$20m of parking fines to be refunded by Victorian councils

Three Melbourne councils will have to refund more than $20m in parking fines after the Ombudsman found they were unlawfully issued.

Victorian Ombudsman found one case where a council officer took one minute to approve recommendations for 107 applications. Picture: istock

Local councils in Victoria will have to find more than $20 million to repay parking fines after the Victorian Ombudsman found they had acted illegally when infringements were contested.

The decision comes after five Melbourne councils were found to have used the private contractor Tenix to review parking tickets which were challenged.

Ombudsman Deborah Glass found councils had acted “contrary to law” to have appeals reviewed by a private company, noting applicants thought their applications were being considered by council, when in fact they were not.

She said the system for reviewing parking tickets “lacked transparency and accountability for a long time”.

Ms Glass highlighted one case where a council officer took one minute to approve recommendations for 107 applications – or half a second per application.

“The suggestion that council officers were making genuine decisions on the evidence was simply not credible,” Ms Glass said.

“It is also apparent that none of the three councils disclosed who was making internal review decisions, each of them providing a similar squiggle by an anonymous officer.”

The decision applies to tickets issued from July 2006 to August 2017 by Stonnington, Port Phillip and Glen Eira councils.

The City of Greater Geelong has also committed to refunding more than 6000 drivers to the tune of about $600,000.

A 2006 infringements act set out the process issuing, appealing and enforcing parking fines.

It included a right for people to seek an internal review from the council or agency that issued the fine.

“The fact that councils changed their practices in 2016 suggests they were aware that the outsourcing of internal reviews was inappropriate,” Ms Glass said.

The councils maintain they did not act illegally by outsourcing fine reviews, but have agreed to pay back the fines.

The decision comes after two other Melbourne councils announced they would repay $2.3m in parking fines issued by the same company last year.

However, the issue could apply to more councils and agencies, with Ms Glass’s investigation revealing other councils and agencies also engaged contractors in reviewing tickets.

All 79 local councils in Victoria can issue parking infringements along with many Victorian government agencies, such as universities, TAFE institutes, alpine resorts, and public hospitals.

“The legal issues have not been tested in court; and not being a court, the Ombudsman cannot definitively determine the lawfulness of the councils’ actions,” Ms Glass said.