New law slashes number of 'surprise' NSW parking fines sent in the mail

More than 300,000 paper parking tickets have been slapped on windshields across NSW in the last three months alone, but far fewer have come as a nasty surprise in the mail.

Rangers now must leave a physical ticket, except in certain circumstances. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

More than 300,000 paper parking tickets have been slapped on windshields across NSW in the Past three months, but less than 10 per cent have come as a nasty surprise in the mail since councils were banned from indiscriminately issuing virtual fines.

New Revenue NSW figures show councils issued almost 320,000 parking fines between July 1 and September 30, but only 16,000 of those were ticketless – a 93 per cent fall compared with the same period last year, when over 238,000 ticketless fines were issued.

Since July 1 councils have been required to issue on-the-spot fines except in limited circumstances, under NSW government legislation designed to make the system fairer.

Councils are now barred from issuing ticketless fines, with some exceptions for large carparks and unsafe situations. File picture: Jonathan Ng

The ticketless system first introduced in 2020 had seen councils’ parking revenue skyrocket, and gave drivers less opportunity to dispute fines when they received them by post days or weeks later.

City of Sydney council parking rangers were some of the worst offenders in the state, handing out just 115 physical fines over a three-month period in 2024 but more than 72,000 ticketless ones.

That number has been slashed by 98 per cent since the new laws came into effect, with the overall number of fines issued down by 13,000.

The Northern Beaches and North Sydney councils were also prolific users of the old “print and post” system, but have seen 99 per cent and 98 per cent decreases respectively in the proportion of ticketless fines issued.

Finance Minister Courtney Houssos said the reforms are working. Picture: Monique Harmer

Finance Minister Courtney Houssos said the latest figures showed the new laws were delivering on the government’s promises, and thanked the councils for implementing the changes.

“Our reforms are about restoring trust in the parking fine system,” she said.

“People deserve to know immediately if they’ve received a finem not weeks later when it may be too late to challenge it.

“These commonsense and practical changes mean motorists will no longer be blindsided.”

Originally published as New law slashes number of 'surprise' NSW parking fines sent in the mail