Anger as new mum fined for being in labour for too long

WHEN it comes to excuses for overstaying your parking, being in labour and about to give birth is pretty hard to top. But even that wasn’t enough to stop a young mum from copping a $112 fine. READ THE REJECTION LETTER

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JESS Brooks had been in labour for 21 hours but, as far as the parking officer was concerned, giving birth is no excuse for not moving your car.

And when the new family appealed to Revenue NSW, thinking the matter would be easily cleared up, the pen-pushers ruled the $112 parking fine was entirely justified.

Jess Brooks with newborn son Alfie. Ms Brooks copped a $112 parking fine while giving birth. Picture: Supplied

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The bureaucratic nightmare began on October 20, when Jess Brooks and her partner parked at her mother’s Newtown house, where they dropped off their four-year-old daughter before heading around the corner to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for a scheduled induced labour.

Ms Brooks’ waters broke at 6am on October 21 and the baby was expected to be delivered that day, so their car was topped up with a 24-hour visitors’ parking permit.

But the labour went longer than expected, with complications, and baby Alfie wasn’t born until 3am on October 22.

“We didn’t get up to the ward until 8am so we had both been awake for 30 hours and it slipped our minds,” Ms Brooks, 33, told The Sunday Telegraph.

“By the time we remembered the car it was just after midday and it was too late, the fine was issued at 11.56am.”

Ms Brooks’ mother Nicolette even left a note on the windscreen explaining the parents were stuck at the hospital with the car keys.

“She told them we had the keys with us in the labour ward so she was unable to put a new guest parking pass in the car and the one from the day before was still on the dash,” Ms Brooks said.

Ms Brooks was giving birth to her son at RPA Hospital when she was fined.

“We appealed the fine in writing and provided proof of birth but the appeal was unsuccessful. It seems outrageous to me that it’s not considered a cause for leniency,” Ms Brooks said.

In a letter to Ms Brooks, NSW Revenue wrote they had found: ‘Our investigations conclude the penalty still applies”.

“I was shocked labour was not considered a legitimate cause for leniency,” Ms Brooks said.

But after inquiries from The Sunday Telegraph the department issued an apology and dropped the fine.

“I’m pleased but surprised it took this for them to see reason,” she said.

Revenue NSW said it had: “Reviewed this matter after taking into account the circumstances, and a caution has been issued in place of an infringement notice”.

“Revenue NSW contacted the authorised representative to advise of the retraction and apologise for the inconvenience and concern caused.”