay), only parked your car or a short period of time, could not find another car bay nearby.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Most Darwinites have been hit with parking tickets in the CBD.

Of the more than 17,500 tickets handed out to drivers in the 2020/21 financial year, more than 16,000 were in the city, reports the NT News.

In total, the fines dished were worth more $734,000.

HOW TO APPEAL YOUR PARKING TICKET IN DARWIN

Drivers can apply to change the offender on the parking infringement if they were not the driver of the vehicle when it was fined.

They can also apply to have their fine reviewed by lodging a request online, via email or by post.

Circumstances the city may consider as grounds for withdrawal include: medical emergency, vehicle was provide down or vehicle was stolen.

Drivers will need to provide evidence of their claim, such as medical documentation or invoice from mechanic or call out documentation.

The City of Darwin will not consider withdrawing the fine on following circumstances: ticket or permit had fallen out of sight, left your permit in another vehicle, you did not see the sign, you lost track of time or had to use the toilet, among others.

Originally published as Australia’s parking ticket hotspots; How to fight a hefty fine