Australian state bans 'unfair' parking fine practice
Yesterday at 12:04 AM
This state has passed a bill putting an end to a parking fine system some have said constitutes “extortion”.
The New South Wales government has instituted a new law requiring local councils to provide an on-the-spot ticket and a photo of the offence when issuing a parking fine, doing away with the ‘ticketless’ approach that saw many drivers receiving a nasty surprise in the mail.
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The practice of ticketless parking fines was first introduced in some Sydney councils in 2020.
According to the Fine Amendments Bill that was just passed, the number of ticketless parking fines issued by councils in the 2023-24 financial year increased by 49 per cent on the previous financial year, resulting in a 54 per cent increase in the revenue collected by parking fines.
The practice meant that you would no longer receive a parking ticket on your windshield. Instead, you would receive the fine in the mail two weeks after the offence occurred, leaving many to point out that it was harder to contest the fine.
“Let me know when the class action is. Extortion is the polite word for it. I have plenty of others,” wrote one motorist on Reddit.
“Just imagine if this was retroactively applied to pertain to all council enforcement fines issued incorrectly, and the amount had to be refunded… Would love to see some of the councils bankrupted by this…” said another.
NSW Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos recently called the system “unfair” in an interview with 9News.
“No one likes getting a parking fine. Finding out about it two weeks later stings even more,” she said.
“Bringing back on-the-spot notification for parking fines is a common-sense reform and restores fairness and integrity to the parking fine system.”
The bill, first proposed in March 2024 and finally passed on November 13th, flat-out bans all 128 councils in NSW from issuing a parking fine unless a photo is taken of the offence and a physical ticket is left on the car.
The bill further states: “Without this intervention, it is reasonably expected that the number of ticketless fines would continue to increase significantly. This would further erode community trust and confidence in the parking system.”
The changes are a win for all motorists in New South Wales who will have the opportunity to defend themselves in the courts by providing evidence if they believe they were not parked illegally and will prevent them from receiving multiple fines when the driver is unaware of the initial one.
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