Campbelltown Council issues millions in illegal parking fines
A Sydney council has admitted to illegally slugging motorists by issuing parking fines in shopping centre carparks without a valid contract authorising them to fine people on private property — and could be forced to hand back millions of dollars to motorists.
NSW
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A council could be forced to hand back millions of dollars in parking fines after admitting it illegally slugged motorists in shopping centre carparks.
And people who lost $561 and one demerit point for parking in a disabled parking spot could also be entitled to get their lost points back.
A former employee at Campbelltown Council said parking rangers were told in 2017 to stop issuing fines at Macarthur Square, Campbelltown Mall and Ingleburn Village shopping centres because the council did not have a valid contract authorising them to fine people on private property.
These contracts — which expired in 2015, 2013 and 2008 respectively and have been obtained by The Sunday Telegraph — give the council the right to issue fines for parking in a disabled parking spot, parking out of bay and other offences.
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The southwestern Sydney council admits to handing out the fines without authorisation. However, it will not commit to handing back a large slice of the $7.4m it has taken off motorists since 2012.
The ex-employee, who did not want to be named, said “it was common knowledge at the council that the public were being illegally fined”.
“People at the council were outraged about it but we were told not to talk about it and that the matter would be fixed up,” the former employee told The Sunday Telegraph.
“These $500-plus fines are being handed out during the holiday period when people are shopping for Christmas presents.
“The public has a right to be outraged about this. And the council’s pulling in millions of dollars.”
Campbelltown Council made $1.34 million in parking fines in the 2017-18 financial year, according to the Office of State Revenue.
The council is on track to exceed that amount this year, having already raised $1.34m by March 2019.
The problem was first raised in 2017 when a person who was fined at Macarthur Square disputed the fine.
The ex-employee claims the contracts in Macarthur Square and Ingleburn Village were fixed in late 2018 — one year after they were spotted.
In the case of Campbelltown Mall, confidential council documents reveal rangers did not start issuing legal fines there until late February.
Campbelltown Council city development director Jim Baldwin admitted the breach.
“Council continued to monitor parking areas and issue penalty notices for breaches of parking restrictions at shopping centres it had entered into agreement with and continued to monitor and issue fines for breaches of parking restrictions beyond the formal expiry date of the respective agreements,” Mr Baldwin said.
“The agreements, with the exception of Macarthur Square, which has since introduced paid parking for overstay periods, have been renegotiated and now include a sunset clause which allows for time to renegotiate the agreement terms and continue providing the much-needed service to the shopping and commercial community, unless requested to cease by the carpark owner.”
The majority of fines for these three locations are for “stand vehicle in disabled person’s parking space without authority” which carries a $561 fine and the loss of one demerit point.
The council raised this revenue by employing seven council rangers.
Like the majority of Sydney councils, Campbelltown Council has decided not to follow a state government recommendation to reduce its non-safety related parking fines from $112 to $80.
A former senior manager at one of the centres said shopping centres deliberately make finite, five-year contracts so they can make changes to their parking regime if needed.
He said Westfield, Lend Lease and others were turning to paid parking regimes to keep commuters from getting a free ride.
Lend Lease, which manages Macarthur Square, declined to comment.
Ingleburn Village managers failed to respond to requests for comment.
A Campbelltown Mall spokesman said: “Charter Hall purchased Campbelltown Mall in November 2016 and we have recently finalised our agreement with Council to monitor disabled parking bays. We are unaware of previous arrangements with prior owners.”
This is not the first parking debacle for Campbelltown Council.
In April the council forgot to paint white lines on parts of the newly resurfaced Leumeah commuter carpark, leaving dozens of motorists parked in.
Originally published as Campbelltown Council issues millions in illegal parking fines
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