Monash Uni staff outrage as carpark prices soar under new system

Monash University has increased the price of parking at four of its campuses, leaving staff outraged and accusing the university of “price gouging”.

Monash University has boosted the price of parking at four of its campuses, leaving staff outraged. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Furious Monash University staff are continuing to rail at their employer for raising surge parking prices by hundreds of dollars without consultation.

A leading professor with an international reputation told an internal staff online chat that he was told he’d be “lucky to get a parking permit” when he was appointed as a professor.

He said he once caught the inter-campus shuttle bus but it was so full of students he had to “beg” to be let on.

“There are good reasons for enabling staff to reliably get to work unflustered and on time,” he wrote.

Others pointed out the dangers of catching public transport late at night and urged the university to provide more options for students to catch public transport.

Staff are also sharing stories about the double standard for executive staff, with a designated underground car park for the chancellery.

It comes as the university boosted the cost of surge pricing for parking at its four campuses, prompting outcries from staff that they would be forced to fork out hundreds of dollars more to drive to work.

Staff are unimpressed with the billion-dollar educational behemoth urging them to “explore alternative modes of transport” such as cycling, carpooling and public transport.

Monash University staff are outraged at changes to carpark prices.

The university told staff the new system was designed to “enhance parking management” but social media feedback to Bradley Williamson, the university’s executive director of buildings and property, made it clear staff are not happy.

One noted that she would need “ an additional 1% pay rise JUST to cover this additional cost”.

Another said: “I am expected to be at work 5 days a week so I guess I am supposed to be OK spending $200 a (month) for parking at work in March”.

Others accused the university of “greed” and “price gouging at its best”.

NTEU Monash branch president Dr Ben Eltham said staff were not consulted about the price hike, which will also have an impact on students.

“We thought ‘surge pricing’ was only for Uber, but it turns out Monash University management are just as rapacious,” he said.

“The University has offered staff a 3 per cent pay rise this year – but these parking hikes are as high as 106 per cent. There’s been no consultation, just an email out to staff with the bad news.

“These charges hurt students and frontline teaching and administration staff the worst. Public transport to Clayton remains substandard and not everyone can easily get there on a train, plus a bus. Vice-Chancellor Sharon Pickering needs to rethink.”

One source said staff “who have to be on campus for three weeks over O Week and semester will pay $300 for three weeks of parking”.

Many pointed out that hot-desking means staff are lugging around computers and books, and that taking public transport to the main Clayton campus adds an hour to the journey each way.

It comes as the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Monash Branch continues to bargain for substantial improvements to staff workloads and job security.

In 2022, the university received $2.7bn in income in 2022 and paid 38 senior staff an average of $361,000. It has the second-highest paid vice chancellor in the country earning more than $1.3m.

A new pay as you use system has been introduced at Monash University’s campuses Picture: Lawrence Pinder

An email announcing the changes, which are set to take effect next Monday on the Clayton, Caulfield, Peninsula and Parkville campuses, says the Pay As You Use System will have new prices for peak and non-peak periods.

This is to “meet the increased operational and maintenance costs associated with parking”.

The prices during non-peak are capped at $7.05 a day for red permit areas but peak pricing will see costs soar for staff and students to $10.60 a day.

The highest costs will be in the first four weeks of semester one and two and during Clayton campus May and September graduations.

At peak times prices will double, surging from $107 for a normal 28-day permit to $212 for a peak permit.

It comes as the university has seen a return to pre-Covid campus attendance, with most car parks full during peak periods.

The university told staff: “We strongly encourage you to explore alternative modes of transportation whenever feasible. A shift from single-occupancy vehicles towards sustainable alternatives such as carpooling will contribute to Monash University’s Net Zero Transport Strategy by reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with travelling to Monash campuses”.

A Monash University spokesman said the university would “be welcoming a greater number of students and staff to campus in 2024”.

“This increased travel demand is anticipated to put pressure on campus parking supply. Peak parking prices will be introduced during high demand periods such as the first four weeks of semester and graduations to help manage availability, and encourage sustainable commuting such as public transport,” he said.

The university also pointed out that staff were given a 16 per cent salary increase between December 2022 and June 2026.