City of Darwin confirms it collected $1.8 million in parking fines for FY24

More than $1.8 million in one particular fine has been collected by the City of Darwin this financial year – a 30 per cent increase on last year’s figures. Find out more.

Parking fines in Darwin City rose more than $600,000 from FY23. Picture: Floss Adams.

More than $1.8 million in parking fines was collected by the City of Darwin in the 2024 financial year – a 30 per cent increase from last year, according to the council’s financial statements.

This month, the City of Darwin released its 2023-24 annual report, shedding light on the council’s finances and key performance indicators.

The report showed a significant spike in stationary vehicles being stung – with $1,831,000 of the council's revenue coming from parking fines alone.

This is a significant jump up from FY23, in which $1,214,000 was raised from fining illegal parking.

Cashless meters in the City of Darwin were introduced after FY24. Picture: Alex Treacy

A City of Darwin spokeswoman said non-compliance was responsible for the fine spike, not the cashless meters which drew the ire of the community when recently introduced.

“The amount of fine revenue received will vary in any given year depending on the levels of parking non-compliance, associated regular enforcement and also according to the number of parking complaints received by City of Darwin, including complaints of people overstaying the maximum allowed duration in particular areas,” she said.

“The FY24 reporting period was before we transitioned to cashless meters and therefore the revenue amount is not linked to any of the upgrades.”

City of Darwin is in the midst of introducing its ‘movement strategy’, which aims to reform city transportation.

The spokeswoman said the council’s ‘movement strategy’, which aims to reform transportation around the city, would “make it easier” for residents to find parking options and bring down the number of infringements.

The spokeswoman also said the proceeds of fines would go towards improving parking infrastructure.

“Income from parking fines goes into an off and on street parking reserve which contributes to parking operations and parking infrastructure,” she said.

“This reserve has also been used to fund CBD activations and the Covid stimulus voucher program, My Darwin.”

The City of Palmerston scrapped parking meters in August. Picture: City of Palmerston

Down the highway, the City of Palmerston recorded $13k in fines had been brought in for the entirety of FY24.

In August, the City of Palmerston made the decision to scrap parking meters altogether after determining the machines would be made obsolete with the shutdown of Telstra’s 3G network.