Local councils will soon be banned from issuing controversial fines for parking without a ticket, in a move described as a victory for “common sense”.
New South Wales Finance Minister Courtney Houssos will legislate a ban on ticketless parking fines this month after councils collected $155 million in fines last year.
The move comes after years of complaints from drivers who said they were not given a chance to contest their fines until it was too late.
The current ticketing system, introduced under former premier Gladys Berejiklian in 2020, allowed rangers to issue digital fines that drivers would only find out about weeks later.
The time difference meant drivers were unable to collect evidence, such as a photo of their parked vehicle, immediately after receiving the ticket.
Drivers also had difficulty remembering details of their parking spot from weeks before, meaning they were less likely to contest the violation.
‘Frustration among drivers and community members over the ticketless parking system is high, and that’s fair enough,’ Ms. Houssos told the The Telegraph newspaper.
‘The ticketless parking fines system was introduced by the previous government without considering the impact on drivers and their families.’
NSW Finance Minister Courtney Houssos will legislate an effective ban on parking tickets without a ticket this month (file image)
Recent data showed that councils issued 822,310 tickets for unpaid parking last financial year, almost 50 per cent more than the previous year.
The new laws will require park rangers to leave a physical note informing drivers that they have been ticketed.
Supporters of the ticketless system said it would reduce clashes between drivers and rangers.
Rangers will still be able to issue fines without physical notification in very limited circumstances, including the installation of new warning signs.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury described the move to abandon ticketless fines as a way to improve public confidence in councils.
“Ticketless parking tickets eliminated transparency and made it nearly impossible for motorists to challenge their ticket if they felt they had a legitimate case,” he said.
Sydney concreter Phillip Foglin was an outspoken critic of the system after receiving a fine in the mail three weeks after the law was introduced.
Recent data shows that councils issued 822,310 fines for parking without a ticket last year, almost 50 per cent more than the previous year (file image)
When he asked the council for photographic evidence that he had parked illegally, the ticket was dropped.
“It’s frustrating because I got there and left within the one-hour limit and I felt like I hadn’t done anything wrong, but they were able to just write me the ticket without any proof or evidence,” Foglin said.
(tags to translate)dailymail
