Stonnington Council to pay back almost $7 million in parking fines after report suggests it acted illegally

Stonnington Council doesn’t agree with a report that it may have acted illegally regarding its parking fines. But it has provided a way for people who complained against 81,000 fines during a 10-year period to get their money back.

People who appealed parking fines in Stonnington during a 10-year period can apply to get their money back.

People who received a parking fine and challenged the decision in Stonnington during a period of more than a decade can now get a refund.

Stonnington is one of three councils ordered to refund almost $20 million in parking fines after the Victorian Ombudsman found they may have acted illegally when the charges were contested by motorists.

The council will have to pay back up to $6.9 million from 81,000 fines issued between July 1, 2006 and February 9, 2017.

During this time the council asked Tenix, a third party parking contractor, to make a recommendation on infringement reviews before a council officer made the decision. Since then council conducts the whole review itself.

About 81,000 fines could be subject to refunds.

Stonnington chief executive Jacqui Weatherill said while the council did “not agree with the report”, it had established a way to review requests for possible refunds from those who unsuccessfully appealed their parking infringement and subsequently made during those times.

“Given that the Ombudsman made preliminary inquiries into our review practices in 2017 and determined not to pursue with an investigation, we call on the State Government to amend the Infringements Act 2006 to remove ambiguity regarding the use of contractors in internal reviews,” she said.

“The State Government’s oversight of infringement appeals has led to confusion on many fronts.”

Port Phillip will refund $8.8 million from more than 87,000 affected fines, while a further $3.67 million from 36,000 fines will be paid back by Glen Eira.

Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass said the councils — which disagreed with her findings but agreed to pay back the money anyway — acted “contrary to law” by outsourcing reviews of the fines to a private contractor.

Ms Glass said the three councils “asserted their practices were lawful”.

“While it was reasonable for these councils to seek legal advice, they failed to ensure transparency and accountability in their decision making,” she said.

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Monash and Kingston councils announced last year that they would repay 46,000 fines impacted by similar issues.

For information, visit stonnington.vic.gov.au/infringements